The Appeal of "Paper" is Revived Again This Year

Once again this year, the eighteen publishing companies who comprise the Dictionary Association are promoting the "revival of printed dictionaries" and carrying out a campaign in bookstores aimed at school teachers and students.
This year, which marks the sixth since the campaign's inception in 2002, is using "printed dictionaries first!" as its catch phrase for 100,000 copies of an A5 size 8-page booklet which it has produced. Sales promotions are targeting first-year students at leading high schools.
In bookstores too, expansive displays in store fronts are calling attention to the booklets. Last year in February, the Association of Study Guides, together with the Bookstore Study Association, devised a plan to make information available in about 100 bookstores. This year, they hope is to expand that number.
Over the last ten years, the market share for electronic dictionaries has grown to 65 billion yen, in contrast to that of paper dictionaries, which has decreased by half to about 20 billion yen. According to the Dictionary Association, the decrease in paper dictionaries and increase in electronic dictionaries is slowing, but in recent years there has been a steady rise in the sense of crisis regarding the tendency for a decrease in the printed form. The booklet features the appealing characteristics of printed dictionaries such as learning out to look up items, an easy-to-access format, and memory improvement and retention.


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