Away With Books? Already?!

When I was younger and first considering career options, I planned on becoming a reporter for a newspaper. I figured I would put my love for writing to good use and began taking every possible opportunity to involve myself in every print journalism facet that was open to me, and I found a comfort zone when I was the Sports Editor for the school newspaper. But especially over the last year, it's quite evident that advancements in technology are sending the print industry into a downward spiral. So, why the change? Even though I will always love the written word, being a college student has opened my eyes to the benefits of online media advancements and has ultimately shifted my focus to the online industry.
I'm usually not one for change, so this step was a big one for me. But the one thing I can't seem to handle is the talk about books becoming obsolete as well, as according to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/books/29beas.html?_r=2&ref=business&pagewanted... Don't get me wrong, there are definite benefits of online reading. One prime example is textbooks. Consider the amount of money that college students spend each semester on text books, and imagine how this number could be decreased if the same books were available online. So having these books keyboard accessible not only saves money, but it's also helpful when lugging books from class to class and if a student misplaces a book.
Okay, so the benefits are clearly mapped out, blah blah blah. But am I the only one being skeptical here? Something has to be said for the preservation of famous documents. I compare it to keeping a scrapbook. If you keep pictures and put them together into events, you're going to remember things that you may have forgotten. However, if you solely rely on memory, you might not remember some of the details or be able to relive the experience. This also proves true with hard copy books vs. online books. Holding primary sources and old newspapers that once played a major role in history can make the assignment more real than just words on a printed page.
Is it really worth cheating history to make advancements in technology?