The eFuture of Reading

It's difficult to process all the statistics and trends in the news these days concerning the present and future of publishing and books. Will there be books in any form, and more importantly, will there be readers? One very hopeful sign is Scholastic's recent Kids & Family Reading Report national survey, which included the following highlights:

The percent of children who have read an ebook has almost doubled since 2010 (25% vs. 46%).


Among children who have read an ebook, one in five says he/she
is reading more books for fun; boys are more likely to agree than girls
(26% vs. 16%).


Half of children age 9–17 say they would read more books for fun
if they had greater access to ebooks – a 50% increase since 2010.


Eighty percent of kids who read ebooks still read books for fun primarily in print.

This study (and others) seems to indicate that if anything, eBooks are getting children more interested in reading, no matter what form it takes. This is good for literacy, for education, and for authors who still hope to have readers for their books in the decades to come.