Book Reading

A family friend still recounts the time a teacher found my copy of A Tale of Two Cities, torn up, in the cafeteria. It was once hard to imagine that I would become a regular reader, much less a librarian. Dickens novels notwithstanding, reading is now a part of my daily practice. It’s a trained habit that I cling to, knowing how easily my concentration issues could derail it. Last year, at 41, I had my biggest reading year ever.

In all, I’m a pretty good reader of books, but as a consumer of books, it’s a different story. I largely support one single international retailer that spies on me and gives me fewer rights in exchange for my money. Why do I do this, when I could support local shops and libraries? When I could give unique copies to family or strangers later? The answer comes down to the affordances of ebooks and the legal and technological web governing them.

About two-thirds of the books I read are in ebook format and the remaining third are digital audiobooks. I can trace a pretty clear line between my adoption of digital reading and my reading frequency. The font size is always the same, the next paragraph is always on top, multiple books are always in rotation, and reading can take place discreetly in public or in the dark at home.

I like libraries. I work in an academic library and the public library I used to work for is located down the street. I made a new year’s resolution to use libraries more last year and about a tenth of the books I finished were borrowed from a library. As a frequent reader, is a rate of 1 out of 10 a desirable rate for library borrowing?

If I had more patience for ebook waitlists, the rate could have been 46.5%. And if I used interlibrary loan and read more physical books, that rate could well have been 100%. Technically, I could have borrowed every book I read last year. Is this just a case of one individual exercising personal choice?

My ‘personal choices’ point to idiosyncratic answers. But I do wonder if my reasons may actually be more common than not. That’s why I feel compelled to share this ‘consumer autobiography’ with the Library Futures audience and to encourage others to share their stories. Perhaps an accumulation of testimony may draw out patterns useful to advocates in the fight for the future of libraries and digital reading.

Enough. Let’s talk books.