14 July 2011

The new reading in the new academe

First Monday has a great paper by a Canadian librarian that will get you thinking about how the Internet and eBooks are changing reading patterns and knowledge acquisition:
Information access does not equal knowledge gained. Thanks to our information technology, the former is becoming relatively easy, while the latter continues to be difficult. It continues to take time. The power of reading, whether of print or online text, continues to lie in this power of time — time to digest words, time to read between the lines, time to reflect on ideas, and time to think beyond one’s self, one’s place, and one’s time in the pursuit of knowledge.
Is reading online intentionally changing us?  Or should be intentionally changing to adjust to it?  And what does it mean for an author or publisher trying to get out in front of those changes?

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