Another study proves printed books are not dead

Remember a few years ago, when we would have a news story every other week saying how eBooks are going replace printed book forever, now, the tables have turned. Now, every once in a while we are getting stories reiterating the fact that printed books have trumped all the emerging digital media.

07 Sep 2016 | By Dibyajyoti Sarma

The recent story in this is a story published in The New York Times on 2 September 2016, titled, ‘No, the Internet Has Not Killed the Printed Book. Most People Still Prefer Them’, which quotes a study conducted by Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, DC, providing information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the US and the world.

According to the report, 65% of adults in the US said they had read a printed book in the past year, the same percentage that said so in 2012. When you add in eBooks and audiobooks, the number that said they had read a book in printed or electronic format in the past 12 months rose to 73%, compared with 74% in 2012. Total 28% said they had opted for an eBook in the past year, while 14% said they had listened to an audiobook.

The Pew study, based on a telephone survey of 1,520 adults in the country from 7 March to 4 April 2016, reports that people are indeed using tablets and smartphones to read books. Total 13% of adults in the US said that they used their cellphones for reading in the past year, up from 5% in 2011. Tablets are a similar story: 15% said that they had used one for books this year, up from 4% in 2011.