There has been a flurry of articles about the digitisation of libraries in the last few days.  Hardly a new phenomena but one whose consequences are still being reckoned with.  Images like this (above) of the Florida Polytechnic University library designed and built without a single book highlight where the trend is heading.  It also begs the question of why you even need a building for this kind of a library but we wont go there.

With access, copyright and distribution of resources all thorny issues in the debate, what is receiving less focus is reading experience.  This 2013 Scientific American article asks “How exactly does the technology we use to read change the way we read?” Although early studies showed that most people read slower, less accurately and less comprehensively on screens, more recent studies are finding fewer differences.  Student tests also show slightly better results for reading on paper. Experiments in the area suggest there is something about reading print that counts and it appears to be linked to what is termed cognitive mapping.

It seems reading is part of a complex mental process where by we construct a representation of the text as something resembling a landscape. As we read a mental map is built with each part located spatially within the whole. The experience of reading a printed book appears to give the reader more cues as to the overall structure which supports this process of cognitive mapping. The ebook experience, less navigable and with few cues as to where you are in the whole, appears to inhibit mapping and the making of connections back into the content.

This 2013 study by Liang-Yi Li and Gwo-Dong Chen demonstrates that a focus on user experience and simple changes in design can support cognitive mapping. Surprisingly the main e-readers still offer only very basic navigational assistance. There is much scope for improvement and the many experimental enhanced ebooks out there indicate what is possible. Push Pop Press’s Our Choice is one of the more remarkable.  As shown in this demonstration the enhanced ebook or Multi Touch publication allows you to interact with content in many ways; delving deeper into images, accessing audio narration, interacting with graphics and my favourite- locating all images on an interactive map! Sadly Push Pop Press was swallowed by Facebook in 2011 and nothing more has been heard from them.

But lets face it, when talking about digitisation of libraries most of the existing collection will be simply scanned.  Platforms like Issuu are the more likely options for supporting readers of digitised texts. Taking a simple PDF file Issuu provides a more book like feel and navigation via a thoughtfully designed visual interface.  It also offers some of the positives of digitisation, like interactive clips and capacity for comments and clipping, that can be added to existing publications.

This Guardian article from 2013 notes that 62% of 16 to 24-year-olds prefer reading printed books to e-reading devices.  The experience of reading an old fashioned book has powerful synesthetic dimensions that include the feel in the hand, the smell and the appeal of the physical object that is then displayed on one’s bookshelves.  Similarly I would suggest a visit to a library full of books is something that resonates with people.   Current figures show around 30% of the population of the UK and US reads ebooks. Despite this number steadily growing it seems likely printed books will remain a key part of our reading experience. It would be a shame if libraries didn’t recognise this.

As part of my current studies I have plenty of books around me and although my digitised Mendeley library is a key tool for organising my resources, I do find printed material easier to interact with.  I’d be interested to hear how others feel.  I just hope that in the zeal for efficient, modern libraries we are not giving up on the printed book too hastily.