The Promise and Peril of E-Books, and the Library of the Future - Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning filed by Christine Cupaiuolo

How mobile technologies, social networking and e-reading are changing libraries; the rise of e-reading and the downside of e-books, including why the e-book you want isn’t available; and how to improve e-book quality in academia.

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Libraries of the Future:
Our interaction with media and information has changed dramatically over the past decade. Using the latest data on mobile technologies, social networking and e-reading, Kristen Purcell, associate director of research at Pew Internet Project, looks at how this shift is affecting libraries and the role of librarians.

Purcell delivered the keynote address for the 2012 State University of New York Librarians Association Annual Conference in New York City.
As her presentation shows below, 29 percent of U.S. adults now own a specialized device for e-reading—19 percent own an e-book reader, and 19 percent own a tablet computer.

Libraries 2020: Imagining the library of the (not too distant) future

View more presentations from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

Some takeways for libraries include:

• The gadget doesn’t make the reader, but it may change the reader
• 41% of tablet owners and 35% of e-reader owners said they are reading more since the advent of e-content
• A majority of print readers (54%) and e-book readers (61%) prefer to purchase their own copies of books
• Most audiobook listeners (61%) prefer to borrow their audiobook

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 Source: Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning