One of the first posts I put up on this blog was about whether or not having books available in a digital format will help encourage more people to read (read it here). Recently, through Twitter, I have seen several articles about the debate between book lovers and ebook lovers. Here are a few of those articles:
Internet killed Borders, but it won't kill books
Why I Already Miss Books
I understand the debate. Before I got my Kindle, I was a book person. I loved (and still do!) love the feeling of a brand new book in my hands. I've always preferred brand new books to used books or library books. I love the way they smell. I love the way they feel, and I love the fact that I'm the only one who has ever read it. All of those things excite me about books. However, what I really love about books -whether a paper book or ebook- is the feeling I get when I curl up with the story. I love the act of reading and I don't care what format it comes in. I suspect that, for most people, it is the same.
So this debate over whether print books are better than their digital counterparts baffles me.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret...Writing books, blogging, and tweeting is not my real job. I'm a teacher. I teach in an elementary school, specifically fifth grade. As a teacher, I don't care what format the books my students are reading are in! All I care about is whether they are reading! Creating lifelong readers isn't about making a child fall in love with the feeling of a stack of bound papers in his hands. It's about the stories!
True, to really get the kids interested you need to be able to offer them the colorful illustrations that often bring a story to life. However, there are already some ebook readers (or apps) that make the illustrations available to readers.
Here's the cold hard truth, folks...kids are drawn to technology like moths to a flame!
If I can find a way to bring a piece of technology into one of my lessons, I am going to reach more of my students than if I present the same information on my own. Yes, I am a dynamic teacher, and by that I do not mean that I am awesome (which I am, of course *smile*). I simply mean that I don't just stand there and talk when I teach. I make it interesting. However, even I can't compete with the thrill of a touch screen tablet.
What's my point?
The same kids that I am encouraging to read, in any format, are one day going to grow up and run this world. Technology is a big part of who they are and what they do. My two-year-old nephew already knows how to use an iPad. In fact, he doesn't know what it's like not to be able to touch the screen and make things happen! We cannot ignore the technology of this time or the time to come. Debating whether digital books are better or worse than paper books is irrelevant. What we should be focused on is continuing to encourage everyone to read.
As long as there are people out there who are reading, there will be books in some form or the other. Yes, there is a sense of comfort that comes from holding a book in one's hand, bending the corner of a page back to mark your spot, or bending the cover back to hold the whole book in one hand. That cannot be duplicated in a digital format, but the times they are a changin' and arguing over which format is best is pointless.
Don't you think this same basic argument was made when Edison introduced his phonograph? Surely, recorded music is not as great as hearing it live!
Who among us today would argue against the greatness of recorded music?
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