Published in School Library Journal on January 1, 2010.
Author John Green writes about how the future of books and reading is in the hand of children’s and young adult librarians. “How librarians choose to build [their] collections, whom [they] buy from, and how [they] discover the works [they] want to share with [their] patrons will shape what Americans—whether or not they ever visit libraries—will read and how they will read it.” Green calls children’s librarians gatekeepers because they collect books and strive to offer the best books. We have the power to support the status quo (established publishers) or embrace radical change (support more self publishers). Either way Green argues, how librarians choose the books or ebooks we offer our patrons and the types of reading we support will dictate how reading will develop. I feel that this article is a call to take up the challenge of sorting through the different forms of digital reading, just as we have for the printed form. The challenge is a daunting one as the realm of digital books is just being developed and even now in its infant form it is so vast.
The author offers an example of how reading might change with technology through his experimental online novella, This Is Not Tom (TINT), where the reader must solve riddles in order to access the different chapters. While the author admits that his novella is not the best example of the future of reading, as the riddles are extremely difficult and the story sucks (his words not mine), he using it more as an example that how we read is always changing. The author does not seem to think this type of reading will catch on anytime soon due to his own failure. Whereas an article by Tom Peters in the Library School Journal supports the idea that those very interactive genres, such as books via cell phone texting, are becoming highly popular.
Both Peters and Green feel that reading is in no danger of becoming obsolete. Instead they both feel that it will flourish in this digital age. While some might argue that the large amount of videos online will replace text, both authors feel that text both supports and is supported by video. I agree with them that reading is in no danger, but libraries do need to evolve with the changes occurring in how people read. Peters particularly believes that libraries need to be advocates and provide clear organized information as new forms of reading are developed. I think that libraries have already begun to take this step through the adoption of e-readers and downloadable books. In understanding the different ways that reading is evolving, librarians will understand how they themselves need to evolve in order to meet their patrons, the ever growing mass of readers, needs and wants. It is my hope that I am able to rise to such a challenge and keep my knowledge up to date.
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