Evidently, contemporary school libraries strive towards being agile spaces that respond to both the curriculum and individual learnings needs of each student. During my first year as a teacher librarian I can appreciate that there remains value in printed fiction. Research points towards print books continuing to be the largest source of consumption, with e-books never quite reaching enough popularity to threaten print. (Dawkins, 2019; Smith, 2021). In our school library I have witnessed how avid readers prefer reading from a physical book and often associate such books with feelings of nostalgia. For these students, holding a book is something special and they often treasure these books, so much that they go out and buy their own copy after reading a borrowed copy from the library.

The strong popularity of print books at our school doesn’t mean that ebooks fail to have value. Some students simply prefer an ebook over print: it offers privacy, they can read from the comfort and familiarity of their own device and they can perhaps even use the accessibility features it offers. I believe that as a teacher librarian I need to embrace technological advances and prioritise the curation of digital resource collections as well as physical ones. We recently expanded our digital collection by subscribing to a comics and manga platform which offers over 20,000 digital reads across a wide range of genres. I am excited as to what this collection will provide for the students.

Through reading Sparks (2021), it was interesting to learn that the research suggests that young children still learn more from print books and all those added features that ebooks offer advantages for struggling readers. Nevertheless when it comes to teenagers, reading a ebook can increase 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). On the other end of the debate, there are important arguments for how digital texts may inhibit deeper learning. Baron (2021) claims that digital reading fosters shallow reading.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that emotional bonding through the processing of reading aloud is particularly something that young children crave; I can see this myself as a parent to three little people. It is a proven benefit to read and share print books with children which provides both an emotional and physical connection. (Kamenetz, 2018). Teachers may use reading aloud to build discussions and to share personal experiences linking to the book content which increases engagement and understanding.

Personally, reading from print for pleasure is my preferred choice as I find it relaxing to be off screen, away from work, emails, feeds: that constant flow of interruption that comes withe being on my device. I like that I can give a print book my full attention, often in the evenings when I have finally achieved some quiet time with the kids in bed. To hold a book, and hear the noise of the pages turn, the smell of the book and the tangible ability to see my progression through the story, wins easily over the ebook option.

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.

Dawkins, A., & Gavigan, K. (2019). E-Book collections in high school libraries: Factors influencing circulation and usage. School Library Research, 22, 1–21.

Kamenetz, A. (2018, May 24). What’s going on in your child’s brain when you read them a story? KQED: MindShift. https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/51281/whats-going-on-in-your-childs-brain-when-you-read-them-a-story

Sparks, S. D. (2021, July 22). Reading on screen vs print: New analysis thickens the plot on comprehension. Education Week.

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