The Impact of E-Readers

on the Literacy Among Students

Author: Teimuraz Baratashvili

Advisor: Dr. Esra lkay Kelolu

Thesis Presented to the Faculty of

Department of Communication

Gazi University

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Arts

in

Public Relations and Promotion

Ankara 2013
 2

Recommended Citation:

Baratashvili, Teimuraz, (2013). The Impact of E-Readers on the Literacy Among

Students. Communication Thesis, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
 Table of Contents

ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 6

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 7

LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................ 9

st
New Media in 21 Century ................................................................................................ 9

Media Convergence ........................................................................................................ 11

What is e-book? .............................................................................................................. 13

From Print to Screen ....................................................................................................... 15

PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED RESEARCHES AND STATISTICS ABOUT E-READERS.. 19

Background and Environment ......................................................................................... 19

Usage of E-Books and E-Readers in Libraries................................................................ 24

Usage of E-Books and E-Readers in Classrooms........................................................... 27

METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 30

Instruments ..................................................................................................................... 31

Participants ..................................................................................................................... 32

Demographics ..................................................................................................
........................... 32
RESULTS........................................................................................................................... 36

Acquired Statistical Data ................................................................................................. 36

Analysis of Results .......................................................................................................... 42

Main Findings.................................................................................................................. 46

DISCUSSIONS................................................................................................................... 47

Conclusion and Hypotheses ........................................................................................... 47

INDEX ................................................................................................................................ 50

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 51

Internet Resources .......................................................................................................... 53

Abbreviations Used: ........................................................................................................ 55

 List of Figures

FIGURE 1 | AGE OF RESPONDENTS

............................................................................................................................................. 33

FIGURE 2 | GENDER SPAN OF RESPONDENTS

................................................................................................................................ 33

FIGURE 3 | SOURCE AND AMOUNT OF RESPONDENTS

INCOME........................................................................................................ 34

FIGURE 4 | GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF

RESPONDENTS................................................................................................................ 35

FIGURE 5 | NUMBER OF E-READER OWNERS AMONG RESPONDENTS

................................................................................................. 36

FIGURE 6 | THE REASON WHY STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE E-

READER.................................................................................................... 37

FIGURE 7 | PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS PLANING TO BUY E-

READER............................................................................................. 38

FIGURE 8 | DEVICES USED TO READ E-BOOKS.

.............................................................................................................................. 38

FIGURE 9 | NUMBER OF PEOPLE READING E-BOOKS AMONG NON-OWNERS OF E-READER.

.................................................................... 39

FIGURE 10 | REASON OF E-BOOK

USAGE..................................................................................................................................... 39

FIGURE 11 | REASONS OF READING E-BOOK.

............................................................................................................................... 40

FIGURE 12 | TYPES OF E-BOOKS READ BY RESPONDENTS.

............................................................................................................... 41

FIGURE 13 | RESPONDENTS READING ACTIVITY IN ORDER OF TYPES - E-BOOKS OR PRINT.

...................................................................... 41

FIGURE 14 | TYPES OF BOOKS READ BY STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR E-READER

OWNERSHIP............................................................. 42

List of Graphs
GRAPH. 1 | TOTAL NUMBER OF BOOKS READ BY E-BOOK READERS BEFORE AND AFTER ACQUIRING E-READER.
SOURCES: BAIN SURVEY LECRIT
ET LE NUMERIQUE; LITERATURE SEARCH; BAIN ANALYSIS.
.................................................................................................... 21

GRAPH. 2 | READING DEVICES' PRICE CHANGE BETWEEN 2009 AND 2011.

....................................................................................... 22

GRAPH. 3 | WORLDS LITERACY RATES, 2007. SOURCE: UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT. 2007-2008.
.......................................... 47
 ABSTRACT

This thesis examines wireless electronic reading devices (e-reader), their usage and
impact on education and literacy among students.

Thesis begins with discussion on new media and usage of electronic books by libraries.
Thesis continues with literature review of previously conducted researches and surveys on
similar topics.

Afterwards acquired statistical data from conducted survey of 385 responses is analyzed
and discussed. According to the analyzed data the hypothesis is presented, stating that
wireless electronic reading devices have a positive impact on the literacy among students.

Adopters of e-reader tend to read more books after acquiring it rather than before.

Keywords: e-book, e-reader, literacy, new media, publishing, book, education.

 INTRODUCTION

st
In 21 century, people live in the world where technology and new media takes a big
place in everyones live. We use new media everyday starting from cellphone and laptops
ending with billboards and satellite networks. Almost everything is digitalized. Students
submit their homework online, pay bills, order food, brainstorm, hold business meetings
and read books online. Digital media is already implemented into the education by means
of e-books and electronic reading devices (to be referred as e-readers).

New technological devices become widespread in no time. Ten years ago there was no
th
such thing as smartphone, but today there is already 4 generation iPhone. Portable
memory storage devices are becoming smaller in size and their capacity is becoming
larger while prices are going down.

As the number of e-readers will grow, their prices will decrease responsibly and the
usage of e-readers will increase. Based on this assumption we can predict that this
phenomenon will have a significant impact on literacy levels and the response of libraries
to the new concept of e-readers. The problem is that most of the libraries and students are
not ready to accept new media into education since there is lack of information about the
effect of e-readers on literacy.
 The subject of thesis is usage of new media in education, to be more precisely the usage
of tablets, e-book reading devices and smartphones (e.g. iPad, Kindle, Kobo, etc). The
subject of research is focused on the impact of e-readers on literacy among university
students. The subject of thesis does not consider usage of laptops and desktop computers
as an e-book reading devices, as the most of civilized society is familiar with those devices.
As for e-readers (e.g Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc.) they are considered to be new, and their
potential is not foreseen yet.

Todays media is digitalized. Music, movies and even newspapers are being produced
digitally and distributed through digital devices. Instead of storing hundreds of tapes, vinyl
LP discs or CDs thousands of songs along with hundreds of movies, all this data can be
stored on single portable digital device. However books are still paper based and occupy a
significant place in library shelves and student bags that makes the storage, distribution
and logistics of newly published books along with old classics relatively difficult.

It is important to understand the concept of e-books and e-readers and the pattern of
their usage to improve the distribution of books that play a significant role in literacy.

Commercial actors also have a need to understand the same processes,

for instance to see how their markets and their supple chains are
changing as information and communication technologies (ICTs) become
embedded, but more especially where their business is selling ICT
products and services. Analysis of the social importance of a new
technology examines the effects of technological innovation in peoples
everyday life. (Brynin, 2007).

