I have e-book stuff today but first, I just have to say that we finally got a perfect day of weather. Of course it had to happen on a workday, but I at least got to eat lunch outdoors and Bookman and I just returned from walking around our lovely neighborhood lake where it seems everyone else had the same idea. Thank you weather gods!
Now, e-books. The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report today of a survey that was done in May this year. The report reveals that 12% of U.S. adults own an e-book reader, double the number from the time of the last survey in November 2010 (this number is exclusively e-book readers and does not include tablets or other mobile devices people read on).
The demographic breakdown is really fascinating. Hispanic adults, adults younger than 65, college graduates, and those with household incomes of $75,000 USD or more are the most likely to own an e-book reader. Also parents are more likely to have e-book readers than non-parents.
8% of adults report owning a tablet computer. This number is only up 3% since November 2010. Only 3% of adults own a tablet and an e-reader.
Even though these numbers seem big and are growing, they are quite small when compared to the fact that 83% of adults own a cell phone.
What about libraries and e-books? Library Journal is in the midst of updating their numbers, but last year’s survey indicated that 94% of academic libraries offered e-books to their users, 72% of public libraries had e-books, and 33% of school libraries had e-books. No numbers on how many libraries offer e-book readers for checkout to their patrons. That would be an interesting number. The undergrad library at the university where I work has four or five Kindles that they added to the collection a little over a year ago. I know they are always checked out and if you want one, you have to request it and wait.
Library Journal recently posted an interesting news article. The Kansas State Librarian is arguing that the Kansas Digital Library Consortium owns the e-books it contracted with OverDrive for and is planning on moving them to a different platform because the renewal contract OverDrive sent them would raise fees almost 700% by 2014. Talk about price gouging! The article includes the part of the contract the librarian is using for her argument and, while I am not a lawyer, it sure reads like the consortium owns the e-books to me. I wish the Kansas State Librarian much luck with this one.
I confess I’m amazed by the 12% figure. I guess that explains why ebooks are selling so well. It still burns me that they charge so much for what amounts to leasing a text file, but obviously people are willing to pay extra for convenience, as we do with so many other things as well. My library has about 20 Kobos available, with over 200 holds, so I guess you could say they are pretty popular here! They also have Overdrive, and I hope they don’t get whacked with a big increase too. I download audiobooks from there all the time. If Overdrive is being unreasonable maybe there is room for another service with more library-friendly terms. Just as long as it doesn’t start with an “i”…
Remember how I was one of those who went on about how I liked e-books, would own a reader (or tablet one day), was just waiting for them to be more to my liking, etc., etc.? I’ve become so un-enamored for some reason, and I can’t figure out why. Still, I am sure I will one day own an iPad. Meanwhile, I remain in the 88%. Maybe it’s ’cause I’m not Hispanic and not a parent. Our library just got 5 Kindles, and I’ve told my Director to keep me posted on how that goes. I’m very curious.
One must also ask how much time do e-book owners spend reading. And what are they reading? And how does that vary as a function of demographic variables. According to a recent time-use survey reported on the New Yorker’s Book Bench, http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2011/06/reading-and-the-2010-time-use-survey.html, on the average scarcely any time is spent each day reading. I have an iPad and find it impossible to read in the way I normally do, with a printed book and pen in hand. I’ve tried the Kindle and feel the same. An e-book owner does not necessarily make an e-book reader.
Good questions Richard. I own a Kindle and an iPad. I do not like the iPad much for reading – the screen is harder on the eyes, and the whole thing is more awkward to hold. I too am one who reads with a pencil in hand. I use the not taking function with the Kindle but don’t find the notes as easy to check back on later. I love to read the Kindle though.
The type of book I really think the iPad comes into its own for is travel guides. Maps are no good on the Kindle!
Do you make your Kindle notes public so I can follow you?
And even if you don’t, I find the Kindle note site much easier to review highlights and notes than on the Kindle itself. Unfortunately, it only works if you get the book from Amazon.
This is interesting. I went down to London yesterday and for the first time I was aware of the number of people on the train reading via kindle. I even found myself comparing the different type of covers people had bought and wondering if I shouldn’t have gone for something a bit brighter! This wouldn’t have been the case even as little as three months ago. Personally, I can’t read while travelling. I was sat with my earbuds in listening to an audiobook. But, I did have my kindle in my bag for reading at any of those odd moments hanging around.
Oh I like this Annie … I find I do the same re my Kindle and iPad covers! BUT it seems to me that readers of eBooks are not very visible here though I do see them occasionally. Still, this is not a city for public transport and that is one of the places where you do get to gauge who is reading what isn’t it?
