English for Workplce 1 (LST)

8/20/2019 English for Workplce 1 (LST)

1/8


2/8

To Chee Siu Ming. #ead o$ %e&art'ent

/ro' 0ong !i #uong. #ead o$ Librarian

%ate () *ctober +)(,

Sub"ect Shelton College E-Learning Center Should Provide More Books

Rather Than To Invest In New Technologies Such !s E-Books !nd E-

1ounal2

(2) Introduction

Today we have vast technology surrounds us. It affects different aspects of our daily

lives. This including the types of books we read. Nowadays, there are basically two types of

books to read. They are the traditional printed books and the electronic books or what we called

as the e-books that can be viewed on a computer or on tablets. Today Internet is becoming very

popular. Nowadays more and more people prefer e-books for reading.. E-books are electronic

books in electronic format. It is downloaded to a personal computer, a desk top, a smart phone

or any other type of electronic devices. It is read by a reader on a screen of an electronic device.

It has no different from a printed book that it contains numbered pages; it has table of contents,

and some e-books do have pictures and graphics. It is easier to purchase by downloading it from

the Internet. owever, concern has been raised about how much time we are spending in front of

screens, is the time spend as beneficial as the time we used to read from a printed book. !ver the

past decade, there has been several research or studies done about e-books. The advantages and

disadvantages have been listed out regarding e-books.

"hould we ac#uire more e-books for our libraries or should we $ust maintain the paper

books we have. %s the librarian in charge, I would like to highlight a few points on why our

library should provide more printed or paper books rather than invest in new technology such as

e-books and e-$ournals.

&irst of all, I would like to highlight the current situation we are in, identifying the issue

faced and the need for changes, cost involved and some of the advantages for libraries to provide

more books rather than investing in e-books and e-$ournals.


3/8

+2) The Current State

'ith the high-tech media surrounding us, some people hold that the public libraries

would be rendered obsolete if they do not offer software, videos or ()(s to their users while

others felt that it*s only a waste of limited resources and the libraries should offer books only.

!ne of the reasons many people tends to go for e-books because it is not possible for everyone to

purchase more printed or paper books. These online e-books can save our time and money as

they are easily available on the Internet. "ome of these e-books can be downloaded directly

from the Internet and some of them can be obtained for free of cost on different websites.

&urthermore, e-books are easy to store and for those books lovers, they know what it means by

limited space to keep all the printed books. !n the other hands, for e-books, you definitely do

not need the physical space as the printed books. It takes up less space. +ou practically do not

need any space to store them. +ou can store hundreds and thousands of e-books on your

computer or laptop. y saving your e-books in your electronic devices also means you can have

a backup online if something happens to your books. In a long run, e-books are much cheaper

because there are no printing costs associated with them. In fact, you can often find free e-books

online, whereas you will always need to pay for paper books. 'ith an e-book, you can easily

change the lettering or the sie of your font. !ften time for paper books, after long reading you

will have to stop because your eyes feel strained. 'ith an e-book, you can $ust change the font

sie and continue reading. This is also a great feature for those who need large print books.

&urthermore, there is no hassle to purchase and downloading e-books through the Internet like

purchasing any other products. Normally after you have made payment, you will be directed to a

download link in your email or you will be directed to a download page to download the book

you purchased. "o what you actually need is a click and the e-book is in the process of moving

into your electronic device. %fter downloading the e-book you purchased, you do not have to be

connected to the Internet in order to read the e-book. +ou can stay offline and you can also

easily print it with your home printer. 'hen you need certain information, you can also obtain itimmediately, by downloading an e-book or an e-$ournal. E-books are also portable and you can

easily carry a collection of e-books or a library of hundreds or thousands of e-books with you.

This can done by using eternal hard disk, /(s, pen drive, laptop, or "martphone without have

to worry about the weight or limited physical space. 'ith this you can read them anywhere or

everywhere and anytime.


