Since the age of Gutenberg, books have been a prominent part of the world’s history. Books have engaged us, educated us, and have enlarged our imaginations. However, with the arrival of highly popular e-books, kindles and iPads, words written on paper are now being classified as old and outdated.
Electronic books, or e-books, are defined as digital book-length manuscripts and are produced on a computer or other electronic devices. In 2007, a device called the Kindle was released in the United States and produced by Amazon, which launched a competitive movement to deliver e-books and other written materials in a convenient, inexpensive way that fits more comfortably into today’s modern digital age, as opposed to physical books.
“Device book viewing is inevitable. All or most paper written books will be replaced by reading via e-book,” said Pamela Oehlman, who is Poly’s librarian.
EBSCO, a company that provides an array of online text books and audio books, is now an option for students attending Huntington Beach High School. This company has created an alternative to the hassle of checking out library books. With the spread of EBSCO, many students and faculty members believe it is only a matter of time before E-books are integrated into the Poly system.
“Within ten years common library books will be substituted with devices that contain text reading material. The only problem is, some students will not have access to such device,” said Oehlman.
Although the use of reading devices might solve issues such as book damage, check out hassle, and an overall loss of interest, students who do not own any of these devices will be at a significant disadvantage. If reading devices are offered at libraries as opposed to books, students who do not have access to these devices will have to check one out, posing new costs and expensive fines.
iPads and Kindles include gaming apps and other forms of entertainment which uproots the question of whether or not integration into schools is actually beneficial.
“These reading devices will be a distraction and will add to problems with classroom retention,” said senior Chris Adams.
Times are changing and older resources are shifting into the new, digital age. Although reading via digital device is probably a part of our future, whether or not this idea will benefit schools seems to be strongly questioned.
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