Lots of people in the book world are analyzing and talking about e-readers and what effect they will have. Amazon crowed that sales of Kindle books surpassed sales of hard cover books recently. Some people are foretelling *The End of the Book*.
Of course, we’re interested in how these new-fangled devices will change our world in the library, and trying to adapt to those changes that we can see coming. So in addition to taking opportunities to play with all of the Kindles and Nooks and Sony readers and iPads, I’m also talking with other book lovers in my daily life. I talked with fellow soccer parents at a game, I talked with my book group, and I even talked with my teenage son. Here are the reactions I got:
*My son was absolutely against e-books. He said it took too long to turn the page.
*One person said that she loves to write her reactions to the book in the margins. How could she do that in an e-book? Her husband, however, loves to read on his smart phone because of the convenience.
*Almost everybody said that they would be absolutely great for traveling, as it would be so much easier than schlepping around a stack of books. But one person said that it would be worse to lose or have an e-reader stolen than a cheap paperback.
*One lady said that she would love to have an e-book, as it would mean she would no longer have shelves of books filling up her bedroom. But even if she did get an e-book, she would still buy books to use as “bath tub books”.
*One lady said she would use an e-reader for general reading, but if she really liked a book, she would purchase a print copy.
*Several people said that e-books for young children were completely inappropriate. On the one hand, they need the mental stimulation of physically turning pages, maybe chewing on the corners of the board books, turning flaps, stroking fur or sandpaper, and so forth. On the other hand, children can be very rough on things: would you really want your child to throw an e-book? One mother commented that her toddlers loved the vinyl books they played with in their bath.
What do I take away from my unscientific survey? I see that physical books aren’t going away, but that they’ll be less common as they’ll fill in the margins of a reader’s life: on the cheap end that they don’t mind getting damaged and on the high end as a mark of importance in their intellectual or emotional lives.
How is Sno-Isle adapting to e-books? Check out our downloadable books! We have both downloadable e-books and audiobooks, in addition to downloadable music and videos. They can be played or seen on specific devices, as listed on the record. None are downloadable to Kindle. That’s not anything we have any control over; that’s just the way Amazon.com currently builds the Kindle and the copyrights are negotiated for each book. So download the Overdrive media console, search for a book, check to see that it goes with your device, and go!
-Kathy
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Dear Kathy: I've never used an e-book so my comments are strictly on cost. It seems an e-book is similar to what is now becoming rare - a disc player. I love to 'read' audio books and have a disc player that I take along with me whenever I have to sit or drive for any length of time. And both items are portable and can be tucked away to be pulled out on demand. But, an e-book like this 'old' disc player has to have some sort of power source, be that of batteries - big or little - a power cord or solar. So now my disc player and the e-book cost from $20 to over $100 plus the power sources....battery after battery after battery, a dreadful inconvenience and expense.
ReplyDeleteI've sat in many doctor's office without the availability of a power cord plug in, and I've had my last spare battery die and put an end to 'my reading'. But..my pocket book(s)don't need any source of power save my clean eye glasses, they tuck nicely into any sized purse or pocket, they dry out if wet so they could be easily read while in a tub.
Thus, unless technology comes up with comparable solutions, I believe BOOKS are here to stay at least for the next couple of generations.
Thank you for letting voice my opinion.
Helene Bigler
Marysville Library patron
A comment about e-readers and batteries, I have an Amazon Kindle 3, it doesn't have a replaceable battery. You recharge it when it gets low, I've been getting close to 4 weeks on a charge, and I read it everyday.
ReplyDeleteAlso to comment about the page turns being too slow must have been about an older e-reader because I have no complaints about the speed to the kindle.
On the other hand my wife still likes reading book made from paper.
I've been using a Sony e-reader for over a year now as a test. But I also read print books because I like the physical experience of handling a book - the feel, the smell, the appearance, etc.. It wasn't too expensive, and there are lots of books I can purchase. Its great for traveling. This ereader does not have back lighting, which can be troublesome in poorly-lit areas. The charge lasts for weeks, which is great. I have been disappointed by the price of eBooks for purchase, as well as availability, but I expect that prices will go down somewhat, and of course variety will increase.
ReplyDeleteSchools are looking at ereaders and ipads as possibly becoming devices that would replace that heavy backpack full of books, the expensive calculator, and most other tools kids carry around with them. I have a new one being delivered, and look forward to further research on how it can be used to enhance learning. As part of the tech research team at my place of work, we are gearing up for a trial run of ipad usage in the workplace as a substitute for many types of output devices. The ipad can not only be an fairly interactive ereader (via enhanced graphics and touch screen), but the myriad of applications available can make them useful tools in many as-yet unexplored ways. They have the capability of linking to digital projectors, so as a presentation tool it may have some interesting capabilities as well.
All this said, I don't believe they will ever replace print books, particularly for children who need the full sensory experience as they learn to read. What we may see as a trend will be that more non-fiction materials become digitized much faster, and these are the types of resource that seem to be a really good fit with the technology. Online research will likely become the primary source of information for many people. And librarians then become even more important than ever as guides to literature and resources!