The question is whether this new technology leads us to the qualitative shift in our daily
lives. Does it make our life richer and more efficient or on the contrary.

This work aims to understand the pattern of e-reader usage among students, and learn
weather e-reader adopters tend to read more books than traditional readers. Find out the
characteristics that readers like in books and in e-books.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

st
New Media in 21 Century

One of the historical turn points in communication is invention of the printing press by
Johannes Gutenberg in 1440. Gutenbergs new discovery made possible to manufacture a
single book in many copies, which afterwards made information available to the much
larger audience than before, as books were spreading and more people were able to read.
The book itself became the source of knowledge and literacy. There was no need to read
manuscripts anymore, every self-respected scientist was going to the libraries or had own
copy of the book at his home. New term of home-based-libraries became possible.
Educated people had Darwins and Da Vincis notebooks on their shelves.

th
Invention of internet in the middle of 20 century triggered the development of
th
communication in the same way as the Gutenbergs printing press did back in 15 century.
The invention that was born under US military roof, precisely Internet, afterwards became
widespread around the world. Information which was spread only by means of books and
press became available in new virtual world and accessible by many people at the same
time.
 21 century is considered to be the era of informational technology. Indeed, majority of
developed countries use computers, cell phones, smartphones, tablets, portable
computers, electronic reading devices, etc. It is right to say that new media became the
part of everyday life, whether it is multimedia screen, e-book or smartphone.

The identity of media changed itself through a period of time. Media as it was known
before was called old or traditional media and new informational technologies were
regarded as new media.

As Castells writes - New information technologies are integrating the world in global
networks. Communication made through computers begets a vast array of virtual
communities. Revolutions are made through twitter and TV programs are broadcasted
through IPTV. The notion of hypermedia became possible. Online news article consists of
text, video, photos and sounds. Any idea online can be supported by the video providing
the hyperlink of the video in the internet.

According to Lev Manovich (2002) there are several principles to determine whether or
not an object is a new media. Manovich says that new media is numerical representation,
as it is coded in a particular programming languages. It is modular and consists of small
independent parts down to the level of smallest atoms pixels or text characters. In
addition it is has a principle of variability. Object of new media is not fixed and can exist in
different infinitive versions (Manovich L.). If we take an e-book (an electronic, digital book)
as new media, we can apply all Manovichs principles to it. E-book is digital, therefore it is
programmed in particular language and it represents a combination of letter characters that
is also a mapping combination of pixels. As a result it makes possible to read e-book
through many different devices - pc, laptop, tablet, smartphone or e-reader, as long as the
device can decode it.
 Media Convergence

There is a term Media Convergence which is important to mention in this thesis. Media
convergence is not a very old term; hence much disagreement has arisen in defining the
notion of media convergence. Henry Jenkins is defining convergence as simply a
technological shift. Convergence alters the relationship between existing technologies,
industries, markets, genres and audiences (Jenkins, 2004).

It is a process, where functions can also be performed through other media appliances.
For instance, modern cellphones a.k.a smartphones are used not only to communicate with
voice, they are used to take pictures, play games, share information in internet, pay bills,
etc. These very same functions can be performed using other technological devices like
laptop, ATM, photo camera, or even new to the world Google Glass.

Media convergence impacts the way we consume media. A teenager

doing homework may juggle four or five windows, scan the Web, listen to
and download MP3 files, chat with friends, wordprocess a paper, and
respond to e-mail, shifting rapidly among tasks. And fans of a popular
television series may sample dialogue, summarize episodes, debate
subtexts, create original fan fiction, record their own soundtracks, make
their own moviesand distribute all of this worldwide via the Internet.
(Jenkins, 2006).
 Similar can be said about books, especially electronic books. Today e-books differ in their
format PDF, DjVu, EPUB, HTML, iBooks, KF8 (Amazon Kindle), etc. All of these formats
can be transferred between the formats. Average computer user can transfer HTML format
to PDF, and then PDF to KF8 whenever he needs.

These very same e-books can be accessed through different platforms (tablet, e-reader,
Laptop). Student can start reading book in the evening with a e-reader, continue reading it
later on Laptop and the next day present the summery of it checking the highlights on the
tablet, and if necessary just print it. To sum it up electronic books can be transferred
between formats and platforms without big problem.

The eEurope 2005 Action plan states:

broadband enabled communication in combination with convergence,

will bring social as well as economic benefits. It will contribute to e-
diversity. (CEC,
1
inclusion, cohesion and cultural 2002 cited
in
Anderson, 2007).

Since electronic publishing became available and widespread electronic libraries and
library websites appeared. Nowadays it is possible to find classic fiction literature books in
html format online using a single search engine. Granted that users can comment, make
notes and send each other hyperlinks of very same book they just read.

Books are online and they are free. Except modern up-to-date books fiction books, those
books are online, but not for free. The reason is not the difficulty of online content sharing,
but the commercial gain of the product. Modern fiction books are available online for sale
as pdf laptop format or e-books for Kindle, Kobo, iPad, etc.

1
CEC (2002) eEurope 2005: an Information Society For All - an Action Plan, Brussels.
Belgium, Commission of the European Communities.
 What is e-book?

E-Books are digital versions of printed books, which are distributed through the Internet.
These are digital files that can be read on computers, tablets, smartphones, e-readers or
printed if necessary (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010). E-Books can be published in
different formats, the most popular formats are - PDF, DjVu, EPUB, HTML, iBooks, KF8 or
AZW (Amazon Kindle), etc. File formats mostly differ because of the competition in online
publishing market. Different e-readers use different formats. For example iBooks are
produced for iPad, when AZW and KF8 is mostly used by Kindle. Often e-books are
available in PDF format, which is common for popular computer operating system
Windows or Macintosh.

