On the Public Libraries of the
United States blog, they discuss the practical aspect of carrying an increasing
number of ebooks in libraries. According to their post, the cost to libraries
is higher when stocking ebooks than physical books, and the selection is vastly
decreased. Like the WSJ article, the creators of this blog are also on the side
of improving both the quality and quantity of digital books. They make a strong
point by saying that whether the books are physical or not doesn’t matter
because either way, more access to books means more readers, which is a
library’s defining goal. No matter which form people prefer to do their reading
in, encouraging the pastime is a positive development in itself.
After voicing their general
support, the focus turns to student book use. They (correctly) suggest that mandatory,
curriculum-conforming textbooks would be both less expensive and less heavy if
they were sold in an “e” format. I understand that there would be a market for
those wishing to carry a lighter backpack to class, but I have to disagree with
the idea that changing physical course books over to ebooks would be an
improvement. Having worked in a university bookstore, I’m very familiar with
what we call “Rush week,” when all the students (and their parents) pack
themselves into the bookstore during the first week of classes. Though we
actually have to create a line and stop people at the door to prevent overcrowding,
the number of students that buy their textbooks at this time doesn’t represent
the entire student body. Another unofficial Rush happens during the last week
before exams at the end of each term. Clearly, this breaks students roughly
into two groups: the ones who care about learning the material as they go
along, and the ones who think they can speed study a 500-page astronomy
textbook the night before their exam. I think e-textbooks would be great for
the latter group, but totally off target for the former.
Serious students (I can speak to
this because I am one) like to read and reread sections of text. We like to
highlight and/or dog-ear and/or post-it note our pages. From here, the
necessity of physicality in the learning experience expands to those students
so committed that they have figured out what type of studier or learner they
are. Kinetic learners greatly benefit from turning the pages and folding over
corners to recall placement of key ideas in the text. I personally am able to
remember concepts and specific words in an exam by visualizing where on the
page and how far into the book they were. These are experiences that cannot be
replicated on an ereader because for certain people and certain studying
strategies, they just wouldn’t work.
Less committed students would be
more suited to the ereader. Being able to purchase a book in e-format allows
you to access the text immediately, meaning students could feel an instant
gratification knowing that they HAD the textbook, but this wouldn’t necessarily
get them to read it. Knowing that, if they so chose, they could read their
textbook at any time would bring out the same inherent laziness which stops
that same group of students from just buying their physical books at the
bookstore at the start of term.
Another pitfall I see in
switching textbooks over to ereaders has to do with the progression of the
technology. The Public Libraries blog states that having new technology
encourages children to learn. In some cases, this is true, but making the
generalization is dangerous. More and more handheld devices, even those
initially made to attract dedicated readers, are including games and internet
accessibility as selling points. I have no problem with this in general, but I
think it becomes an issue when students use those same devices to study.
Obviously, anyone can get distracted while studying and there is nothing to
prevent them from using their phone or laptop to watch cat videos on YouTube. However,
if someone actively makes the effort to minimize distractions and leave their
computer and phone at home while they go to, for example, the campus library to
study, an ereader that also offers Angry Birds almost seems like an unfair
temptation.
A university library is less of a
cultural gathering place than a public library, and more of a last ditch resort
when you just can’t focus on your work anywhere else. I mentioned campus
libraries in the previous paragraph as quiet study spaces for dedicated
reviewers, but it’s hard to say what would happen if they, like public libraries,
began to incorporate ereaders for signing out material.
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