Week 14 Reading Response

Second to last class, and the first day of presentations. It seemed that these presentations covered interesting topics, but ones that are slightly less controversial than those that will go on the 15th. The e-reader presentation was interesting, and confirmed my preference for the Barnes and Noble Nook over other readers (I bought one just a few weeks ago). In a similar vein to Week 12's reaction, the group brought to my attention the ability of e-readers to help people with learning and physical disabilities navigate and understand a book. I also like the mention of the difference between what you think your rights are as an e-book purchaser and what they actually are. An e-book can be bought and read, but not lent (at least, not freely under all circumstances) or sold. This seems to reiterate my point from the intellectual property readings a few weeks ago: today's copyright law is not equipped to deal with modern technology.

The other presentation, one city one book, really caught my attention. It does seem to be a good idea, having a whole city read a book, but I'm not sure if the utopian idea is unrealistic: are a majority of people really going to read and have intelligent conversations about a book that a city group suggests to them? The presenting group demonstrated that although considered successful in some cities like Seattle and Chicago, in other cities it fails overall, such as in New York. Also, the goals of the program confused me a little. Yes, a citywide book read might encourage people to consider ideas or viewpoints they might have otherwise. But the goal of promoting literacy seems suspect. Are people with no or limited reading skills going to accept the challenge of plowing through an adult reading-level book? That seems doubtful to me. One city one book is a good idea in some respects, but in terms of promoting literacy, librarians should look to spend their time and money in a more useful way to help illiterate and barely literate adults gain and improve reading skills.