Gupta and Gullett-Scaggs (2010) write:

Since Johannes Gutenbergs invention of the printing press in 1440

advances in printing technologies have reduced the cost of books.
However, the book you read today is not that much different than one
created by Gutenbergs press. However, in the digital age tremendous
potential advances in content access exist that are not yet fully exploited
in most academic settings. Advantages of digital access include flexibility,
ability to link various texts, ability to display content in different formats,
ability to link multimedia, ability to search and enhanced ability to share
knowledge (Gordon 2002)
 There are two most common e-book formats PDF and ePUB. PDF is abbreviation for
Portable Document Format which was created by Adobe Systems in 1993 and is used
since then, with the help of growing Internet, PDF has become the de facto standard format
for the digital exchange documents. Today PDF is the industry standard for the
representation of printed material in electronic systems. (Adobe Systems Incorporated,
2006).

ePUB is a markup language like HTML. In difference from PDF format in ePUB format
size of letters and text can be changed. If reader has trouble reading small letters he can
enlarge them and continue reading the text, when in PDF there is predetermined style,
each page is designed previously. PDF is can be described as a combination of pictures of
every page. Since the text size can be changed in the ePUB format, it is impossible to tell
the exact amount of pages, so it created difficulty for students and researchers to provide
accurate citation of page numbers (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010). Probably this is the
reason why most of academic papers and researches online are published and distributed
in PDF format.

There are many arguments about whether e-book is better in use rather than paper print
books. One of the most important features of e-book is search. User can search for
keywords in the e-book file and find exact sentences that he is searching for. This is
impossible in print books. In order to find necessary information one should look through
each page searching for keywords which takes significant amount of time.
 From Print to Screen

In 1970s in order digitalize cultural works a non-profit Project Gutenberg has started. As it
1
is noted on the website the mission of the project is to encourage the creation and
distribution of eBooks (Hart, 2004). The project was founded by Michael S. Hart, American
author, also known as inventor of electronic books. It is worth mentioning that while first
book printed by Johannes Gutenberg was 42-line Bible, the first electronic book created
within Project Gutenberg was US Declaration of Independence. Nowadays it is believed
that Project Gutenberg is one of the largest storage of free e-books. Today hundreds of
volunteers work with this project to provide access to 36,000 free e-books in 60 different
languages and all of them in different formats. (Flood,2011).

In November 1998 Hart told Wired magazine in interview

Twenty or 30 years from now, there's going to be some gizmo that kids
carry around in their back pocket that has everything in it - including our
books, if they want (Frauenfelder, 1998).

It is fair to say that in the end of 90s Hart predicted the invention of electronic reading
devices and tablets, when at that time the largest portable data storage device was floppy
disk with capacity of 6,2 Mb. Since then technology emerged and integrated in our daily

1
The website of the Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org
life. Students carry 32Gb of information in their handbags, - a big change in information
technologies in 15 years.

E-Books have existed since 1970s; however until recently there were no quality devices
to read e-books easily. Due to large online books selling and products like Amazon Kindle
e-books have reached mainstream adoption. There are 390,000 titles available on Kindle
(Gray, 2013).

In October 1972 International Conference on Computer Communications was held,

where a public demonstration of the ARPANET was organized (Gromov, 1995). This was
the beginning of internet. After twenty-three years in 1995 the company named Amazon
started. Back then internet was used by 16 million people. After a year this number
increased to 36 million and was continuously multiplying. Today, there are more than 1.7
billion internet users, in other words almost one fourth of world population is online.
(Wasserman, 2012).

Jason Epstein, publishing visionary at Amazon, knew that in order to revolutionize

bookselling physical books should have been transformed into digital ones to make
delivery easier. But Epstein could not comprehend that the idea of the feeling when holding
a physical book in ones hand would disappear. His idea was that there will be digital
database of books that would be printed on demand and delivered to the costumer when
needed. (Wasserman, 2012). After years from these events in November 19, 2007 Amazon
1
released firs generation Kindle calling it Wireless Reading Device . The device was sold
out in US until second generation of Kindle was produced in early 2009. Kindle was one of
the first devices to use E Ink technology which is designed to mimic appearance of ordinary
paper, so that the screen of the device doesnt reflect sun light as other gadget displays do.
Screen based on E Ink technology has no harmful effects to the human eye, this meant
that e-books could be read without eye tension which is a common result of long-term
computer usage.

1
Patel, Nilay (November 21, 2007). "Kindle Sells Out in 5.5 Hours". Engadget.com. Retrieved May
2013.
 It is necessary to underline that initially commercial idea to sell books more efficiently
evolved into an idea that changed the understanding of publishing and book itself. Initially
profit oriented idea evolved into education and literacy oriented practice which is applied by
different libraries around the globe. The invention of electronic wireless reading device
changed the tendency of e-book usage among early adopters.

Some companies, like Kobo, are trying to increase interactivity to encourage social
reading. Programs like ReadingLife, can allow individuals to post quotes from eBooks to
Twitter and Facebook, and to earn awards for books that they have read
1
(Mulvihill&Schiller 2011 cited in Moyer, Thiele, 2012).

Today every single person who lives in developed or developing countries and has
access to internet and computer can browse limitless information and goods online and
buy those goods directly from the screen of home computer or any other device with
internet connection. This also includes e-books.

Invention of wireless reading devices and portable mini computers made easier to store
and carry large digital texts. The printed book with 800 pages is big, and difficult to carry.
The digital version of the same book is only 27 Mb. If Kindles has 2GB of storage (1.25GB
usable) then 27 Mb will occupy insignificantly small part of it.

The use of portable e-readers such as Nooks, Kindles, and Sony Readers has begun to
gain popularity recently. The readers prove not only to be cost effective and convenient,
but they also seem to be motivational and less threatening to students who have struggled
with reading in the past. (Poage, 2011).

Recently developed so called cloud services made possible not to carry information at all.
Provided with account of cloud service one can store own information there, including e-
books, and access them wherever the Internet is accessible. But do we need to carry a

1
Mulvihill, A., & Schiller, K. (2011). Social reading heats up with ebooks. Information Today, 28(7).
huge library in our pockets and handbags that is another issue. It is the fact that e-readers
and e-books are more convenient.

I have met two students while traveling in Estonia. One had an e-reader with about 10
books in it, which he was reading while travelling. Another had same books stored on the
desk table, same ten books were occupying significant place his workplace, when e-reader
owner could put these ten books in his pocket or hand bag, which would weigh less than
500 grams.

Invention of e-book and e-reader did affect not only readers and new technology users; it
affected publishing industry as well. Steve Wasserman (2012) writes that publishers
definitely agree that percentage of e-books sales dominates the overall revenue. In 2008,
a year after release of Amazon Kindle, they were less than 1%. Three years after global
consumer adoption to the concept of e-reader sales of e-books increased up to 11% and
by the end of 2011 it had more than tripled to 36%. As John Thompson reports in the
revised 2012 edition of his authoritative Merchants of Culture, in 2011 e-book sales for
most publishers were between 18 and 22 percent (possibly even higher for some
houses).
PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED RESEARCHES AND
STATISTICS ABOUT E-READERS

Background and Environment

Before conducting own survey it is necessary to research previous conduct surveys

connected to the usage of electronic reading devices.

