I must add a follow-up to my post yesterday about Amazon’s Kindle: Apple’s Steve Jobs, waxing ebullient about most of the wonders of 2008 technology (such as the iPhone and Apple’s new super-slim laptop), has said that the Kindle is doomed to fail because Americans aren’t reading anymore. Here’s a quote from this New York Times story:
“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”
Is this really true, do you think? Are people (and by “people,” I include a major number of young people) reading significantly fewer books than they did B.I.E. (Before the Internet Era)? Will people read fewer books next year, and then even fewer books the year after that? [ominous organ chord] Does this spell the end of the road for the library?
I don’t think so. When I go into good, people-friendly libraries I see as much happening as ever. And I think that children – especially young children – get plenty of the stimulation they need to become literate in libraries. But what do you think?
January 23, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I think I live in a bubble (Seattle was rated the most literate city in the country), but I think Jobs is in a similar spot– I don’t know where he’s getting his information, whether it was from that questionable report from the NEA or some other study. Perhaps it is Jobs himself who doesn’t read anymore? The last library branch I worked before moving West had a lot of children in the library who didn’t want to read fiction, yet were quite interested in information books of their choosing.
January 23, 2008 at 8:43 pm
I have a feeling you’re right, although I see plenty of kids who enjoy both fiction & nonfiction. Jobs said “forty percent don’t read.” That means sixty percent do. –W
February 1, 2008 at 11:14 pm
[...] Posted by the Monkey under Children & technology Perhaps Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos heard what Apple’s Steve Jobs said about nobody reading anymore, because Amazon has purchased Audible. The company sells a wide range of downloadable books – [...]
February 11, 2008 at 5:30 am
““People don’t read anymore””=========?
If its true , than how BOOk FAIRS are as popoular as any other fair in any contries?
In India (my motherland)is equally aprrecaible like a techno fairs or a Food and Enjoyment ehibitions. The visitors comes from corss section of the society and from varied age group. you can spot a kid of 3 yrs wth his garnd parents of 90 yrs age.
one can see a visitor on wheel chair .
In thi light of above I am nt ready to accpt this hard fact thast peoples are no more interesting in books or reading.