Library Research Service

19 January 2010

Results from the 60-Second Survey: The Future of the Book

Last month we asked what you thought of the future of the book in our latest 60-second survey, aptly titled, The Future of the Book. More than 1,300 people took our survey and this is what they said...

When asked, "Do you think paper books will eventually disappear," almost 2 out of 3 respondents (63%) said paper books would never disappear. 15 percent said books would disappear within the next 50 years, 11 percent said within 51-100 years, and 11 percent said books would disappear in more than 100 years.

(Click on a chart for a larger, more detailed image.)

When asked, "What do you predict libraries will circulate in 10 years," 43 percent of our respondents predict an equal amount of physical and electronic materials. On the other hand, only a slightly lower percentage of respondents – 39% – predict that libraries will circulate more electronic materials than physical.

Our survey also asked in what format (audio, electronic, or paper) respondents currently read fiction, non-fiction, and textbooks, as well as how they predict how they will read those materials 10 years from now. Those that use audio did not expect much change in 10 years (less than 1% change in each category). The largest expected transformation among respondents was for textbooks. 10 percent currently read them in an electronic format, but 59% expect to be reading them electronically in 10 years.

Survey respondents also predicted a change in how they will read fiction and non-fiction. Currently, 86 percent of our respondents read non-fiction in a paper format, but only 59 percent expect they will still be reading non-fiction that way in 10 years.

As for fiction, 88 percent of our respondents read fiction from paper books, but only 70% predict they will still read fiction that way in 10 years.

Additionally, almost 3 out of 4 of our respondents (71%) left comments about the future of the book. Stay tuned for more details about the results and the comments provided in an upcoming Fast Facts.

Let us know what you think about these results and the future of the book by leaving a comment below.

-Jamie

60Second

Comments

I probably won't be around in 50 years - maybe, maybe not - but I would expect folks will still love to 'curl up with a good book' - a REAL book.

posted by Jim

I found this very interesting, even though I will ALWAYS want to do leisure reading with a paper book , propped up on a pillow. Not to mention that the library is one of by favorite places to be and browse...not on the computers, but in the stacks.

posted by Marietta

even there are digitized materials nw, books are still needed in every ways...and i think books will still exist in the future..

posted by Vyonne

A two year old child knows the value of a real book -- ever try to chew on a Kindle? But really, some of the value of the book is its physicality. Electronic materials have their place, but the physical book has its place too. Children often learn better kinetically or tactiley. That is an irreplaceable value for books. Adults also benefit from the comfort of a real book.

posted by David Purdy, CMC Timberline

Comments are closed for this post.

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