The characteristics of those who choses broadband internet connection, ICTs (and
recently e-readers) and possible effects have been the focus of multiple academic studies
as well as private company studies and market researches. Many of these studies aim to
forecast demand and potential application of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs). Also several surveys have been conducted to study the characteristics and aspects
of early adopters. (Anderson, Raban, 2007).

1
In 2000, Kridel and his colleagues (2002) found that in USA the broadband adopters are
more likely to be younger, have higher income and education levels. In 2003 for New Zealand,
Paynter and Chung showed that that early adopter of broadband were tend to be male, have

1
Kridel, D., Rappoport, P. and Taylor, L, (2002) The demand of high-speed access to the Internet. Topic in
Regulatory Economics and Policy, 39, 11-22.
higher computer skills and use Internet more per day. (Kridel, Rappoport, 2002 cited in
Anderson, Raban, 2007).

After looking through previous thesis works and surveys several examples of statistical
information were found. One of them is survey conducted by business consulting firm Bain
1
& Company . The survey of almost 3000 consumers was conducted across six countries
on three continents. These are United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom
and South Korea. The data acquired from survey shows that readers tend to read more
when they have digital readers. According to given, e-books tend to be read more
frequently than paper based books.

The Survey conducted by Bain & Company shows that adapters of e-readers mostly are
already heavy readers. The amount of men often exceeds that of women and their age
ranges from 20s to early 30s.

More than 40% of readers equipped with e-readers say that they read more than before.
Furthermore close to 70% of readers stated that they purchase the majority of their
eBooks. (Behar and colleagues, 2011) That leaves only 30% that do not buy eBooks, but
download it for free from different internet sources.

Research conducted by business consulting firm Bain & Company also shows the
difference between reading habit before and after acquiring e-reader. It shows that in US
52% claim they read books more than before.

1
Bain & Company is an American global management consulting firm headquartered in Boston,
Massachusetts, serving as an advisor to many of the world's largest businesses, nonprofit organizations, and
governments.
 Graph. 1 | Total number of books read by e-book readers before and after acquiring e-reader.
Sources: Bain survey Lcrit et le Numrique; literature search; Bain analysis.

In Korea 39% say they read more books than before purchasing e-reader, and in France
38%. It is not wrong to say that people tend to read more books after they purchase an e-
reader. After all todays generation is used to technology and is more likely to be engaged
with it. Instead of meeting outdoors and play football, youngsters meet in internet cafes, or
play PlayStation or PC in the network. No wonder e-reader adopters are more likely to read
books while having it.

There are many explanations why there is such trend. Nowadays people are living busy
and less-free-time life. Most of the free time is spend on sitting in public transport, waiting
for the appointment, standing in the line. In relatively close past most of the people were
listening to music in such situations. Today people are spending their free time reading e-
books on their e-readers. Carrying several books in the bag is heavy and uncomfortable,
thereby consumers by electronic reading devices, as they are light and user-friendly, where
many books can be stored at the same time. In addition to this e-readers prices do not
exceed 140 dollars and their ergonomic design keeps improving.
As costs for devices go down, as their ease of use increases, and as the availability and
interchangeability of electronic texts increases, we will see more of these [eReaders] in the
classroom and the library, as well more acceptance of e-textbooks in general because
students use understanding of technology is constantly increasing. (Weisberg, 2011)

Graph. 2 | Reading devices' price change between 2009 and 2011.

Sources: Bain survey Lcrit et le Numrique; literature search; Bain analysis

The price for e-readers has dropped significantly in 2 years (see Graph.1). In 2011 price
was almost twice as low as in 2009, we can only predict that in the next few years prices
can drop a little more. That will make it possible for more people to own an e-reader.

The number of ereader devices will continue to grow, their capabilities will increase and
prices will decreasethe increased usage of e-readers and electronic resources may
impact on literacy levels, the amount of reading people are doing, and the skills that are
developed through reading, and the response of libraries to the eBook phenomenon will
impact other segments of the market, including booksellers, rights holders and the wider
1
community (Duncan 2010 cited in Moyer, Thiele, 2012).

This does not mean that books will go away any time soon. Respondents who have
adopted digital formats say they continue to read printed books. This attachment to paper
formats also holds for younger generations, even though they were born in the digital era
(Behar and colleagues, 2011).

1
Duncan, R (2010) eBooks and Beyond: The Challenge For Public Libraries. APLIS 23(2): 44-55.
Usage of E-Books and E-Readers in Libraries

th
Until the end of 20 century library was the only place where an individual could find most
of the books, would it be for pleasure, research or education. After invention of e-book in
the 70s, firstly textual information and then book became available digitally. Nowadays
even libraries have online database of e-books. Person can reach them on campus or out
of campus. One of the examples is EBSCO Host, an online database of thousands of
1
periodicals, both popular and academic , which was used to find several publications for
the literature review of this current work.

Some of the books stored in EBSCO database come directly from publishers and some
of the electronically received material can be available to customers on EBSCOhost
databases before libraries have even received their print copies (Carroll, Ginanni, 2007).

According to Carroll EBSCO Publishing produces online databases for academic, school,
public, medical, and corporate libraries around the world. It currently delivers 250
databases covering huge range of various subjects (2007).

EBSCO is only one example of many other electronic libraries in the world which have
enabled access to their database to numerous educational institutions. There are similar
databases to EBSCO for example JSTOR, Britannica, ebrary.com, Oxford Journal,

1
Introduction to EBSCO Host, Retrieved May 2013.
http://www.dubuque.lib.ia.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/124
Cambridge Journal, etc. There even some libraries that own e-reader with several e-books
stored in it. Member of the library can borrow e-reader the same way usual book.

So, is there a point of having huge building full of books and publications when there are
electronic libraries that take a lot less physical place? Answer is yes. Although we live in
information age there are some people do not own computer or cannot adjust to new
technologies. People who have sentimental feelings towards print books still exist, and will
exist for a lot long, and no one should ignore them. So, yes, libraries are necessary, at
least for providing a silent, comfortable place for peaceful education.

According to David Bells article The Bookless Library written in The New Republic
there are now far more books available, far more quickly, on the iPhone than in the New
York Public Library (2012). Questions about public libraries and electronic libraries have
already caused many commentary and discussion. Bell also notes that at the NYPL, the
acquisitions budget has shrunk 26 percent over 2008 - 2012.

