This summer, more students will read (or listen) via e-books or audiobooks, or at least that's what industry data suggests.
A new report from Sora, a K-12 reading platform, found that audiobook checkouts by students increased by 20% and e-book checkouts increased by 17% last year. Since 2019, the use of digital books has increased by 286%, according to the K-12 eBook Reading Report.
Still, not all students are aware of or have access to e-books, audiobooks, and related digital book content, says Melissa Jacobs, director of library services for the New York City Department of Education.
“I still think there is a lot of growth opportunity and that publishers and platforms are going through some growing pains,” Jacobs says.
Jacobs offers how teachers can encourage students to explore e-books and audiobooks this summer, and how they can use their voices to advocate for more affordable e-book prices for libraries in general, but particularly for school libraries.
1. Remind students that reading includes more than printing
Many teachers and students need to be reminded that reading is more than, Well, reading. Or at least what we tend to consider, incorrectly, reading. “Reading means absorbing a story, absorbing a text,” Jacobs says. “You can do it through audio. You can do it by text message.”
Realizing this and reminding your students of it allows readers to control how they absorb stories and information, Jacobs says. They can speed up or slow down audiobooks, or get text in a language they are more comfortable reading. “I really think that empowers the reader,” Jacobs says.
2. Help students find the right reading mode for them
Sometimes students need help understanding how audiobooks and e-books can best serve them.
For example, some readers only enjoy audiobooks after they start increasing the recording playback speed. Many listeners like to go at a playback speed of 1.25, 1.5, or even faster because it makes listening to an audiobook closer to the speed at which they could read the text.
Jacobs learned this lesson in his own home. Her daughter was struggling with reading assignments for school, so Jacobs encouraged her to consider listening to audiobooks and reminded her to try speeding up playback. “I said, 'You'll read a book a lot faster,' and she said, 'Wait a second, I do that with my podcasts.'”
It was a moment of enlightenment for the young student. “She went from being three weeks behind in reading and crying because she would never be ahead and never catch up, to being three weeks behind, and then she asked me if she could apply for Honors English,” Jacobs says.
3. Raise awareness of budget issues related to school e-books
Purchasing an e-book or audiobook is different for libraries than for individuals, Jacobs explains. Instead of purchasing a digital copy, they purchase temporary rights to a digital copy, but those rights may expire after 24 months or less and must be purchased again.
This can make purchasing certain books from certain publishers incredibly expensive for libraries in general, and makes providing access to e-books particularly difficult for school librarians, given tight school budgets.
Jacobs would like to see more publishers adjust their prices to better match print prices. “If she was buying a book for a physical print, it would cost $25, $30. If I buy that same digital book, it should be in the same area that I buy the printed copy, it should not cost five times that cost,” she says.
4. Remember that digital reading and listening are here to stay
“We spend a lot of time, and will spend a lot more time, reading digitally,” Jacobs says. “It's on a computer screen, on your smartphone or on your tablet, but digital reading is here to stay.”
Encouraging students to explore digital reading can help them unlock new routes into books. “I would present it to a student as an assignment, as an enjoyable read,” Jacobs says.
He adds that the best way for teachers to introduce students to e-books and audiobooks is probably as “an opportunity.”
