EBook Readers could have an impact on library attendence

By Julie Mitchell
With this generation technology savvy, Ebook readers could have an impact on library attendance, several libraians said..

“I don’t see heavy usage of the Ebook reader. People come to the library for quiet study, computer access, socializing, and taking out books,” said Jean Hlady, a Milton librarian.

According to Pew Research Center’s Internet and America Life Project, 5 percent of 3,001 Americans surveyed use E-Book readers.

Checking a book out at the library costs nothing, compared to purchasing a brand new EBook reader. On average, the cost of an EBook reader ranges from $139 or more.

Librarians are not concerned about the growing popularity of EBook readers affecting people utilizing the library.

Books downloaded for Ebook Readers are available at a local library or through the library’s database.

“It is easy for the library to download journal articles or books onto the internet, it is a matter of placing it on a hard drive, print, and then save,” said a Stoughton librarian.

Local librarians interviewed owned a couple to no EBook readers.

Will EBook readers dramatically change the way people read?

“No. Several people with EBook readers read the same books, as people who own the paperback of it,” said a Quincy librarian.

Ebook readers are not expected to make books and periodicals obsolete, because people like to hold the paperback in their hands.

“I don’t think EBook readers in the future will make publishing books and periodicals obsolete, because the library will always have prints and publications for older people,” said Hlady.

Ebook readers are popular with the highly educated and the affluent.

Pew Research Center found among college graduates and people earning $75,000 a year bought EBook readers.

E-Book readers are also used by people who travel. “People use them when traveling. EBook readers are an advantage for people who commute to work,” said Will Dion, a Canton Librarian.

Laurie McDonald uses the EBook reader when traveling. “I use the original Kindle, when I am commuting on the red line into Boston for work. I have had the Kindle for two years and it is good to use it on the train because it is small and easy reading,” said McDonald.

Various models of Ebook readers are sold daily.

“During the Christmas season, EBook readers are popular Christmas gifts to college students, because they can download their textbooks and even listen to music,” said a Best Buy employee at Dorchester’s South Bay Center in Massachusetts.

The newest model is the Nook Color by Barnes and Nobles.

The Nook Color is a seven inch color touch screen with 8 Gigabytes of memory.

The Nook Color holds a combination of 1,000 books, 25 full-color magazines, 10 newspapers, 50 kid’s books, 500 songs, and 150 photos.

On average the Nook Color costs $250.

“About three EBook readers are sold daily,” said the Best Buy employee.

Models of the Ebook reader have changed during the past four decades.

The earliest EBook reader was introduced by the Gutenberg Project in 1971. It was a desktop prototype of a notebook computer, called Dynabook.

“I don’t see books and periodicals becoming obsolete anytime soon,” said an Easton librarian.