These days, delving into a new book doesn’t necessarily accompany the turning of pages.
Advancing technology has Americans swiping their fingers across tablets to read the next page of their e-book. Although the popularity of e-book readers such as Kindles, iPads, Nooks and even cell phones is rising, readers and novelists shouldn’t worry about the extinction of traditional paper books anytime soon.
A 2014 January polling by Pew Research Center (pewresearch.org) indicates that the proportion of Americans reading e-books is growing, but few have completely replaced print books for electronic versions. The survey consisted of 1,005 American adults ages 18 and older.
Out of the 76 percent of those who had read a book in the past year, almost seven in 10 read a physical book, while 28 percent read an e-book. Pew’s study found that those using e-books used them to supplement, not replace, printed books.
Library of Graham Director Sherrie Gibson said that e-books were implemented into the library about three years ago when they joined a consortium with 29 libraries through an e-book program called Overdrive. Through the free Overdrive app, e-books can be checked out by selecting a respective library from the consortium list and downloading them onto a tablet, phone or e-book reader. The Library of Graham is provided this service through Friends of the Library, which pays $3,000 per year into the consortium.
Readers must still carry a library card to check out and download e-books, and as of June 2, the Library of Graham has registered 7,955 library card carriers in and around Young County. Just like a paper book, the e-book may only be checked out for a limited time, after which it must be re-checked out or put on a waiting list.
With the purchase and knowledge of e-book readers on the rise, the implementation of e-books has not substantially affected Graham’s library. For the month of May 2014, only 314 of its library card carriers checked out e-books, while 4,699 checked out paper books from the library.
Since the Library of Graham brought e-books to its inventory three years ago, Gibson said members have checked out a total of 8,502 e-books and 199,678 paper books. Though the difference is substantial, Gibson said that e-book check-out rates have been increasing.
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