1. Students need school libraries Organisation. (2018). https://studentsneedschoollibraries.org.au/
Highly important message on this web page! The SNSL is a valuable resource and reminds us as to why school libraries and qualified library staff are still important in education today. I have printed off some of their infographics for my school library before.
2. Most teens prefer print books Copyright Agency. (2017, February
28).https://www.copyright.com.au/2017/02/teens-prefer-print-books/
This blog involves an evaluation on a Teen Reading survey of students in Victoria and WA in 2017. The findings were that 50% of students were reading for pleasure every day and these students often preferred print books.
I have read about these arguments before. Most perspectives support the view that many avid readers enjoy holding and reading from a physical book and often associate such hard copy books with feelings of nostalgia. There is something tangible, almost affectionate, in holding a book:
“Though serious readers, in my personal experience, may tell you that they prefer the sensory and physical experience of reading a print book to scrolling through a mobile device or plugging in their headphones.” (Smith, 2021, p.270).
Leibowitz (2017) considers how physical books can create and support social connection and shared discussions, whereas eBooks are egotistically stockpiled on their device.
Schaub, M. (2016). 92% of college students prefer print books to e-books, study finds. Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-92-percent-college-students-prefer-paper-over-pixels-20160208-story.html
Even though this article is written 6 years ago, it is still an important debate that is happening now.The notion that e-books can encourage more distractions and do not have the same impact for pleasurable reading as print books is a valid consideration. Baron (2021) suggests that reading from digital screens may foster shallower reading than print texts. Nevertheless, I believe that digital reading opportunities can increase reader engagement for certain students. Some students can find getting up, in front of classmates to choose a physical book, an overwhelmingly challenging task. Ahlfeld (2020) warns TL’s to acknowledge that book choosing and book preferences is a complex process with many intricacies.
Keeping this in mind, I think that effective TL’s can practise sensitivity toward individual library users, noting that some students will prefer the privacy to make reading choices behind their screens, yet others will have a desire for print books that they can hold in their hands.
References
Ahlfeld, K. (2020) I’d Rather be Reading: Creating Lifelong Readers in School Libraries, Journal of Library Administration, 60(2), 187-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2019.1695472
Baron, N, (2021). Know What? How technologies undermine learning and remembering. Journal of Pragmatics. (175), 27 – 37.
Leibowitz, G. (2017). 7 Reasons Why eBook Sales Are Falling–and Print Book Sales Are Rising Again Traditional print books look great, they smell good, and they last a really long time. Inc.com. https://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/heres-why-an-ebook-can-never-live-up-to-joy-of-reading-an-old-fashioned-hardcover.html
Smith, P. (2021). The Viability of E-Books and the Survivability of Print. Publishing research quarterly, 37(2), 264-277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-021-09800-1