Bell thinks that soon most libraries will be facing dilemma, owing to the devices on which
more and more people are doing more and more of their reading. This thought can be
supported by Gray, according to him title for title comparison of print book and e-book
showed that on average the highest circulation e-books circulated at the same rate as the
first print copy (Gray, 2013).

1
Library Journals Book Buying Survey (2011) provides an overview of
access to e-books in public libraries. Two thirds of the public libraries
responding to the survey offer an e-book service, and all public libraries
that serve a population of over five hundred thousand reported offering e-
books. (Gray,
2013).

1
Barbara Hoffert, Uphill Battle: Library Journals Book Buying Survey 2011, Library Journal 136, no. 3
(2011):3638.
 1
As reported by The Institute of Museum and Library Service fiscal Year 2005 through
2008 shows a double-digit growth in e-book collections of public libraries in US E-book
collections in public libraries grew from 8.9 million in fiscal year 2005 to over 13.9 million in
fiscal year 2010, an increase of nearly 36 percent. The size of print collections has
fluctuated during this period of time, but e-books, databases, audio, and video collections
have seen consistent growth (NCES. 2005).

1
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent agency of the United States
federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for libraries and museums
within the United States, having the mission to create strong libraries and museums that connect people with
information and ideas. (http://www.imls.gov)
 Usage of E-Books and E-Readers in Classrooms

New media has been integrating to classrooms for many years. It is fair to say that this
th
process started with television, video and audio tapes. When I was in high-school, in 7
grader I remember teachers showing us videos, giving us listening materials to listen on
CDs during foreign language classes. It is not doubtable that new media technologies are
already a part of the educational process in schools as well as in higher educational
institutions. Almost all of the foreign language study books come with CDs containing
listening and video materials as well as interactive exercises.

Not a long while ago e-readers have started to become the part of educational process. It
is unquestionable that reading is essential to students.

Nancie Atwell, researcher in reading, believes that students should be involved in

reading. Since it is important for students to notice word choice, highlight important
sections and look up unclear information (Atwell, 2007). Although there are many
arguments about whether e-books are authentic books or whether information acquired
from e-books are less or more memorable, e-book experience includes all the above
mentioned essential elements of reading highlighting, rereading, and looking up. It is
even easier and faster to look up unclear information online rather than wondering among
numerous pages of printed dictionaries.

The cost of e-readers have played essential role in their popularization. Since cost of
textbooks is on the rise students prefer buying e-readers and use e-books instead. Cost
per e-reader of course is higher than per textbook, but after all it is less than combination of
several books needed for the classroom activities.
 In a study conducted with kindergarten and first grade readers in Israel, middle SES
students were exposed to electronic books as way to improve vocabulary, comprehension
and fluency. The researcher used ninety children from five kindergarten classes and five
first-grade classes. The students were introduced to an electronic book created by the
researcher and colleagues. The book consisted of dictionary functions, had a read aloud
feature and included hot spots, which gave additional information to more difficult parts of
the story. After five readings, the students were tested on words knowledge, story
comprehension, and words read. The result showed that both groups greatly benefited
from the use of electronic books and students did not need much guidance when using the
technology All in all, the study did show that by allowing the students to use the
electronic book and interact with the text, students seemed to have a better understanding
of words and understood more difficult area of the text because of the hot spots or
1
clarification animation embedded in the text. (Korat, 2009 cited in Poage, 2011).

There are many discussion and arguments among consumers about harm effect of e-
reader screen for eyes. But this is discussion derive from misinformation about the product.
E-Readers have E Ink technology (as mentioned before), their screen mimics paper and
has no harmful effect on the human eye. However, iPads and other tablets do not use E
Ink technology and have regular or so called retina displays, which might have harmful
effects.

French study from the influential Academy of Sciences claims that

playing with computers, touchpads and video games can actually be
good for even young children, if a few simple rules are followed.

To find out about the effects, children were monitored while playing video
games. We watched one such sessions and saw that the rear area of a
childs brain the part that controls movement was active, but the

1
Korat, O. (2010 August). Reading electronic books as a support for vocabulary, story comprehension and
word reading in kindergarten and first grade. Computer & Edication, 55(1), 24-31.
Doi:10.1016/J.comedu.2009.11.014
 frontal lobe was also active that is the area of the brain controlling
abstract thinking and problem solving.

Researcher Olivier Houde explained what that means: This is the key
message: if you educate the child to use video screens, that child is
going to learn how to use different parts of his brain.

Researchers said parents need to explain that a touchpad or a computer

is just a means to learning or having fun.

Mr Houde added: It is only because it is a medium of exchange that it

allows the child to discover not only what we can do with the internet, but
also it allows him to name what he sees, to learn how to interact, to learn
to understand. A child doesnt do this spontaneously. No touchpad by
itself can help a child to do anything.
1

Poage conducted a research in the beginning of 2010 - 2011 school year the
researcher chose twelve students (4 boys and 8 girls) to participate in a program in which
six students read books on eReaders (Nook and Kindle), and six students read print book
(2011, p 23) The purpose of the study was to determine if the use of eReaders in the
classroom would increase comprehension, engagement, and the use of comprehension
strategies more so that the use of print novels. The research showed that students using
eReaders did show significant increase in positive engagement, word look up, and
connections made in comparison to print users (Poage 2011, p43).

All above studies are conduct on children, not adults; however, they show that touchpads
and e-readers have positive impact on students.

1
Euronews,(2013, March 25), Kids and computers.. Retrieved April 2013.
http://www.euronews.com/2013/03/25/kids-and-computers/
METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted online. Questionnaire was prepared online and spread
through social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and Couchsurfing, and by personal
email. The survey was based on non-probability, chain-referral sampling, otherwise called
as snowball sampling, where existing study subjects recruited future subjects from among
their acquaintances.

Detailed tables of conducted survey will be given in this chapter. The rough tables of
1
survey results may be presented upon request .

In details, survey examined the:

Ratio between e-reader adopters and traditional readers

Reasons of students not having an e-reader
Types of e-book literature that students read
Attitudes towards reading among e-reader adopters
Qualitative difference between usage of e-readers and printed books.

Why Snowball Sampling?

