The popularity of electronic books is becoming infectious. Since 1998 when the first eBook readers were launched, the market has grown to offer 26 different models. This new sweet-and-sour technology is seen as a saving grace for the publishers who have seen sales fall 4 percent from last year, but may be one more nail in the coffin for paper producers like AbitibiBowater Inc., who, after filing for bankruptcy, cut this year’s newsprint production by 25 percent.

With universities now considering fossilizing paper and ink for eTextbooks, the lumber and freight industries are nervously biting their nails. Ameya Jammi of the Flat Hat, the College of William and Mary’s student newspaper, reported on Northwest Missouri State’s eTextbook pilot program. Started in the 2009 spring semester, NMSU is providing 3,000 students with laptops, readers or iPods on which they can access eTextbooks.

Jammi quotes NMSU President Dean Hubbard, “But I would think, as a realistic measure, we could be totally out of the printed textbook business in three years,” reasoning that eTextbooks cost “about 50 percent less than hard-copy texts.”

But are the savings really worth mandating the switch? With book buybacks averaging 50 percent of the original cost, that argument seems to be a wash. Also, the benefits of a used book can prove invaluable. Not only are the main points already highlighted for the used owners, but comments from previous owners are more entertaining than a bathroom stall and can be more insightful then an hour lecture.


Although there are days that my backpack weighs 35lbs, the added weight is a price I will pay. I enjoy my time flipping pages not because I am a bookworm, but because it is one of the few times during the day I am not staring at an electronic screen.

Another disadvantage of eBooks and eTextbooks is the environmental problem they create. Granted you are not cutting down trees with the electronic format, but when the readers become unusable, then you have hazardous waste that has to be disposed of.

Finally, eBook readers are not the cutting edge. Following Google and Amazon’s announcement of the V-Book (books on your phone) earlier this year, eBook readers seem like the eight-track cartridge of the 70s. And I can only imagine how many professors would look forward to even more of their students staring at their cell phones during class.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.