Week 11 Prompt

Last year, for my Cataloging class, I had to interview a cataloger.  I chose to speak with the head cataloger for my library system.  During that interview, she provided me with some very interesting statistics regarding eBooks.  .  In 2011, there were only 4,192 eBooks.  However, in 2012, there were 25,108.  Over 20,000 eBooks were added to the collection, which is a tribute to the increased demand due to the prevalence of eReaders and electronic devices.  Recently, my library also added a streaming service Hoopla that provides additional access to audiobooks and eBooks.  Another popular format in my library is the Playaway—an mp3 audiobook device. 

Personally, I have no preference between eBook and print book, but I read many more print books.  Recently, I had to download an eBook due to lack of availability of the print version at my library.  I did appreciate that I was able to read it in the car (at night) due to the lighting, I could adjust the font size (bigger to combat motion sickness), and I was able to take it with me to a sporting event (its size was more manageable on my iPad mini than the hardback book).  All of these factors made it extremely convenient, but there is something about a physical book that I can’t help but love.  I flag my favorite parts, and the app that I am using does not allow that which is very frustrating.

Many years ago, I traveled between North Carolina and Indiana frequently, which was a 12-14 hour trip.  I loved listening to books on CD!  It helped pass the time and keep my interest while I was driving for long stretches.  It has been a very long time since I have listened to a book, but only because I am a huge fan of podcasts and prefer to listen to them and read books.  I have a family member that is essentially blind.  She loves audiobooks!  We talked about them recently and she couldn’t stop going on about how wonderful some of the speakers are with all of the voices they perform. 

When I was a Middle School Language Arts Instructor, I taught many classroom novels.  My school was a high poverty and low performing school.  Any reading that was going to take place needed to happen in the classroom.  To ensure that students could read the assigned pages in a timely manner, I recorded the chapters on audiotape.  The students read along while listening to me read the novel aloud.  I used voices and inflection as much as possible for entertainment.  By using this method, I was appealing to both visual and auditory learners. 

I don’t think that formats other than print detract from the reading experience.  Reading can be a very personal experience, and any tools that enhance that experience for individuals is a positive.  Novels are already produced in a variety of formats: audio, large type, braille, etc.  These variations allow more readers to experience the writing, so I cannot imagine that this would be a problem.  One of my favorite quotes is by Edmund Wilson, “No two persons ever read the same book.”  I believe this to be very true!  Each reader will construct the world in their own head, so regardless of the format, tone voices, context, font, etc. a reader will hear and see what they need to when they read the story.