This paper reports a diary-based qualitative study on college students' reading habits with regard to print and electronic media. Students used a form to record information about their reading practices for twelve days, including length of reading event, location, format used, and the purpose of reading. Students tended to use print for academic and long-form reading and to engage with it more deeply. Although electronic resources were sometimes used for academic purposes, students often used them for shorter and nonacademic reading. Students found electronic media convenient, but most of them did not wish to switch to electronic media for their academic reading.
understand whether and how students are using e-book readers to respond appropriately. As new media formats emerge, libraries must avoid both extremes: uncritical, hype-driven adoption of new formats and irrational attachment to the status quo.
■ ■ Research ContextRecently introduced e-reader brands have attracted so much attention that it is sometimes difficult to remember that those currently on the market are not the first generation of such devices. The first generation was introduced, to little fanfare, in the 1990s. Devices such as the SoftBook and the Rocket E-Book reader are well documented in the literature, but were unsuccessful in the market. 1 The most recent wave of e-readers began with the Sony Reader in 2006 and Amazon's Kindle in 2007, and thus far is enjoying more success. Barnes and Noble and Borders have entered the market with the Nook and the Kobo, respectively, and Apple has introduced the iPad, a multifunction device that works well as an e-reader.Amazon claims that e-book sales for the Kindle have outstripped their hardcover book sales.2 These numbers may reflect price differences, enthusiasm on the part of early adopters, marketing efforts on the parts of these particular companies, or a lack of other options for e-reader users because the devices are designed to be compatible primarily with the offerings of the companies who sell them. Nevertheless, they certainly indicate a rise in the consumption of e-books by the public, as the dramatic increase in wholesale e-book sales bears out. 3 In the meantime, sales of the devices increased nearly 80 percent in 2010.
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, since their publication in 2000, have drawn criticism for ignoring the social and political aspects of information literacy. The ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards Task Force responded with the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, which rethinks information literacy by acknowledging that it is a social phenomenon and by recognizing students as participatory learners. This article contrasts the constructions of information, information literacy, and students in the Framework and the Standards to show how the Framework addresses some of the critiques of the Standards.
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