Yes — absolutely!
We still need a robust medium for conveying information, ideas, and perspectives in a long-form format that allows readers both the breadth and depth to totally immerse themselves in an idea or perspective, to contemplate its implications, and integrate it into their own body of knowledge.
Books are essentially a device, a vehicle for communicating knowledge between people and across time. The knowledge encapsulated in them becomes the building blocks of civilization, so that we don’t have to re-invent the wheel each generation, but can build on the learning of those before us. And, not only do books communicate information, but they also contain in their language and style the values of their authors and the era when they were written — a sort of time capsule.
What about New Media
Now we have a plethora of ways to access and share information in both print and digital forms, in varying lengths, and in a multitude of mediums. One doesn’t necessarily replace the other, but instead complement it with more options for sharing information in more varied ways. Short, long, deep, brief, and everything in between. Books are only one part of this ever evolving ecosystem of information and knowledge, but still a very integral part.