4/8

'ith e-books, you can also easily access to more information and related websites

because it helps to link from one link to another. Thus, you can easily search for any information

in an e-book, instead of turning page after page from paper or printed books. igh-tech media is,

in many ways, indeed superior to the books in terms of entertainment, attraction, and

functionality. &or instance, videos and ()(s function as a visual means to assist people to have

a first-hand eperience even though those people have not physically visited or seen the ob$ects

which are introduced in the books.

32) So'e o$ the Challenges *ur Librar 0ould /ace

owever, despite the fact that there are many great aspects that surround e-books, there

seem to be a lot of advantages over paper books, but we do foresee some weaknesses and

challenges related to e-books in regards to our libraries. "ome of the challenges that surround e-

book are0

32( E-books reader can cost 'one and unnecessar inconveniences

%n e-book reader is also known as an e-book reader, is actually a portable electronic

device that is designed with the main purpose of reading e-books. The most disappointing thing

about e-books is it needs a special device to keep it and read it. Not like paper books, it does not

need any device and you also do not need a special charger to ensure that your device is running.

&or readers to access into e-books on a computer or laptop, certain software programs are needed

and those programs will need to be compatible with the computer or device used. &or readers to

access into e-books on a computer or laptop, certain software programs are needed and those

programs will need to be compatible with the computer or device used. %s the process of

selecting, ac#uisition and management of e-book can be complicated and costly. 1any of this

software programs are either free or commercialied programs. I may agree that there are lots of

e-books are available for free, but not all. There are lots of paid academic e-books which cost

much more than printed books. 1any tend to feel that e-books should cost no more than printed

editions. It is true that there are some low prices of mass market e-books and thus they may

assume that it is also true with all other scholarly titles. There is also an assumption it is cheaper

to publish e-books. That is not always true. owever, the writing, editing, and formatting

processes are similar no matter the final product is in printed form, digital form or both.


5/8

%lthough print editions of paper books re#uire printing, binding and shipping, e-books have their

own uni#ue costs such as online hosting server and also network maintenance. There is also

reformatting needed to be done for multiple platforms or file format. esides, there are other

matters such as consumer or customer service and online technical support. Thus, often time

consumers will need to pay a much higher price for e-books.

&urthermore, because this software programs are epensive and the library might need to

have a financial budget each year to either purchase new software or upgrade the eisting one. It

will also cost more for the library in order to purchase additional computer for more readers to be

able to read e-book.

"ome reading material might only be accessible to readers unless it is connected to

Internet. %ll electronic devices such as computers are also sub$ect to failures, and could

malfunction. 'hile reading a printed paper book, you do not have to worry that the words on the

pages will disappear before your eyes. It is the e-books readers, special devices or programs on

an electronic device such as computer that allow us to access the book electronically. There is

absolutely no paper involved. owever, if there is a power failure and the batteries on the

computer die off the user will not be able to access the book.

32+ Not ever book &ublished is &ut into a digital $or'at

'hile there are hundreds and thousands of e-books that are available online for

download, but not every book published is put into a digital format. &or eample, the new

bestselling book initially may $ust release in paperback form or hardcover edition. Thus it is

difficult to collect and build strong e-books collection because there are many academic titles

that are not available in digital format. This is one of the reasons why librarians* are reluctance

to commit to e-book collections. 1oreover, the ma$or library e-book vendors or suppliers offer

$ust a fraction of the title what a library need for its academicals collection. &urthermore because

e-books are electronically, digital distribution has the potential to be delayed in its availability to

the public as compare to paper books. The preservation of e-books is also difficult because each

e-book consists of several distinct elements such as the content of the book and also the

formatting of the work or the file format, the software needed to access and open the file, the

operating system needed to open the software must be compatible with the operating system.


