In the reading community a debate has risen between materials that may seem as opposite as can be, but are used to accomplish the same simple task of reading.  This debate is over E-books or paper books.

“Although I have started using E-Books a lot more, and there are some features that I really like about them, I still generally prefer physical books”  library media specialist Allison Donahay said.

E-book systems have the ability look up books by genre.  People also do not have to remember to return books on time when using an E-Book to check the book out.  Another pro to using E-Books is if a person is going on a long trip they will not need to carry stacks of books with them, all of the books will be in a single device.

“I think a lot of people don’t like E-books because they enjoy the feeling of having a book in their hand,” library media specialist Jennifer Coleman said.

Some people find it hard to read E-Books if it is on a phone, and easier to read if it were on a tablet.  Another con is that when reading E-Books people cannot tell how far away the end of the book is or how many pages are left.

“Things like cover art and graphics I still think pop more with a physical book,” Donahay said.  “You can look at it and get a feel for what sort of book it is going to be like more than an E-Book,”

Also, with paper books, there is not a worry of their reading device running out of power in the middle of a chapter, or have to worry about sitting next to a charger.  Those are things that do not need to be thought about while reading a paper book.

“They could be cumbersome to carry around if you had multiple books, have to remember to return them,” Coleman said.

Along with this people have to make sure a library book is not damaged or lost while the book is in their possession.

“Some people think that ten years from now there will be no physical books I don’t think that’s true, I can’t see that happening.  Especially because I don’t think that authors and publishers necessarily want that to happen,” Donahay said.

Despite the rise in E-books, it is believed that physical books will stay around for a long time, so those who are physical book readers need not worry about them fading away in this lifetime.