Developer: Apple

Platforms: Apple products such as iPhones, iPads

Audience: all ages

Cost: free to download (app charges for items)

While most people would not consider eBooks to be new or emerging in the area of digital literature, it is fairly new to me. As mentioned in an earlier post, I am primarily a printed book reader, simply because I get tired of looking at screens all day. However, now that I am exploring and engaging with digital literature, I thought now is the perfect time to try an eBook. I settled on Apple Books and downloaded it to my (old) iPad. I was concerned due to the age of my iPad I may not be able to experience the app to its fullest. After going through Apple Book’s library, I settled on a free book I had not read yet, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

I found Apple Books easy to use. Features of the app I enjoyed were the ability to increase or decrease the font size, change the background colour (the colour of the paper), change the brightness, change the font being able to add notes, and I like how the app bookmarks for me. Normally, when I read books in winter, I have to leave my bed to turn off the light when I have finished reading, I immensely appreciated not having to do this when I finished reading on my iPad. I enjoyed just being able to read in the dark with the app providing the lighting, and simply placing it on my bedhead when I got too sleepy to keep reading. Furthermore, I liked the different formats available (e.g., audiobooks) in Apple Books.

Things I did not enjoy about Apple Books; the price of some books being as high as the print copy, and comic book art did not look as good on my screen. I looked up The Flash in the library and using “sample” decided to compare how the art compared to my printed comics. I was pleased to find that details in the art were not lost or distorted, but simply did not look as vibrant on my screen. Although I accept this could be due to me reading on an old iPad. I find reading comics a bit harder on my screen as it involved moving the page around on the screen. In doing some research, I did discover that they are separate apps just for comics, some examples being Comixology (which requires an Amazon account to use as it is owned by Amazon, which I chose not to use because I do not want Jeff Bezos getting my money), and Chunky Comic Reader (which I could not use as my devices are incompatible).

The Pew Research Centre (Perrin, 2016) found that while in the American context reading print is still popular; reading digital texts has increased. Americans are using multipurpose devices such as smartphones and tablet computers – rather than dedicated e-readers – to engage with digital texts (Perrin, 2016). Additionally, Softlink’s 2015 Australian and New Zealand School Library Survey found that 34% of Australian schools have purchased eBooks, however, the provision of devices by schools decreased from 58% in 2013 to 44% in 2014 to 39% in 2015 (Softlink, 2015, p. 17). However, this could be due to more students bringing and using their own devices (p. 17).

Regarding the use of eBooks for learning or leisure, eBooks have many advantages, such as, you can carry a number of eBooks at one time, instant access, easy portability, and some even contain embedded dictionaries and vocabularies (Myrberg, 2017, p. 115). eBooks in a tertiary setting mean scholars are not limited by a physical collection (Smith et al., 2019, p.13) And yet, people like more are still completely sold on them. Although, I do their see their benefit to the education and library sectors. Disadvantages identified from the perspective of learners include dependence on internet connectivity, they need to be charged, issues around Digital Rights Management (DRM) agreements, which can expire or be revoked, and using devices to read has opportunities for distraction which can impede reading and comprehension (Merga & Mat Roni, 2017, p. 188).

Keeping these disadvantages in mind, if libraries were to offer devices for lending, Myrberg (2017, p. 123) suggests a suitable device is one students are familiar with, and one that offers a smooth reading experience. Other factors librarians need to consider include eBook readership being lower in rural areas compared to urban settings, and due to regulations surrounding how many eBooks libraries can afford and how long they can retain the license to those books, patrons often face long wait times for popular titles (Jones, 2020, p. 189). These factors are important to consider as they will affect service provision and the usage of eBooks by patrons.

 

References:

Dickens, C. (2014). A Christmas Carol. Simon & Schuster.

Jones, E. (2020). Vending vs lending how can public libraries improve access to eBooks within their collections? Public Library Quarterly, 40(3), 185–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2020.1782702

Merga, M. K., & Mat Roni, S. (2017). The influence of access to eReaders, computers and mobile phones on children’s book reading frequency. Computers & Education, 109, 187–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.02.016

Myrberg, C. (2017). Why doesn’t everyone love reading e-books? Insights the UKSG Journal, 30(3), 115–125. https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.386

Perrin, A. (2016). Book Reading 2016. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/09/01/book-reading-2016/

Smith, S. L., Rodriguez, A., Miller, E. D., & Xu, L. (2019). The relationship between the technology acceptance model and preference for eBooks at a large research university. Library Hi Tech News, 36(3), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn-11-2018-0069

Softlink. (2015). 2015 Australian and New Zealand school library survey. Retrieved from

http://www.softlinkint.com/assets/img/banners/2015_Softlink_ANZ_School_Library_Survey_Report.pdf

Venditti, R., Jensen, V., & Booth, B. (2015). The Flash Vol. 6: Out of Time (The New 52) (First Edition). DC Comics.