Week 10 - Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

A few weeks ago you sent me a pertinent article about how e-books are taking over the literary world and industry. It sparked my interest, especially since I plan to be heavily involved in the book industry. I decided to write my issues paper on whether e-books are a better alternative to traditional print. Personally, I feel that traditional print is superior for sentimental, personal reasons. But through the course of my research thus far I have concluded that on a technical, individual level e-books are more convenient and effective. Overall, e-books are a better alternative in the academic and professional sphere, as well as preferred by public and library patrons when offered the choice, though there are certain drawbacks involved.

The principal advantage that e-books wield over print is their widespread access to information. An article that analyzes the effect of e-books, “The Future of eBooks? Will Print Disappear? An End-User Perspective ,” points out that print books have to be physically sought out, checked out, bought, kept track of and stored while e-books can be accessed anywhere in the world at anytime. Basically, the affect and access to e-books is limitless. The article goes further to profess e-books invaluable contribution to efficient student and professional research: “With e-books you can find relevant content much faster by searching for keywords. You can use them anytime and everywhere, in contrast to library-provided books, which are often not available when you need them (Springer, 2008).”

On the other hand, print books are still considered the primary source for “cover-to-cover” novel reading and “heavy” literary analysis because they are more manipulatable. Another article titled “Beyond the Web: TEI, The Digital Library, and The Ebook Revolution” describes student’s difficulty in finding a particular chapter when “navigating lengthy Victorian novels.” Margin writing and highlighting are highly praised and helpful tools when digging deep into a work and analyzing it. Also, e-book readers have been criticized for ruining the essential creative format of poetry, in which style and structure are often a crucial component in the work as a whole. But although they have certain limits, e-books still allow for that novel and piece of poetry to be read anywhere and at anytime, and at a cheaper cost.

Sincerely,

Rachel