Since the evolution of the digital age brought about many changes to the world, it was only a matter of time before even books became electronic too. Nowadays, not only articles and journals can be found online, whole complete books are also available to every user that is connected to the web. These electronic forms of books are labeled E-books. Basically, an E-book is an electronic object that contains texts; integrating the traditional concept of a book but specially produced in an electronic environment. It is considered as one of the most compelling invention that has been introduced to the intellectual world since the emergence of the printing press. (Pelle, 2009) E-books have been gaining popularity since the past few years. With the rise of new technological gadgets like that of Amazon’s Kindle and the Apple Ipad , people would now have easier access to E-books.
Critics have said that the print culture would soon be dismissed as the digital age continues to reign. (Levy, 2007) The Amazon Kindle and Apple Ipad , both resemble books in terms of its size and structure. These handheld devices can store up to multiple ‘shelves’ of books. The search of a book becomes easier too as one does not need to go through shelves physically to look for a particular book. With just a single touch, the book of choice can be found instantly. Once you make a purchase, the device will instantly download it to your library. Thus allowing you to flip freely electronically through the E-book. Even researchers and students now give their support to E-books. It is now so convenient to browse through these books through their laptops. A Springer survey done in 2008 suggests that E-books are often located through search engines like Google or online library databases. (De Rossi, 2008) On the other hand, according to a survey done in the UK, more than 60% of students of institutions make use of E-books for academic purposes. (Pelle, 2009) Students may opt for E-books probably because of its efficiency. Aside from not requiring storage space, these E-books also allows for easy search of specific information with its search tool . The E-book certainly has caused an increase in convenience to the people of the digital age. As the years go by, print would not be as popular as it was before and soon books will just be stored for mere decoration.
References:
De Rossi, LC 2008, Ebooks Usage Trends And Statistics – The Springer Report 2008, viewed 10 November 2010, < http://www.masternewmedia.org/ebooks_usage_trends_and_statistics/>
Levy, S 2007, The Future of Reading, viewed 10 November 2010, <http://www.newsweek.com/2007/11/17/the-future-of-reading.html>
Pelle, A 2009, The Slow Rise of E-books, viewed 10 November 2010, <http://www.researchinformation.info/features/issue.php?issue_id=33>
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