The Rise of e-Reading
If you haven’t quite caught the e-reading bug yet, you’re still in the majority – but for how long? The Pew Internet & American Life Project recently released the study, The Rise of e-Reading as part of their larger Libraries in the Digital Age series and it has some interesting information about who uses e-reading devices and how they use them. Although I’m sure Amazon and Barnes & Noble have collected yottabytes of data about people who use e-readers, this data comes from a survey of about 3,000 people. Note: for the sake of discussion, in this article an e-reader is a human being who reads e-books and not a device with which one e-reads.
To be honest I wasn’t too shocked by most of their findings as they jibe with my experience helping customers at the reference desk and observing friends and family. But I was able to spot some opportunity for improvements in library service in the results. I thought I would share some of the key findings from the survey and then let’s discuss the results and what they mean for libraries and librarianship.
Here are some key findings from the survey:
- Nearly 20% of Americans have read at least one e-book in the last year.
- E-book readers read nearly twice as much material across all formats as non-e-book readers (although tablet owners did not read nearly as much material as those who read from dedicated reading devices).
- E-book readers, regardless of device, report that they read more in general across all formats than they did before owning their devices.
- Traditional printed books still vastly outnumber e-books in terms of readership and availability.
- Avid e-readers prefer to buy rather than borrow their e-books.
- Only 21% of e-readers get book recommendations from librarians as opposed to 34% from book store clerks. Friends are the top referrers for book recommendations.
- The most avid e-reader is an older, well-educated, wealthy Caucasian female.
Discussion Topics
- Do any of these findings surprise you?
- On the surface, it seems obvious that people who really like to read are going to enjoy the convenience and portability of an e-reading device and the ability to indulge their habit with immediate gratification through online bookstores. We aren’t likely to win over that stereotypical avid e-reader, but are there ways we can bring up our numbers in terms of readers advisory for the casual e-reader or for those who haven’t dipped their toe into e-reading?
- In regard to internet access, we often refer to the “digital divide” between people who can afford internet at home or on mobile devices and those for whom paying for internet access would mean skipping meals. Should we bring e-reading into the discussion of the “digital divide”?
- How adept are you at using the e-reading devices? Do you feel that your own skill level or comfort level impacts the likelihood that you will recommend e-book titles to customers or whether you mention an e-book as an option when someone asks for a specific title?
- What are some program or display ideas we could share that would increase our customers’ awareness of our e-book offerings and reassure them that we’re there to help?
- Finally, anyone care to make a prediction on what the saturation point will be for e-reading? Will e-books make print obsolete or will they find a peaceful co-existence?
Buddy Johnson, Oklahoma Collection Coordinator, provided this great article and discussion topics on the Rise of e-Reading.
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Comments
It surprises me a little that avid e-readers prefer to buy than borrow e-books, but it makes since if "older, well-educated, WEALTHY, Caucasian females" are the most avid. I qualify in all those areas less the "wealthy," and it is the cost of buying books that prevents my being so avid. There should be a big market for us among the frugal. Maybe we should emphasize the FREE aspect; it works for me!
The Enid Public Library presented a program at OLA in which they demonstrated their Tech Zoo, a collection of all sorts of tech devices from Sony Walkman, Nooks, Kindles, Tablets, and more on a regular basis to their customers. It was quite innovative, and certainly worth considering doing here.
Thanks for reminding me again that I need to become more adept with the various devices.
Finally, I will predict a peaceful co-existence with print. My glass is always half-full.
Personally, I do not believe that print material will become obsolete. Although, I do feel that e-book publishing will become the more desired of the two. Still, there are many people who have a strong preference for the printed book as a reading alternative to the e-book, and certainly enough to ensure the printed books will be with us for several years to come. Of more value to customers then, is a co-existence of the two, combining the benefits of each to accommodate the needs of all.
Thanks, Buddy, for teaching me a new word. Although I'm not sure how to work "yottabytes" into a conversation!
As far as my eMedia adeptability, I've never been much of an earlier adopter. But watching as the demand for these devices went through the roof meant that as a librarian, I needed to know how to use them. I had to push myself to learn about them, and I pestered Kellie Delaney mercilessly with my questions ... thankfully, she is very patient. When doing a reader's advisory, I make sure to mention that many titles are available as an eBook (although those titles are shrinking with the publishing industry's push to increase costs on their new titles) and I can talk a customer through downloading one, especially if their device is a Kindle Fire. I did go through a period where I was checking out quite a few eTitles, but I have to admit, I've gone back to my old habits of browsing the New Book shelf and picking up a paper copy to read. I find browsing the New eBook shelf too daunting!
I agree with Glenn that e-books and print will remain in a peaceful co-existence for a long while. I will use myself as an example of how this works. I love the feel of a book in my hand. I love the smell of the paper and ink mashed together. I am a large proponet of reducing production of well, most things, so checking out library books meets my needs in many ways. I am a single parent, so I don't have a ton of spending money. However, I also have a Kindle. I download library books and free classics onto my Kindle, but what I have noticed is that when I am REALLY anxious to read something and don't want to wait on the million mile long waiting list, I will purchase the ebook. It's an indulgance, but it makes me happy, and I get to read it first. I think this helps me be more useful when offering reader's advisory information to my customers.
On the subject of digital divide, I work in a library where that concept is ever present. Most of our customers do not have home internet access or computers. Expensive devices like ereaders are out of the question. Just the fact that a vast portion of our society is in poverty will keep the print book in demand for a very long time.
Great article Buddy! Thanks for sharing!
As I was reading the American Libraries Direct today I noticed an article about a study OverDrive has conducted that appeared in Publishers Weekly:
OverDrive: Readers use libraries to find digital books
Looking to support the contention that libraries drive book discovery and sales, library digital vendor OverDrive compiled data on patron use from its 18,000 library client sites during the month of March. The study shows that more than 60% of the five million users visiting OverDrive sites in March browsed public library catalogs, generating more than 630 million book cover impressions. The Library Media Network eBook Report, previewed at the London Book Fair April 18, looks at both ebooks and audiobooks and was developed in compliance with library privacy policies....
The link to the OverDrive press release Publishers Weekly referenced is OverDrive to Preview Library eBook Data at London Book Fair.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/the-kindle-index-wha...
There may be several opportunities that arise in which we can promote our e-services:
Whenever we issue a new card we can take the time to point out our website address and mention our emedia options.
If we notice a customer checking out many audiobooks maybe we can ask if they have a smartphone and tell them about downloading to the books to their phone.
Also for customers that like to read cozy mysteries, which are sometime uncataloged, the emedia website offers a good selection. They may find some that will fill in the gaps of a series.
Lastly, maybe we can use our laptops to show people how to work their ereaders. We can offer appointment times, like we do for the one-on-one computer sessions. This would be good at the end of year as a lot people receive ereaders as presents.