Article
here.
Two points which jumped out at me:
1) They told the students they could also download books for free, and asked them if knowing this made them likely to do so. Most of them said yes. So there is hope for getting today's techie generation of non-readers turned into lifelong fiction fans here! I personally feel that a growth in entertainment options has contributed to a shrinking in people who read for fun, and this is by far the bigger threat to the publishing 'industry' than the whole silly e-versus-p argument. Maybe more stories like this will convince them that they might do BETTER with an e-model...
2) One of the reader comments mentions this will save children's backs from having to carry such heavy backpacks. I know many students who have backpacks which weigh almost as much as they do! Never mind the textbooks, they have lunches, sports gear, binders, school supplies etc. Eliminating twenty pounds of textbook can have a real benefit. Even the 'I love the smell of paper' people can't argue with that one. Maybe in some situations, paper IS better (I never got into e-cookbooks, for example---I need to be able to see a whole spread at once) but in some situations, e is better or, at least, just fine. It does not have to be an either/or situation where there are no paper books in the world, ever, because of ebooks.