Libraries are the pride and prestige of the best universities in the
world. But how would you like to travel with a library of 14,000 books
in your pocket? Electronic readers, like Amazon’s Kindle, the Nook and
Apple’s newest marvel, the iPad (released on January 27, 2010) let you
store all of your books, textbooks, documents, newspapers and magazines
on a tablet weighing less than 600 grams.
If you answered ‘yes, please’ to the question above, you are among hundreds of thousands of readers changing the landscape of information consumption today. This switch from print to digital circulation affects news and literary publications, but next in line are textbooks and other academic resources.
Electronic readers eliminate a lot of the obstacles that make libraries such priced and exclusive sanctuaries of a written word. Book prices are coming down with the eliminated cost of printing, readers do not have to pay extra for hard cover copies or color-print illustrations, no more waiting in lines and going from store to store to get a rare publication, no more packing a whole suite case of books or selling off useful textbooks just because you cannot lug heavy titles around the Airport s. Reading is getting easy and convenient.
For Georgia, the launch of such e-readers as Kindle, iPad, and Nook spells ‘opportunity.’ This is a chance for Georgian schools and universities to introduce the much-lacking modern technology into the educational process and make a financially efficient decision that will yield long-run developmental results. Although these gadgets are pricy at first, the benefit of having millions of old and new titles available to anyone at a significantly reduced cost and with seconds in delivery time is – as MasterCard holders will agree – priceless.
Georgian universities should follow the lead of Princeton University, Reed College, Arizona State University and others that have introduced Amazon Kindle DX (the newest version of the well-established e-reader) into their curricula. According to their students, the most obvious benefits of Kindle are the opportunity to save paper (students get their textbooks, assignments, syllabi, handouts and case studies electronically), to save money (textbooks cost less and can be shared), to save energy and never forget a textbook or homework at home (Kindle weighs about 300 grams). A significant drawback, however, is that you cannot scribble notes on the margins as you can on paper. Therefore, note-taking features will soon be added to e-readers.
E-readers can help develop the habit of using internet and information technology as an academic resource. Especially in universities with limited computer accessibility, more advance models like Apple’s newly released iPad (still quite expensive at 499 USD) and Nook (259 USD) allow users to browse internet and download titles in seconds. In addition to thousands of free e-books (ex., classic literature), Georgian universities can make electronic subscriptions to magazines and newspapers available to their students for extremely reduced prices. The Google Books project, with 10 million of rare titles scanned and available for free download, opens doors to an unprecedented wealth of resources as well.
While Apple’s iPad may be too expensive for mass use in Georgian private and public universities, we should jump onto the digital education bandwagon by opting for less expensive alternatives (ex., Kindle costs 259 USD). A long-run development strategy should implement necessary provisions – availability of wireless internet at schools and universities is a must, communicating proper information to students is essential, and signing special deals with book, textbook and magazine publishers, as well as companies like Amazon, will prove financially beneficial.
Possibilities are limitless and the time to plan is now. With Kindle introduced in 100 countries worldwide and Apple unveiling a new gadget that is bound to dominate the e-reader market in the coming months, the shift in information consumption is inevitable. Instead of playing catch-up to technological progress later on, Georgian universities and schools should become one of the game-changers in educational, business and social development.
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