ACTIVITY #1

Ipad Over Library: For Better or For Worse?

As online learning becomes more common and more and more resources are converted to digital form,
some people have suggested that public libraries should be shut down and, in their place, everyone
should be given an iPad with an e-reader subscription.

Proponents of this idea state that it will save local cities and towns money because libraries are
expensive to maintain. They also believe it will encourage more people to read because they won’t have
to travel to a library to get a book; they can simply click on what they want to read and read it from
wherever they are. They could also access more materials because libraries won’t have to buy physical
copies of books; they can simply rent out as many digital copies as they need.

However, it would be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets. First, digital books and
resources are associated with less learning and more problems than print resources. A study done on
tablet vs book reading found that people read 20-30% slower on tablets, retain 20% less information,
and understand 10% less of what they read compared to people who read the same information in
print. Additionally, staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause numerous health problems,
including blurred vision, dizziness, dry eyes, headaches, and eye strain, at much higher instances than
reading print does. People who use tablets and mobile devices excessively also have a higher incidence
of more serious health issues such as fibromyalgia, shoulder and back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and
muscle strain. I know that whenever I read from my e-reader for too long, my eyes begin to feel tired
and my neck hurts. We should not add to these problems by giving people, especially young people,
more reasons to look at screens.

Second, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assume that the only service libraries offer is book lending.
Libraries have a multitude of benefits, and many are only available if the library has a physical location.
Some of these benefits include acting as a quiet study space, giving people a way to converse with their
neighbors, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs, answering patron questions, and
keeping the community connected. One neighborhood found that, after a local library instituted
community events such as play times for toddlers and parents, job fairs for teenagers, and meeting
spaces for senior citizens, over a third of residents reported feeling more connected to their community.
Similarly, a Pew survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly two-thirds of American adults feel that
closing their local library would have a major impact on their community. People see libraries as a way
to connect with others and get their questions answered, benefits tablets can’t offer nearly as well or as
easily.

While replacing libraries with tablets may seem like a simple solution, it would encourage people to
spend even more time looking at digital screens, despite the myriad issues surrounding them. It would
also end access to many of the benefits of libraries that people have come to rely on. In many areas,
libraries are such an important part of the community network that they could never be replaced by a
simple object.
Question:

1. What is the issue taken by the position paper?

The issue taken by the position paper is that some people have proposed that public libraries should be
shut down and, in their place, everyone should be given an iPad with an e-reader subscription as online
learning becomes more popular and more and more services are transferred to digital form. Proponents
of this concept state that while libraries are costly to maintain, it will save local cities and towns money.
They also claim that more people will be inspired to read because they won't have to go to a library to
get a book; they can just click on what they want to read and read it from wherever they are. Since
libraries won't have to purchase physical copies of books, they could also obtain more materials, which
they could easily rent out as many digital copies as they need.

2. What is the writer's claim or thesis in the issue?

The writer claims that, staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause numerous health problems,
including blurred vision, dizziness, dry eyes, headaches, and eye strain, at much higher instances than
reading print does. People who use tablets and mobile devices excessively also have a higher incidence
of more serious health issues such as fibromyalgia, shoulder and back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and
muscle strain. The writer knows that whenever he/she read from his/her e-reader for too long, his/her
eyes begin to feel tired and his/her neck hurts. We should not add to these problems by giving people,
especially young people, more reasons to look at screens.

3. What reasons are given to support this claims?

First, digital books and resources are associated with less learning and more problems than print
resources. A study done on tablet vs book reading found that people read 20-30% slower on tablets,
retain 20% less information, and understand 10% less of what they read compared to people who read
the same information in print. Second, it is incredibly narrow-minded to assume that the only service
libraries offer is book lending. Similarly, a Pew survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly two-thirds of
American adults feel that closing their local library would have a major impact on their community.
People see libraries as a way to connect with others and get their questions answered, benefits tablets
can’t offer nearly as well or as easily.

4. What are the counter arguments are presented? How these refuted?

Libraries have a multitude of benefits, and many are only available if the library has a physical location.
Some of these benefits include acting as a quiet study space, giving people a way to converse with their
neighbors, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs, answering patron questions, and
keeping the community connected. One neighborhood found that, after a local library instituted
community events such as play times for toddlers and parents, job fairs for teenagers, and meeting
spaces for senior citizens, over a third of residents reported feeling more connected to their community.
By replacing libraries with tablets, it may seem like a simple solution, it would encourage people to
spend even more time looking at digital screens, despite the myriad issues surrounding them. It would
also end access to many of the benefits of libraries that people have come to rely on. In many areas,
libraries are such an important part of the community network that they could never be replaced by a
simple object.

5. Do you find the position paper is convincing? Why or Why not?

Yes, because readers could remember much more knowledge communicated to them in a printed book
than someone who read the very same book on an e-reader. This meant that readers of conventional
books appreciated the novel more as they kept up with the story's plots and turns. We know that
whenever we read from our gadgets for too long, our eyes begin to feel tired and our neck hurts. Simply
because staring too long at a screen with a high brightness, has been shown to cause numerous health
problems, including blurred vision, dizziness, dry eyes, headaches, and eye strain, at much higher
instances than reading print does. We should not add to these problems by giving people, especially
young people, more reasons to look at screens.