Who knew ereaders are great for reading! I always had the misconception that owning an ereader means disrespect to the real deal -books-, also I was worried about the possibility of playing games -not the freaking Candy Crush saga!- and network socially instead of reading, and this did happen with the Kindle Fire, so I traded it in for a Paperwhite, and wala! Problem solved.
Now that I magically convinced myself of buying an ereader and actually using it for reading books and not wasting time, I'm now on a mission to convince others that ereaders are not the root of all evil.
So from experience, most of those who oppose ereaders just because are the members of the old generation. But it is surprising to see young people who share the same mentality. While the old generation tend to dislike ereaders, they do enjoy audiobooks and they are mostly checked out by the patron age group of 50+ years old. Some say they enjoy listening to books more than they do reading one, and others say they do it for soothing purposes like relaxing and falling asleep. Young patrons check out audiobooks to listen to them while driving, and they're very popular with truck drivers or those who commute to long distances.
At the end, it is a matter of personal choice. Ereaders offer the convenience of storing many books on one light weight device which easily fits in a pocket, offering functions such as search within text, quick jump to any book content, user-friendly interface, one click dictionary, the ability to highlight and save quotes and share them and with the backlit ones people can read in the dark without having to hold a flashlight!
Audiobooks are convenient as well especially for those who drive a lot or have reading or attention issues, also some audiobooks have excellent sound effects to go with the story to increase the creativity of listeners.
At the end, it is great to have all these options and mediums to choose from according to our own personal tastes and mood!
Now that I magically convinced myself of buying an ereader and actually using it for reading books and not wasting time, I'm now on a mission to convince others that ereaders are not the root of all evil.
So from experience, most of those who oppose ereaders just because are the members of the old generation. But it is surprising to see young people who share the same mentality. While the old generation tend to dislike ereaders, they do enjoy audiobooks and they are mostly checked out by the patron age group of 50+ years old. Some say they enjoy listening to books more than they do reading one, and others say they do it for soothing purposes like relaxing and falling asleep. Young patrons check out audiobooks to listen to them while driving, and they're very popular with truck drivers or those who commute to long distances.
Audiobooks are convenient as well especially for those who drive a lot or have reading or attention issues, also some audiobooks have excellent sound effects to go with the story to increase the creativity of listeners.
At the end, it is great to have all these options and mediums to choose from according to our own personal tastes and mood!
Anecdotally, I've seen e-readers embraced by Baby Boomers most often, especially the younger end of baby boomers - people in their 50s and early 60s. They really seem to like those new "toys" like e-readers. Older people are often afraid of the technology, or just don't want to learn it - although, I do know of some patrons in their 80s and 90s who read e-books!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, digital natives (millennial age, in their 20s and 30s) tend to want to give themselves a break from screen-reading and like to read print books, but also see the advantage of e-books and use them when it's advantageous (like while traveling). Studies have shown that digital natives actually prefer print. (An interesting article is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/why-digital-natives-prefer-reading-in-print-yes-you-read-that-right/2015/02/22/8596ca86-b871-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html)
I liked that you pointed out the pitfalls of some e-readers--I too have to make sure I don't just spend time playing Candy Crush, but that I actually read. I have an iPad, but most of the time I keep it in airplane mode so I don't just surf Pinterest the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI am finding that I like different devices for different things. For reading novels, I like the eBook reader; for things I want to refer to again and again, I prefer a real book. It is easier to find quotes and information. Reference books are much easier either in codex form or on a tablet or laptop. The mp3 player I have for listening allows me to pick up where I left off on the novel whereas the book on cd makes me have to hunt for where I was when I had to stop. The mp3 player is much smaller and easier to carry. The cd is ok during road trips, but is cumbersome when walking or riding the bike.
ReplyDeleteI have heard several older people who need large print say they like the eBooks because they can make the font size however big they need. So the older generations are learning the benefits of technology.
ReplyDeleteI also know many older patrons at my library who really like eBooks because they can easily adjust the font.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main reasons I love eBooks is the fact that my tablet is very portable and I can have a number of them on my tablet without the weight of the physical copies. A Stephen King hardcover novel isn't going to fit into my purse, but my tablet does.
I think that by now, the merits of eReaders are starting to become fairly obvious to voracious readers. I just took my iPad on vacation and it was extremely convenient. One thing I'd to add to this conversation: I think that when it comes to "baby boomers with their new toys," that's how a lot of technological advance begin-- with an "elite" class (aka people with money) becoming early adapters of smart phones, or bluetooth stereo setups, or even the internet in its infancy... I think this is a pattern, and while I don't believe eContent will ever totally replace books, I do think that it will allow us as librarians the luxury of minimizing our physical collections, rethink the way we use space in the library , and still offer a wide array of titles for our patrons.
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