Editorial: E-volution in reading

Even in an era of dizzyingly swift changes in technology, growth in the use of electronic tablets and e-readers is extraordinary.

In little more than a month, ownership of these portable digital reading (and Web surfing) devices almost doubled. Today, about 29 percent of U.S. adults own a tablet or e-reader, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That’s up from 18 percent in early December. While the percentages may lag overall ownership of cellphones (roughly 83 percent, according to a 2011 survey) and laptop or desktop computers (56-57 percent), the growth rate is faster than anything seen before. A little less than three years ago, in April 2009, only 2 percent of U.S. adults owned an e-reader. Tablet ownership wasn’t even being tracked.

Credit the surge in large part to the morphing of Saint Nick into Saint Nook as Christmas buying propelled e-sales. By mid-December, Amazon had sold a million of its Kindles in each of the previous three weeks, and sales of the Nook and similar devices also went up. Combine that with the explosion in the availability of e-books available for purchase or through digital libraries, and you’ve got the makings of a new reading revolution.

But if you think this revolution is about to sweep away printed books, it’s time to come back down to Earth. While big-box bookstores like Barnes and Noble are having to reinvent themselves, that isn’t because people aren’t reading printed books anymore. They’re just buying them in different ways, such as independent stores and online marketers like Amazon.

Although e-book sales have skyrocketed in the past three years (accounting for up to 20 percent of major publishers’ revenues), a recent Wall Street Journal story noted that some publishers worried about overall declining revenues (even as e-book sales rise) have raised e-book prices. To avoid further cannibalizing their print sales, some have also moved to limit the availability of free library downloads for bestsellers and other popular titles. Obviously, the brave new world of e-books and e-publishing is in its formative stages, and print books still make up the bulk of the book trade. Reports of their demise may be like the predictions made decades ago that by the 21st century we would be living in a cashless society, working in paperless offices, whisked about in driverless cars.

From the perspective of publishers and book sellers, these are challenging times. The recent bankruptcy of Borders offers evidence of just how challenging it is. But for book lovers, it’s a new chapter where readers have more options and titles literally at their fingertips than could have been imagined even a few short years ago.