6/8

323 Progra's need constant checking $or securit vulnerabilities

%ny program that is on a computer can be risky to the computer when it is connected to

the Internet. It created vulnerabilities for attack by virus and spyware. %nti-virus, anti-malware

and spyware may change registry information. asically, the registry is the components that

allow a program to work. Thus anytime a software, the registry will allow the program to

continue running. owever, for the condition in a library, it is open to the public and thus it will

not be easy to monitor all users especially make the program malfunction. The user may not

understand the changes, misunderstanding that the update for a virus re#uest and deny a crucial

registry change that allows the e-book readier to work. This will incur etra cost to service the

computers we have in our libraries. It*s wise for learner to read paper books instead of e-books

because e-books it opens them out to uncensored sites. 2aper books help people to focus and

concentrate. They are not easily distracted. 3eading online tends people to search new books,

visit websites, and look up links rather than focus on the books they are reading.

324 E-books can cause eestrain2

E-books are read on a computer that is viewed on a screen. The shining of your device

causes headaches and feels uncomfortable to read for a long time. The screen does not have the

same type of resolution like paper books have. This is one of the physiological effects of

watching too much or reading too much in front of a computer. !ur eyes contain the strongest

muscles in our body. ut as strong as they are, they can become strained, tired or fatigued by

ecessive viewing in front of a computer. 1ost eye doctors will assure you that reading too

much from a computer or laptops won*t permanently damage your eyes. owever, focusing

your eyes for long hours in front of a television, can cause eyestrain, a temporary but irritating

problem but concentrating or reading too much in front of a computer screen will permanently

damage your eyes. %s mentioned, reading e-books for long hours in front of a computer can

cause eyestrain. The symptom of eyestrain are headache, tired eyes, very sensitive to light 4lightsensitivity5, temporary blurriness or double vision and sore or itchy eyes. &or some people, eye

strains can also lead to reduction in productivity and ability to concentrate and may even

negatively impact our eyesight. %s the presence of technology increases, so do the chances for

our vision to worsen.


7/8

32, E-book can cause &irac &roble' $or author and &ublisher

No matter how much hard work you put in making a new e-book, there will always be

some people make our library e-books for free download on some torrent site or any other.

This can be a very serious issue among author and publisher.

325 #u'an /actors

There are still many people prefer the feel of a paper book or even the smell of a printed

book. The act of turning the pages could be a $oy to many people. %t the same time, not

everybody is in the high tech-savvy group and thus the printed traditional paper books will still

be their preference when come to reading. This is true especially among the elderly. This is

because they cannot afford to read for such long hour under the bright light of the screen of a

computer. It is also because it has become their habit to hold a book and read and turn the pages

is an en$oyment to them. It could a $oy to many people to see a room full of printed books. It

brings satisfaction especially if they are their own personal collection of books.

42) Conclusion

6ibraries face significant challenges related to the selection, licensing, ac#uisition and

management of e-books. Not all the print books ac#uired by the libraries might be available as

e-books. 1any academic e-books might be released only three to eighteen months after the

printed editions were released. 1any licenses re#uire repeated payments for access to content

that do not change over time. 1any of these challenges can be traced to a more general problem

such as the lack of uniformity in license terms, lease conditions, access restrictions and

librarians* epectations. 6ibraries should be responsible for keeping paper books as one day

Internet might not eist. It is a known fact that only paper books are the only reliable and safe

source of information. 2rinted copies of books do not fade despite this challenging matter with

electronic books. They remain to be playing a vital role in the way people eperience booksdespite the continuous increase of online popularity. 2aper books are not easily lost compares to

e-books which can be deleted accidentally or malfunction. In conclusion, public libraries would

benefit in having paper books and e-books if they are prepared to e#uipped the library with the

high-tech media facilities.


8/8

Re$erences

/hen, %ngela. 4%ugust 77, 7898 ). Students find e-textbooks ‘clumsy’ and don’t use their

interactive features. The Chronicle of Higher ducation. :!nline. %vailable0

http0

Documents

English for Workplce 1 (LST)