People’s Daily

Wang Fang, President of FLTRP

Digital platforms should enhance rather than diminish deep reading, expanding literacy dimensions instead of reducing engagement. Algorithms should broaden rather than limit perspectives, serving as targeted knowledge anchors for users' learning journeys.

Imagine this scenario: a reader picks up a book, gently turns the pages, reads attentively, while an AI assistant in their headphones is ready to answer any questions. Today, the development of media and technology is reshaping how knowledge is acquired, redefining the bond between content and readers, and creating new possibilities for the publishing industry.

The 22nd National Reading Survey shows that in 2024, the book reading rate among adult Chinese citizens is 59.9%, and the contact rate of digital reading methods is 80.6%. Amid this transformation in the way knowledge is disseminated, just how many ways are there to engage with a book?

Take foreign language textbooks as an example: from the earliest print books to multimedia materials with accompanying tapes and CDs, and now to digital resource systems that integrate sound and video, books have already transcended the limits of physical carriers and are now connected to a vast sea of digital resources. The application of new technologies is not simply about converting printed content into digital resources, but about changing the way knowledge is presented. Many textbooks are designed from the outset to focus on digital courses, with print books as a supplement; some textbooks are even equipped with artificial intelligence software to provide an immersive learning environment.

Learning resources are richer than ever before, yet people’s time and attention are becoming increasingly diluted. Ways to help users find suitable content, and ways to establish real-time, close, and interactive connections with users, have become inevitable challenges for publishing institutions.

Changes are happening. While digital textbooks and intelligent tutoring systems operate as data-collecting outposts online—continuously capturing key teaching indicators in real-time and constructing learner profiles through big data analytics to enable personalized pathways—offline initiatives like publisher-organized events, competitions and training programs foster deeper reader connections.

On internet platforms, short videos and other media forms offer users more convenient channels to acquire knowledge thanks to their immediacy and interactivity. This has led to changes in market demand and put pressure on the publishing industry to transform and upgrade its methods. Publishing institutions should strategically examine how to embrace digital transformation as a lever to reconstruct content production while maintaining the core value of knowledge, thereby extending the reach of premium content; how to foster professional excellence through targeted market positioning in specialized domains to build sustainable competitive advantages; how to drive technological innovation by cultivating in-house research and development teams to master key technologies, and achieve full control over the entire digital publishing chain.

From bamboo slips to print books, and then to digital and integrated reading, what evolves are the vessels of knowledge, while what endures is the essential value of reading. Digital platforms should enhance rather than diminish deep reading—expanding literacy dimensions instead of reducing engagement. Algorithms should broaden rather than limit perspectives, serving as targeted knowledge anchors for users' learning journeys. A book may unfold in countless forms, yet its sacred charge remains: to kindle flames in the human mind.