Surveys conducted in particular group of people usually tend to describe the pattern and
statistics of the given group, e.g. survey conducted in Communication Faculty of Gazi

1
Rough results of the conducted online survey can be seen online on the following link: http://goo.gl/kMKEt
University will give results of e-book and e-reader usage among students of this particular
group of people who study in this precise department.

In the case of snowball sampling and conducting the survey among students around the
world the results will more or less represent the pattern of e-book and e-reader usage
among students who have access to ICTs and represent different socio-economical and
demographical identity. In addition, since the focus of thesis is to find the effect of e-reader
usage and tendency of e-reader adopter towards reading and literacy, the online chain-
referral sampling allows respondents to send/invite to the survey to people who are more
likely to be determined as useful. Furthermore, it is possible to ensure a diversity of
responses by widening the profile of persons involved in the chain-referral, snowballing
exercise.

Instruments

Survey consisted of totally 15 questions, 4 of them dichotomous questions, 9 - multiple

choice questions, and 2 - open questions. Survey was carried out in six days. Survey
contained demographic, socio-economical and thematic questions. In order to distinguish
results of those who have e-reader and do not, who read e-books and who do not, the flow
of the survey was altered according to answers on the following questions: A) Do you
have an eReader? and B) Do you read or have you ever read eBooks?

Answer No to the question A was followed be these questions:

a) If you don't have an eReader, do you plan to buy it?"

b) If you don't have an eReader, - why?
c) Do you read or have you ever read eBooks?
 Answer No to the question c was skipping all the next questions and directing
respondent to submit the responses. Answer Yes to the same question was continued by
the following:

Why do you read e-books?

What kind of e-books do you read?
Which devices do you use to read e-books?
What do you read more often? (e-books or print books)

Participants

Survey was conducted between May 8 and May 14, 2013. The research surveyed 385
internet users around the world. Respondents were residents of different countries
between the ages 18 and 30.

After evaluating the survey, it was found that only 35% of respondents had adopted e-
readers in contrast to 65% who had not any kind of e-readers.

Demographics

After carefully analyzing acquired statistical data it is possible to say that internet users
willing to participate in different online surveys (polls) are more likely to be females aged
between 18 and 23, have financial support from families, and have monthly income under
1000 US dollars.
 Figure 1 shows the pie chart of respondents according to their age. Out of 385
respondents 38% (148 respondents) are between 18 and 20 years old, 34% are 21-23,
13% aged between 24-26, 8% and 7% between 27-30 and over 30, accordingly. This
means that the group of respondents aged between 18 and 23 is the majority and
represent 72%, and respondents over age 23 are minority 28%.

Figure 1 | Age of respondents

Figure 2 show the gender span of the respondents. 41% (158 respondents) are male,
which makes them the less in percentage according to 59% (227 respondents) of female
respondents.

Figure 2 | Gender span of respondents

Figure 3 shows the source and amount of income. First chart (red) shows whether
financial states of students depend on scholarship, work salary, or family support. It was
found that scholarship has less impact on the students income, since this group of
students represents 19% of respondents. 40% of students acquire their money from work
salary and 41% get financial support from their families.

Figure 3 | Source and amount of respondents income.

Second chart (yellow) in Figure 3 shows the monthly income span of respondents. The
smallest part of respondents 17% has monthly income over 1000 US dollars. 23% of
respondents have monthly income between $501 and $1000, 33% have monthly income in
the range of $201 - $500 and respondents with monthly income less that 200 US dollars
represents 26% of researched people.

Since the survey was conducted online, the range of respondents according to
geographical location is significant. Fugire 4 represents responds to the question about
country of residence of respondents. The largest group of respondents that resides in the
same location is from Georgia, which is 29% of all people surveyed, that makes 112
people. The next is Turkey 15% with 59 responses from this country. After these
countries the total amount of respondents per country is decreasing 7% from Belarus, 6%
from Lithuania, 5% from Germany, 4% from Poland, 3% from each United Kingdom and
The Netherland. 28% of respondents, which is the second largest group of geographical
span, comes from different countries like Bulgaria, USA, Ukraine, Romania, Italy, Spain,
Russia, France, Sweden with 9 and less responses from each country.

Figure 4 | Geographical location of respondents.

It is possible to determine e-book and e-reader usage rate in countries with large amount
of responses such Georgia and Turkey. As for other countries it is impossible, since the
amount of responses is less than 50.
 RESULTS

Acquired Statistical Data

Survey questioned 385 adult based on online chain-referral sampling. It showed that
majority of respondents appeared to be aged between 18 and 23 which represents 72% of
all responses, accordingly 28% of respondent were older than 23. Survey also showed that
41% of students get financial support from their families and 33% have monthly income
between 201 500 US dollars.

Figure 5 | Number of e-reader owners among respondents

 The result of the survey as showed in Figure 5 showed that more than half, 65% of
students do not have a wireless electronic reading device e-reader. Students who have
e-reader are 35%.

Among respondents who do not have e-reader, which is 65% of all respondents, 58%
have read e-books, and only 42% have not read e-books ever (Figure 6).

After dividing respondents in two groups, owners and not owner of e-reader, the second
group was questioned about the reason of not having one. As it is seen on the Figure 6,
46% do not want to have it or do not find it necessary to have one, 5% prefer reading
printed books and 2% think tablet is enough. Accordingly, 28% do not own e-reader
because it is expensive and 3% because it is not sold where they live. Other 16%
represents respondents who want to buy but have not decided which product to buy
(Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc.), or where to buy it from, local shop or amazon.com.

Reasons of not having e-reader

16%
I don't want to.
2% It's expensive.
5%
They don't sell it where I live.
3%
46%
I prefer printed books.

I prefer my tablet.
28%
Other

Figure 6 | The reason why students do not have e-reader.

Survey also revealed percentage of people planning to buy e-reader among those who
does not own it yet. It was found that 31% of respondents plan to buy e-reader, and 69%
have no intension of purchasing the device (Figure 7).
 Figure 7 | Percentage of respondents planing to buy e-reader.

Figure 8 displays the wide range of devices used to read e-books. Most of the
respondents, 38% tend to read e-books on their laptops, 22% read them on e-readers,
15% use their smartphones to read e-books, 13% tablets, and 12% prefer to print them and
read as a hard copy. This means that 12% of respondents who read e-books are not yet
fully adjusted to the electronic data; they prefer old-fashioned hard copies and papers.

Figure 8 | Devices used to read e-books.

Survey discovered that 58% of respondents have read at least one e-book in their life, an
42% have never read one (Figure 9).
 Figure 9 | Number of people reading e-books among non-owners of e-reader.