I never quite know what to say on your ebook posts because my heart is still with paper. I’ve seen kindles and been given them by (one) friend and (one) family member to try out, and I still don’t like the feel, or the squiddy little screen, or the grey background or the tiny function buttons. But I would never be against more choice or more options for readers. Just so long as we get to keep all our options and choices.
Sylvia, I wasn’t so very surprised by the number since I take public transit to work everyday. This time last year there were one or two people I’d see infrequently with e-readers. Now I see about half a dozen people nearly everyday with an e-reader. As to e-book leasing, I think most people don’t read the fine print and have no idea that they don’t actually own the books and if they do know, I suspect most of them don’t really care because they only buy “throwaway” kinds of books.
Emily, I remember your e-book support. How odd that you have become un-enamoured before you even got one! Maybe it is all the rhetoric that surrounds e-books (die print books, die!) or issues of DRM? Or perhaps it is that they still haven’t satisfactorily figured out notetaking? Do be sure to report how Kindle usage goes at your library. I am always curious about stuff like that
Richard, I believe I have seen numbers that e-reader owners read more than non-e-reader owners but that was early in the e-reader’s introduction. I doubt that e-reader owners read any less than those who don’t have one. As for what they read, I suspect that would be the same kinds of stuff they read before they had an e-reader. My mom reads mysteries, my sister reads general nonfiction and travel, I read free public domain classics and so does Bookman, a friend of mine reads a wide variety from classics to science and everything in between and my boss loves legal thrillers. And while an e-reader doesn’t necessarily make an e-book reader, a print book doesn’t necessarily make a print book reader either. The sad fact is people in general just aren’t reading much.
Annie, an interesting observation. And funny you found yourself thinking you should have gotten a brighter cover for yours! You still can and then you can change things up a bit depending on your mood and where you are going
Litlove, I don’t like the tiny buttons much, but the grey screen doesn’t bother me. It makes it easy to read outdoors in bright sunlight. I won’t hold it against you that your heart is entirely with paper
I agree Stephanie – the dull screen is soft on the eyes. I like it. But I agree re the tiny buttons. Irritating little things.
And thanks for this post – fingers crossed for the Kansas Library.
I like the grey screen quite a lot. It has even less glare the white paper I think. It will be very interesting to see what happens with the Kansas library.
At my weekly department meeting earlier today we were talking about book ordering for the upcoming year and as someone who is the main acquisitions person and who depends on those book orders it scares me to think that we are moving more towards ebooks. Of course they still need to be ordered and paid for, but there is no physical material to process–cuts down on work…and well, that would be my job we’re talking about. I was excited about my Nook when I bought it and I am still excited to load books from Project Gutenberg, but I have to say I almost always pick up a physical book when I want to read. I think I have so far only finished two books on my ereader compared to …. not sure how many physical books. I think it is an unconscious thing most of the time, but I still prefer paper. That said my library has Kindles which are quite popular and the public library has recently gotten some type of ereader for patron check out. I just hope we still continue to have choices, too!
I haven’t jumped on the e-reader bandwagon yet, but I’m thinking about it. I need to see what our library’s e-book offerings are — that would significantly affect my decision! Terri has an iPad and hasn’t used it yet as a reader, but she keeps meaning to (we just forget). I have used my iTouch as an e-reader but I really only use it as a last-resort “oh my god I don’t have a book with me and I have an hour wait” kind of thing. I have a few Gutenberg books loaded on it just in case. I’m still with the paper-only crowd, although I don’t think e-readers are evil or anything. That said, I can see myself getting one at some point in the future. I would definitely get one if I travelled more or used public transportation more. Although you can drop a book on the ground and it’s still fine — that’s something I’ll always appreciate (clumsy me).
My mom just got an iPad and was immediately transformed into a proselytizer for them. She was showing me all the note-taking functionality etc. & was like, “Doesn’t this seem like something you NEED?” I was kind of shocked! (She is normally supportive of saving money, not rushing out & spending on the latest gadget. And not confusing wants with needs, haha.)
Despite the parental pressure, I don’t see myself joining the elect 8% any time soon; $500 is a lot of paper-bound books I could be enjoying, and I don’t love the reading interface on any of the devices I’ve played with. The screens all seem very small & feature little text per “page,” which I realize is convenient for those with poor eyesight but I love the feeling of digging into a dense page of text.
