thefridayfive | The Friday Five for 24 April 2020: Books

1. Are books losing importance as a source of information and entertainment?

2. Are e-books the death of paper books? Will paper books disappear?

3. Should libraries focus on improving their technological resources rather than building a larger collection of paper books?

4. How important are early reading skills in a child’s academic performance?

5. Are people who spend a lot of time reading fiction wasting their time which could be better spent doing more useful activities?

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. Are books losing importance as a source of information and entertainment?
I don't think so!

2. Are e-books the death of paper books? Will paper books disappear?
I don't think so. I'll read either, but if I'm purchasing, I prefer to have a physical book. My brain still hasn't completely accepted "digital possessions" as the way.

3. Should libraries focus on improving their technological resources rather than building a larger collection of paper books?
I think both are necessary. There are large swaths of the population that don't have access to technological resources, or wouldn't want to e-borrow.

4. How important are early reading skills in a child’s academic performance?
I think it's pretty critical since being able to read is an expected skill in school.

5. Are people who spend a lot of time reading fiction wasting their time which could be better spent doing more useful activities?
What was that? Sorry, I was busy reading. ;)

Great questions!

My answers: https://goddess47.dreamwidth.org/86938.html

1. Are books losing importance as a source of information and entertainment?

In my highly educated opinion, no. I have relied on books heavily throughout my life for both and definitely did in the past 3 years whilst doing a university degree. Now, post-degree, I still rely on books. I don't see books going away any time soon.

2. Are e-books the death of paper books? Will paper books disappear?

I don't think so and no, I don't think they will. Personally, I like both. When I'm reading for my own enjoyment, I tend to prefer e-books. When I'm reading for information and educational purposes, I tend to prefer a paper book because it's easier for me to book mark pages and find information in them. It's more difficult to do that on an e-book even though they have options for notes and such. It still doesn't quite work for me. E-books also allow me to have more books than I would otherwise because of lack of space.

3. Should libraries focus on improving their technological resources rather than building a larger collection of paper books?

There's scope for both, I'd say.

4. How important are early reading skills in a child's academic performance?

I don't know. What does the research say? I'm sure there have been studies done. I think it's important to introduce children to books early on and foster a love of reading, but how much that impacts on academic performance, I don't know. There are too many other factors that could hinder academic performance that don't have anything to do with early reading skills. Could early reading skills help? Sure. I don't think they guarantee better academic performance.

5. Are people who spend a lot of time reading fiction wasting their time which could be better spent doing more useful activities?

That depends - is the person reading so much that it stops them from being able to take care of themselves and their responsibilities? If so, then maybe it's time to put down the book. For some, reading fiction could be a vital way of coping with stressful times in their life or even be a coping mechanism for dealing with particular life problems. Whatever a person's motivation, Bertrand Russell said it best, "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."