I must admit to being a little late coming round to the vast potential of Amazon’s e-book reader, Kindle, and other similar technologies. My initial skepticism was pretty simple; no matter how good the screen technology might be, I’d still rather hold and read from an actual book, even if it is heavier/bigger/more awkward than the Kindle. However, I am now convinced that e-Book readers will be absolutely indispensable in revolutionising at least one area of reading life: the academic library.
As someone who not so long ago finished a programme of undergraduate study, I have many memories of university life. Among others, these include; dragging around bags of heavy academic hardback textbooks; sitting at a desk trying to organise research buried under a sea of photocopies; and naively attempting to balance a book pyramid against my PC screen as I tried to type and read simultaneously. What I would have done for a Kindle back then…
It’s not just that an e-book reader allows for carrying many books with ease - rather it’s that devices such as the Kindle could help do away with so many of the other frustrating practical inconveniences of (not so) modern academic libraries.
Firstly, many libraries have to manage their resources fairly, often imposing a 10 or 12 book maximum for students. At certain times (dissertation semesters, exam periods etc) this simply isn’t enough for most students, and an e-book system could easily solve this primary resource problem.
(N.B. In order to maintain the loan system, and to protect authors’ and publishers’ rights, a system of text expiry dates could be introduced. For example, a student can store unlimited texts on their device, for the duration of their enrolled period of study (the length of time they have library access), after which the files become locked or auto-deleted).
Furthermore many academic texts can prove very tricky to get hold of. I had one situation were an essential book took 9 weeks to arrive into my library, by which time I had only one week remaining to read it; having instant digital access to the text would have been a godsend.
In terms of benefits to libraries, these range from the obvious (fewer storage headaches), to the financial (libraries could attract paying non-student members from all over the world). There are also many basic operational advantages for staff, such as never having to face the unattractive prospect of trawling whole floors for a mis-placed or lost book.
One UK institution which recognised the potential of such a system a few years back is Staffordshire University. In just over six years they have compiled around 50,000 textbooks in their ever-expanding online database. With book storage costing roughly £64 per year for each square metre of books, the library is now in much better financial shape while also delivering a far better service.
Such operational changes are bound to be initially expensive, though in the long term they will bring about considerable savings. Personally I hope that academic institutions can find the funds and governmental support required for them to embrace this new technology. The benefits to learning would be considerable - not only in the UK, but perhaps even more so in countries where academic libraries receive even less support and funding.
I still would prefer to read from an actual book than the Kindle screen. However this very statement presupposes that my choice is between e-book and book book - rather than between e-book and no-book. Kindle’s finest achievements will not be in situations of the former (i.e. as new mode of delivering the latest chart fiction), but instead in instances of the latter. This mini revolution in access would be realised all the quicker if Amazon’s marketing were to stop pushing the ‘e-book as alternative to book book angle’ and instead redefine its fantastic technology as something different entirely.
Dejan Levi