To Kindle or not to Kindle

Since the library joined the consortium we have introduced many many patrons to the joys of e-books. Whether it is on their tablet, smart phone or computer, this has become a popular way for many patrons to expand their reading options. As with every new technology though, there are the purists who reject it. I find myself asking 2 dozen times a day, "Do you have a tablet?" or "Are you interested in E-books?" The responses are as varied as the patrons themselves and some have surprised me.

There is the lady who's daughter gave her a Kindle Fire for her birthday. Not wanting to seem un-savvy to her technologically advanced offspring, or ungrateful for the gift, she came to me. I sat with her and walked her through the uses of the device and explained how the e-book consortium worked and she left the library with 4 digital tomes loaded onto her device and a spring in her step. She couldn't wait to get home and call her daughter. In direct opposition to her is the lady, who absolutely detests the idea of reading a book from a screen. "If I cannot hold the book in my hand, turn the pages myself and smell the paper, I would rather not read it." Her friends have all told her about the options to zoom the text to a larger readable size, and the convenience of electronically marking your page or highlighting and making notes, all of which she poo-pooed.

Who's right?
Should paper books go the way of the cassette tape?
Are e-readers a flash in the pan, to be eventually forgotten like Laser Discs?

I think we will meet somewhere in the middle. I believe the book industry isn't going anywhere just yet. People still love having and holding the physical copy. They also enjoy the convenience that comes with the digital copy. Most people have embraced the place of both and the role both options play in society. I personally love books. I am an admitted bibliophile, but I also love reading books on the go. I can carry hundreds of books with me and it weighs less than a pound. How else would I be able to carry so many titles in my purse. I collect the books of several of my much loved authors. Collecting does not feel the same on an e-reader. the organization and OCD of book hording feels so much less satisfying if your collection is just in digital form. I love both forms and all that both forms can bring to my life.

So don't toss out those hard bound beauties or those tattered and loved to death paperbacks in favor of just going digital and don't turn up your nose to all the wonders modern technology can bring to your literary world either. Find a happy medium. In the end it's all still reading and books, no matter the form, are keys to the universe.