OverDrive is what my library uses also. As I barely ever utilize it – it’s weirdly unwieldy and so far I’ve only managed one successful audiobook download, I hope that the library doesn’t get stung from it and cuts back on their paper books. I’m with litlove with the love for paper – I might love my iPhone but that’s as far as I’m going and it’s NEVER going to replace a “real” book for me! and now I can feel like I’m helping out Danielle. Paper books! Paper books! Paper books! Er. Ahem.
Oh but an iPhone surely can’t be a proper eReader – it’s screen is way too small. But a Kindle, now that’s quite different. I still mostly read paper books but I’m can see that I’ll gradually move more and more to electronic books.
The iPhone is really far too small to make a judgment on e-readers as a whole. I’m against them entirely on principle. They may be “as good as” a paper book – but as paper books have been my constant faithful companions for……uh, decades, I see no reason to abandon them to some fly-by-night techno craze.
OTOH, you can pry my iPhone out of my cold dead fingers.
Oh smite me down … as a member of the apostrophe police I’m redfaced over my error here.
Danielle, Oh no! I do know about e-resources requiring less staff. My library laid off the cataloging librarian a year and a half ago and shifted her work to the cataloging assistant and the director of tech services. I hope there are plenty of books for you yet to order and process! It took me awhile after getting my Kindle to start reading on it regularly. Now to bring a paper book to work is unusual.
Daphne, an iTouch is great to have as a just-in-case reader but yeah, I wouldn’t want to try and read on it regularly. When you and Terri do get around to reading a book on the iPad, be sure to write about the experience.
Emily, LOL, aren’t Moms supposed to say things like that are a waste of money? I’d be shocked too if my Mom did that. I’d worry she’d gone all funny in the head. A Kindle page is the size of a mass market paperback. If you want more words on the page you can make the text smaller instead of larger
Carrie, my public library uses OverDrive too. Since they don’t have Kindle e-books just yet (they are working on it) I haven’t borrowed and e-book and since I don’t listen to audiobooks I haven’t borrowed one of those either. I have heard that they are rather troublesome to download though so I am sure you aren’t the only one who has had difficulties. There are other companies that are launching platforms to compete with OverDrive so it will be interesting to see what happens there.
Whisperinggums, I still mostly read paper books too and haven’t bought a book yet for my Kindle. But my Bookman and I were talking about books the other day and out of the blue he blurted that he was kind of sad because he thought we’d see the end of paper books in our lifetime. I don’t think print books will go away entirely, but I can imagine that one day it will probably be easier to find a copy of an e-book title than a print title.
Yes, I agree with Stephanie … I *think* the printed book will be around for a long time yet but I agree that the balance is likely to swing big time. I’m getting close to buying a real book for the Kindle I think. (I actually have bought one real book but that was the Rough Guide to Japan, and I so I don’t really count it!)
I’m afraid whether we like it or not the eBooks are here to stay. I much prefer a printed book but do love my Kindle when I am traveling.
Kathleen, it’s a double-edged sword isn’t it? I like e-books too but not all the time, yet by owning an e-reader I help move the e-book takeover along. Can’t win really.
I’m not particularly moved by the statistics about eReader owners because they say little: the demographics are vast. Well, okay, that in itself says a lot. But adults, people under 65 (wait, isn’t that adults?), adults who have money… it’s a silly statistic that’s been thrown around a lot. That eReaders are on the rise is obvious and somewhat predictable. The eReaders themselves are getting much better and much cheaper. It makes sense that people would be buying more of them and thus buying more eBooks.
Regarding OverDrive… I have nothing but praise for them. Over the past two years, they’ve significantly increased the number of eBook available and have maintained a comfortable lending policy. True, the lack of compatibility is problematic for Kindle owners, but this was always part of the appeal – the open ePub or PDF eBooks and that I didn’t have to live under Amazon’s overly watchful gaze… That’s why I opted for a Sony – for OverDrive. If Amazon moves in that direction, kudos to them. In my mind, that’s the right way to go.
Apparently the Today programme on radio 4 (Mister Litlove was listening) had a feature on the publishing industry, and when ebooks were discussed, the publishing representatives all said, sure this is really exciting, lots of opportunities here, good things happening, but no way will real books disappear. They are just too important as artefacts and too well-suited to their purpose. So that was hopeful.
I love having my Nook, but I prefer to read on paper. The Nook is great for when a paper version isn’t around, particularly for older books. I love having lots of options and ways to get my reading material! Interesting statistics on ebook owners. I wonder what accounts for the Hispanic adult number?
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