It is also important to know the reason standing behind usage of e-books. Some students
might read e-books since they were assigned by teacher or professors at the university or
schools. Some books are difficult to find in book stores, so students use e-books, or even
professors gave them themselves, as a reading material, or case study text. Second
reason of reading e-books is pleasure. Since fiction classics cost money in book stores, but
free online, some people may read e-books just deriving from smart financial choices. To
understand the reason standing behind usage of e-books survey contained question: Why
do you read e-books?

Figure 10 | Reason of e-book usage.

As shown in the Figure 10, 39% of respondents read e-books for pleasure, 30% for
personal development, 29% for university assignment and 1% for some other reasons. The
last consist of answers like: When i cant have a normal book or I use my iPad to read
magazines. Since respondent were able to check multiple answers at the same time the
next chart was developed. On the Figure 11, it is shown that respondents who read e-
books for all three reasons are in majority, but still the common reason to read e-books is
pleasure.

Reasons of reading e-book

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
For pleasure, For university For university For university
For personal assignments, For assignments, assignments, For
development personal For pleasure pleasure, For
development personal
development

Figure 11 | Reasons of reading e-book.

Question about types of e-books that students read was also asked in the survey.
According to responses 33% of e-books read represent educational literature, 30% of
digitally read books are literary fiction books, 24% - professional literature, and 12%
electronic magazines (Figure 12).
 Figure 12 | Types of e-books read by respondents.

The last but not the least, it is interesting to know whether those who read e-books did
fully adjust to the electronic and digital data reading technics or are still showing tendency
to return to the hard copies. In order to find it out the following question was asked: What
do you read more often?

Results of the survey, as shown on the Figure 13, displayed that number of students
reading printed books 40% is almost twice bigger than of these reading mostly e-books
27%. It must not be unmentioned that the number of students reading both e-books and
printed books is 33% which is close to number of traditional book readers.

E-Books vs. Print

33% 27 E-Books - 27%

%
Printed books - 40%

40
Both - 33%
%

Figure 13 | Respondents reading activity in order of types - e-books or print.

Analysis of Results

To analyze the ratio of people willing not willing to buy e-reader we can look at Figure 7
69% is not willing and 31% plans to purchase it. Deriving from this the total number of
people having (Figure 5) in addition to people willing to have e-reader in comparison with
number of not willing (Figure 7) is as follows: 55,15% of respondents own e-reader or have
such intention and 44,85% do not have such intention at all. This shows that students are
more likely willing to own e-reader.

If we compare number of e-book or printed book readers among e-reader adopters and
non-adopters, we would see that the number of e-reader adopters dominates in the Both
column (See Figure 14). Which only means that e-reader owners do not quit reading
printed books, on the contrary they adjust to e-books and continue reading normal printed
books.

Types of books read by Types of books read

respondents by e-reader owners
100% E-Books Printed books Both
80%
60%
40%
37 41%
20% %
0%
E-Books Printed books 22
Both %
Don't have e-reader Have
e-reader

Figure 14 | Types of books read by students according to their e-reader ownership.

 To go into details, 22% of e-reader owners continue reading printed books, 41% are
switched to reading e-books and 37% more often read both e-book and hard copies (See
figure at the left).

In the conducted survey open questions were asked as well in order to gather qualitative
data as well. Results revealed the reasons why respondents prefer e-books, e-readers or
print books. Questions like Why do read eBook/paper based book more often? and Why
do you prefer eReader (if you have one)? were asked. It is thought-provoking that some
reasons of preferences of e-books and print books are almost the same.

Respondents preferring e-books writes:

eBook is free mobile (I can carry several books on any electronic devise) I can put signs
and marks where I want and even use different colors without keeping a box of pencils in
my bag! I can copy past some useful phrases and quotes

Because it's easier to have all my ebooks stored on my laptop and not bother with
"physical" books. I can also take quick notes, highlight useful stuff, search by keywords
etc; so it's more efficient for writing research papers as well

Other respondent explains why he prefers e-reader:

It is light, can hold so many readings and all can fit in my pocket. It has a dictionary and
I can highlight and make some notes simultaneously. Very, very convenient, especially
during the traveling.

Another respondents preferring print book write:

It is easier to handle and provides a fuller experience to the reader. It is also easier to
process and take notes on. Plus, it can be found at ridiculously low prices and its
physical presence guarantees security, whereas an ebook you bought can be lost or
deleted. Bottom line, ebooks are not eye-friendly and as reliable
The weight of a book in my hand, the texture of paper, the possibility to wildly underline,
annotate

Four of respondents write the same it is easier to highlight and take notes, while
reading e-books and e-reader as well as print books. Thusly processing information in both
cases is not the issue of preferences.

Most of the respondents who prefer reading e-books and e-readers point out that e-books
are convenient, it is easier to read and search at simultaneously, they occupy less space,
cost cheaper and can be read while travelling. As for the other group of respondents who
prefer print books, they claim that reading print books bring out sentiments; they want to
feel and smell the book, feel the weight of the book, recalling what page you are on, turn
the pages, because reading e-books on laptop hurts eyes, etc.

I read paper based books more often because I can\t stop myself when I see new,
beautifully illustrated book in the bookstore, also because I got them as gifts very
often.

One of the reasons of e-book preference is ecological tendency. Nowadays we can see
many examples of less paper consumption and recycling advices. In restrooms when using
paper towel, usually there is warning to bear in mind that in order to make paper the trees
are cut. Paper bags offered in shops are made from recycled paper and they usually have
such notification written on them. Books are also made from papers. So small part of e-
readers prefer reading electronic books since in order to produce print books lots of tree
should be cut. Respondents write:

Using Paper Is A disaster For Nature. I prefer ebooks

More often I read on my NOOK - so eBook. Why? To save trees and planet

Another reason is that ebooks are eco-friendly (save natural resources).

Other responses about e-books, e-readers and print books:

I love reading very much and read quite a lot, so I decided to get an eReader, because
firstly the books are most of the times not as expensive as paperback ones, secondly I
have my favorites always with my and thirdly I can carry a bigger amount with me all
the time and have the choice of what to read..

I read paper based books more often because the texts I need for university are often
not available as eBooks.

Kindle is way more convenient than carrying several books with me. However, I still
read my "old" paper books. Especially when reading at the beach or on a boat, I
prefer to keep my kindle in a "safe" place.

I read books more often because I like to 'disconnect' from technology sometimes.

