The Way of the Future

Each semester as I journey over to the bookstore to pick up my new books, I feel disheartened as I remember the pain I still suffer from the heavy books carried from semester's past. After talking with other students around me, and noticing how large the backpacks are that everyone is carrying, I can't help but think that by the time we are 50 we will all look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. You would think that with all the current technology our world thrives on today, that there would be a better way in which we could download our books for a fee, instead of having to cart them around with us everywhere. Although I realize that there would be complications to this process, and books are necessary for our learning, I strongly feel that something needs to be done. That is why, as a university, we should provide e-booking for all textbooks. Not only are our books heavy, but they are also expensive and provide many unnecessary problems that could be easily avoided with e-booking. I understand that the process to make e-booking available for all text books here at BYU would be long and hard, however, I find that it would be very beneficiary for all students attending this university.
As I proposed this argument, it was brought to my attention that E-books may not be suitable because there are many students who do not have computers, however, for the amount I have paid for my books each semester, I easily could have afforded to buy a laptop or other reading device, and still had money left over. Although laptop’s can be very pricey, there are many other ways a student can attain a laptop or computer to use. For one, there are places on and off campus in which you can rent a computer for a semester, you can also apply for a number of scholarships and grants in which you are provided with money that could be used to buy a laptop, and there are many other devices such as the Amazon Kindle which are cheaper than a computer and can be used to read books and articles. The problem is not therefore the cost of providing a laptop, but rather that E-books may become more expensive to buy if people were required to buy them instead of textbooks. This statement may be true to a point because yes, I do agree that if textbooks were extinct the price of E-books would go up due to their greater demand, however, I do not believe that they would be any way as expensive as textbooks because they do not require paper, packaging, or backing, but rather your payment is just towards the actual text and information. Overall, I find that E-books are the way of the future and a much better option for all those concerned.
Being a student is rough, not only do we endure little sleep and extraneous studying, but we pay a great deal of money for the opportunity to do so. Now don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful to be here and it is a joy that I have the opportunity to come to such a great institution, however, I find it sad that although we live in a world with such great modern technology we are still required to buy hard cover textbooks for school. Not only are these books heavy and will damage your back, but many times they can cause straining and harm to your eyes as well. Now, I have to admit that after just a few hours of typing this paper, my eyes have become sore and it is difficult to read the computer screen. I thought that perhaps this would be the case with e-booking as well until I realized that after reading a textbook for a few hours I feel many of the same sensations, and have to leave for a half an hour and then come back in order to properly focus on the words I am reading. I do believe that E-booking may hurt a students eyes after a long period of time, however, I do not feel that this damage would be any worse than that of squinting to read small words in a textbook. With E-booking, after you have downloaded the book, you can choose which font and size you would like the text to be displayed in, with a regular textbook this is not an option and many times you will end up squinting in order to read the material, thus damaging your eyes anyway. Other devices, such as the Amazon Kindle, also provide ways in which to magnify certain words and to also highlight and bold text as you would with a textbook. Yes, it is true that reading from the computer for hours at a time over long periods will cause damage, but not any more than that of reading a textbook over the same course of time.
Last semester I had one of my books stolen, although it was one of my less expensive books, I still lost the money I paid for it and the money I had to spend to replace it. With E-booking this problem would be demolished, because when a book is downloaded it is unable to be stolen from you. Even if someone were to steal your laptop, or Kindle, the option would be available in which you could download your book to another computer to use for the rest of the semester. This ideal is perfect for BYU students. Many times because books are so expensive, students are forced to steal their books or go without and fail their classes. I know this concept is hard to believe, however, many books are stolen each semester and students are left bookless and therefore have to either spend money that they don’t have on a new book, or go without and most likely struggle in the class. E-booking is the way of the future, and will provide our students with lighter back loads and reduce the chance of their books being stolen or misplaced.
For many of the classes I have taken both here, and in high school, I was required to write a research paper by the end of the course. Each time a paper was required, I would head to library and spend hours trying to find the right information on my topic. With e-booking I can search through many books in my pajamas, at the click of a mouse. I just have to find the book, download it, and then type in key words that I may be looking for, and everywhere that word is mentioned throughout the book will pop up. I find that this concept is not only applicable to papers but also helps to prepare students for exams and quizzes, because after reading the information they can go back and find words in which they need to study. Not only can they look up these words, but when first reading the material, they also have the option of highlighting, bolding, italicizing, or underlining the information in order to find it more promptly. Many of these same options are included when you buy a book, but after marking the book you lose the chance to receive as much money back for it and therefore forfeit some of your cash. Not only that, but when a mark is made in a book it cannot be erased, with e-booking it can be erased and information that may be long can be summarized by the reader in it’s place. As I have described, there are many different options to choose from when it comes to e-booking, and it is my true belief that with e-booking we would be providing our students with not only a lighter load to carry, but also a greater ability to progress in their studies.
It was also brought to my attention that it would be impossible to convert every book that has ever been written to e-booking, however, when I looked on the internet to see what kind of a variety e-booking offers I was pleased to find that many historic novels and writings could be found, and it was noted that there are many companies working to provide all classic and significant books online. So, although it is true that not all books could be provided as e-books, those that are the most used and noticeable will be placed online for readers. Also, due to the current technology of our world, many publishing companies are providing their books online because of a greater demand and market for it. They see the day of student’s buying hardcover books on its way out, and e-booking on its way in. It is my hope that in the next few years’ changes are made in order to start the process of allowing our textbooks to be provided in digital forms. Although I know it would take a lot of hard work, and many people to make it possible for our books to be offered online, the results would be well worthwhile.
Overall, it is my personal belief that e-booking is a system that should be seriously considered at Brigham Young University. As a student at BYU I feel it would be a great joy if my books could be downloaded to my laptop. I know many other students who also feel this way and have stated that they would greatly appreciate if something were done to lighten the weight of their textbooks and decrease the expense of their books. One of the best resolutions to these issues is to turn to modern day technology and provide our students with e-booking in which they can enhance both their computer skills and gain educationally at the same time. If we just pull together and help each other in efforts to change our textbooks to e-books, we can change the ways of history and give our students the opportunity to grow and exceed in innumerous ways. It is our duty to take action now. That is why we should change to e-booking, because, it is the way of the future.