E-Readers: The Device Versus the Book
From: gerrymck <gerry.mckiernan_at_gmail.com>
Colleagues >
When it comes to meeting the demands of academic reading, today’s e-readers are not yet
ready to replace the textbook.
Campus Technology / May 2010 / Jennifer Demsk
Electronic readers may be ushering in a watershed moment in personal reading, with the
Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and Barnes & Noble Nook duking it out for market dominance
(and with the iPad warming up in the wings). But how do these contenders fare in the
academic marketplace? In theory, e-reader devices seem ideal as a replacement for the
expensive, heavy, traditional textbook—even more so, perhaps, than for the
beach-compatible paperback book, which can take heavy doses of sand, suntan lotion, salt
water, and trampling feet and still deliver the goods!
But reading for learning is not the same activity as reading for pleasure, and so the
question must be asked: Do these devices designed for the consumer book market match up
against the rigors of academic reading?
Campus Technology recently spoke with three universities that conducted e-reader pilots on
their campuses to address that question. Northwest Missouri State University tested the
Sony Reader PRS-505 during the 2008-2009 school year, while Princeton University (NJ) and
Arizona State University are participating in a pilot of the Kindle DX with five other
universities over the course of the 2009-2010 school year.
Source for the Full Text / Comments Available From
[ http://tinyurl.com/24c5s6v ]
EnJOY !
/Gerry
Gerry McKiernan
Associate Professor
Science and Technology Librarian
Iowa State University Library
Ames IA 50011
Follow Me On Twitter > http://twitter.com/GMcKBlogs
>>> "The Future Is Mobile" >>>
Received on Tue Jun 08 2010 - 03:02:21 EDT