Well, paper based books can by no means, be compared to eBooks. Paging through,
getting a whiff of the pages of a newly-bought paper based book are pleasures one
cannot enjoy when reading eBooks. nd this is actually the main reason why I still
love spending time in decent, qualitative reading.

I read a bit more often paper based book, but now that my daughters bought me a
tablet, i began reading more and more on kobo.
Main Findings

Survey that was conducted among 385 respondents from different countries helped to
understand the reasons why people prefer e-book, e-reader or print book.

With regard to statistical analyzes of the survey, the rate of e-reader ownership was
those who own e-reader 35% are less that those who do not own one 65% (Figure 5).

According to the results the most common reasons of not having e-reader are:
unwillingness to have one - 46%, high price 28%, and hesitation 16% (Figure 6).

The most common devices used to read e-books are laptop 38% and e-reader 22%
(Figure 8).

It was discovered that number of respondents who have ever read e-books is 58%, more
than 42% who have never read one (Figure 9). Survey also showed that the number of
people reading only print books 40%, is not much bigger than the number of people who
read both e-books and print books 33% (Figure 13). It also showcased that mostly
people read e-book for pleasure 39%, rather than for university assignments 29%
(Figure 10). However the most read e-book type is educational 33% and then literary
fiction books 30% (Figure 12). Furthermore it was found out that e-reader owners do not
stop reading print books, 59% (37% + 22% Figure 14) of e-reader owners continue to read
print books.

In addition to all of the above, it was determined that 55,15% of respondents own e-
reader or have such intention and 44,85% do not have such intention at all.
DISCUSSIONS

Conclusion and Hypotheses

The more books one reads the more is the literacy rate, the more persons knowledge in
specific area increases. As reported in UN Human Development Report (2007-2008)
literacy rate differs according to countries. In Africa in general it is less than 70% as shown
on Graph. 3. Reasons of this phenomenon can be many, but most importantly it is
economic environment and logistics. Most of the modern fiction and educational books
nowadays are produced in English, French or German in US or Europe. The cost per book
is high, in addition to shipping fees the cost per each book increases and deriving from
economic situation of some particular countries it is hard to purchase expensive books.

1
Graph. 3 | Worlds Literacy Rates, 2007. Source: UN Human Development Report. 2007-2008 .

1
The Literate Earth Project. Retrieved May 2013. http://www.theliterateearthproject.org/home.html
 Thusly, invention of e-reader will make it easier to residents of these countries to
purchase reading materials, since it is cost efficient; - price of one e-reader is lower than
combination of each textbook price. Especially it is true for classic fiction literature, which is
mostly free online and can be downloaded easily.

As reported by Bain & Companys Survey (Graph. 1) there is a significant difference in

US between the number of books read by people before and after acquiring e-reader, 52%
of respondents claim that they read more books than they had before. In all countries
surveyed (Korea, US, France, UK, Germany, Japan) this number is 42%. It will be
appropriate to assume that the number in US is higher due to location of e-reader
manufacturers and e-book sales, as the purchase of Amazon Kindle ships from US. Survey
also proved that almost no one 5-7% of respondents read less books after purchasing
the e-reader. It is true to say that the e-reader has no negative influences on readers, on
the contrary it influences reading experience positively and increases the frequency of
reading activity.

Analyzing the statistics of conducted survey that was held among owners of e-readers
and traditional book readers, the data collected form survey among e-reader owners and
traditional readers was compared to the data discovered in previously conduct researches.

The findings of the survey showed that 58% of respondents have read e-books and 35%
own e-reader. Besides 55.15% own or have intention to own it. In addition findings of Bain
& Company showed that 42% of the developed world's population read more books after
acquiring e-reader. Therefore, a hypothesis can be fairly proposed that e-readers have a
positive impact on literacy among students, as most of the students are willing to purchase
e-reader in order to read more books and owners of e-readers tend to be reading more
books than the traditional paper based book owners.

In current study it was discovered that e-readers have positive impact on literacy, that
people are more likely to read more books after acquiring e-reader. Among main reasons
for preferring e-book; were found, e.g.
 Ecological e-books are eco-friendly, since use of paper is disaster to the
nature,

Financial e-readers are cost efficient, literary fiction classics are free online and
electronic version of some textbooks is cheaper than the printed ones.

Ergonomics storage and transportation of e-books is much easier.

The study was conducted online by chain-referral method, so respondents were residents
of number of different countries in order to base the hypotheses on the general worldwide
statics. Study discovered the tendency of students towards the use of e-books and e-
readers in general. This means that this study did not consider researching the patterns of
e-book and e-reader usage in particular countries. Accordingly future studies should be
conducted in each country, starting from Turkey, Georgia, etc.

It is suggested that future studies should be researching e-book and e-reader markets,
for academic, commercial and consumer benefits. In the Republic of Turkey e-book market
is not well developed yet and there are almost no e-readers sold in the electronics stores.
Turkish libraries have the own electronic book database and access to the foreign
electronic library providers, but experience of e-reader has not been implemented by
libraries yet. Future studies should also concern the possible future benefits of use of e-
reader by libraries. Rate of e-book consumption and usage could be studied in order to
determine the future possibilities of future emerging online publishing.
 INDEX

ARPANET, 13 Japan, 17, 44

Classrooms, 1, 24 Kindle, 13
Convergence, 1, 8, 47 Kobo, 14
E Ink, 13, 25 Library, 21, 22, 23, 47, 50, 51
EBSCO, 21, 47 Literary Fiction, 37, 42, 45
Educational literature, 37 Magazines, 36, 37
ePUB, 10, 11 New information technologies, 7
France, 17, 18, 31, 44 PDF, 8, 10, 11, 49
Georgia, 31, 32, 45 Price, 19, 42, 44
Germany, 17, 31, 44 Professional Literature, 37
Gutenberg, 10, 12, 49 Publishing, 3, 9, 10, 13, 15, 45
Information and Communication South Korea, 17
Technologies, 16, 47, 51 United Kingdom, 17, 31
Internet, 2, 6, 8, 10, 14, 16, 47, 49, 51 United States, 17, 23, 50, 51
Israel, 24
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Abbreviations Used:

LP - Long-playing (phonograph record).

CD Compact Disc.

ICT Information and Communication Technologies.

IPTV Internet Protocol Television, Television that is transferred through IP.

IMLS - The Institute of Museum and Library Services, independent agency of the United
States federal government.

SES Socioeconomic Status.