We are supposed to be in the digital age when everything is electronic, even books. Amazon sells more ebooks than paper ones. Over 95% of the FCC Library’s content is online. But just observe any group of students, from pre-K to post-doc, and most of them are burdened with big backpacks stuffed with heavy print textbooks. What’s going on here?
Tech transitions take place at different rates and, while you see people reading from ebook readers ever more frequently, print textbooks stubbornly hang on. There are reasons for this, but not necessarily the ones you might expect. It’s not lack of availability: almost any textbook is available in a digital version. It’s not cost: print books are more expensive than their ebook counterparts. It’s not generational: even millennials often prefer print textbooks. There are two big reasons for the gritty persistence of print textbooks. They both are based in how textbooks are actually used.
First, you do not read a textbook, you study it, and the two uses are quite different. You read a novel through, easily and pleasantly going from one page to the next. You study a textbook. You reread, highlight, and annotate sections. You use the table of contents and the index. You examine photos, charts, and other graphics. You may use end-of-chapter exercises. You can do all of these study activities with a digital textbook, but often not so easily as with the print version. The venerable paper codex, for all its antiquity, is still a highly efficient study instrument.
Second, there is the matter of device. Most ebook reading is done on a dedicated ebook reader, like the Kindle, whose technology is optimized for this one purpose. You can read a book on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, but it’s not an optimal experience. And, very few students now have ebook readers. Library survey data estimate the following possession levels, among FCC students, of the four main portable devices: laptops and smartphones—above 80%; tablets—below 20%; ebook readers—below 10%. In other words, most students—at least those at FCC—do not now have a good device for ebooks.
Both of these conditions will change. Digital textbooks will evolve to become more “study-friendly.” Ebook readers will improve and more people will have them, and other devices are likely to become more “ebook-friendly.” But both of these transitions will take time and even then, the time-tested and eminently handy print book may never be completely superseded.
Mick O’Leary is the Executive Director of the Frederick Community College Library, a position he has held since 1994. He is passionate about libraries and information, and about making them best serve the FCC community.
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