OUMH2203 1

ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

FAKULTI PENDIDIKAN DAN BAHASA

OUMH2203
ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

NAMA

NOMBOR MATRIK

NO KAD PENGENALAN

NO. H/P

PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN

: OUM CAWANGAN TAWAU

SEPTEMBER 2015

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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PRESENT SITUATION IN LIBRARIES
PROBLEM STATEMENT
PROBLEM ANALYSIS
THE RATIONALE OF PRINTED BOOKS IN
LIBRARY
A BOOK OFFERS AN EXPERIENCE
A BOOK IS A SINGLE-TASKING DEVICE
CAN BE ACCESS BY EVERYONE
THE FEELING AND THE SMELL
THE NEED OF CHANGES IN A LIBRARY
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

There are many factors to consider when discussing the matter of eBooks vs. printed books,
but ultimately, it boils down to the readers preference. Avid fans of printed books claim that
theres still nothing like the smell of paper and the rustle of the pages as the reader flips
gently through the book with their fingers. Theres something intimately rustic about the
entire experience, they claim, and its one that cannot be derived from the cold, electronic

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ebook version.
On the other hand, those who prefer the eBook or eJournals often say that the device takes a
whole lot of weight from their shoulders literally. Packing for trips is bad enough as it is,
but it becomes doubly so when confronted with the task of choosing which book to bring.
With the eBook, however, a reader can take hundreds of books with them on the journey, and
only take up a few square inches in their carry-on bag.
Apart from these physical considerations, however, studies have shown that when it comes to
reading comprehension, printed books are still a better choice. One such study was recently
conducted by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. The study found that
literacy building in children is more effective with a printed book than with an eBook because
of the centralized focus on the story and the opportunities for interaction between the child
and the parent reading the book with the child. While eBooks also deliver the story, and
encourage children to participate with interactive add-ons, there is no conversation and
nothing to encourage the child to verbalize or explore using language. In fact, the research
concluded that sometimes click-through added features can actually detract from the
reading experience because of all the interruptions.
Of course, for other people especially adults, who are more able to comprehend the overall
story or meaning in the text these interactive features such as linking, bookmarking,
highlighting, and others provide a huge benefit and meet many of their needs. By and large,
however, some devices tend to overdo it, and so end up creating more distractions than
necessary.
Theres also the matter of production cost. Obviously, printed books cost more because of the
resources needed. Ebook reader manufacturers, though, spend the bulk of their production
cost on the device itself, and from then on everything is digital and a fraction of the cost per
book, compared to printed books.
Marc Slater, director of 7 Speed Reading, weighs in on the debate. Clearly, the winner in this
round is none other than the person doing the reading, no matter which method they choose.
With all of the options available in the market, there simply is no way to not enjoy reading. If
anything, what people should be focused on is learning how to read faster. After all, there are
so many books to pick up and read out there both in printed form or ebook version that

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we should be concentrating on reading as many as we can, in whatever format suits us best.
The purpose of this report is to suggest that a library should have more book than invest on
ebooks or ejournals. Other than that, this report also will analyse the current problems faced
by libraries and provide suggestion of solutions.
2.0

PRESENT SITUATION IN LIBRARIES

The consumer eBook and eJournal market have grown steadily since 2006, and eBooks and
eJournals now account for five percent of all US book sales. Sales of both eBooks, eJournals
and print editions continue to increase by about five percent per year. The consumer eBook
and eJournals market is dominated by two companiesAmazon and Barnes & Noblethat
together account for 85 percent of all consumer eBook sales. However, neither company has
a significant presence in the library eBook and eJournal market.
For eBooks and eJournals other than reference titles, the largest US library vendors are
EBSCO (formerly NetLibrary) and ebrary. Nearly 90 percent of university libraries owned or
subscribed to eBooks and eJournals in 2007. More recent estimates range from 94 to 97
percent. At the same time, however, most libraries have been tentative in their acquisition of
eBooks and eJournals, confining their selections to reference works, textbooks, or specialized
collections in particular subject areas. Current data reveal that the majority of university
libraries spend less than six percent of their acquisitions funds on eBooks and eJournals; only
one in twenty libraries spend 25 percent or more.
2.1

PROBLEM STATEMENT

From this current situation, we identified several problems on eBooks instead of printed
books, which are:
1. Availability of scholarly titles as eBooks
2. Delays in the release of Academic eBooks
3. eBook and eJournals leasing and licensing issues
4. eBook and eJournals only can be access if there is internet connection and PC.
2.2

PROBLEM ANALYSIS

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Availability of scholarly titles as eBooks
eBook selection, acquisition, and management can be complex and expensive. These
activities become cost-effective only when libraries can take advantage of economies of scale
which is only when the necessary procedures can be made routine and delegated to support
staff. Much the same argument can be made from the patrons perspective. The effort
required to find and use eBooks is likely to be worthwhile only if patrons have a significant
chance of finding e-book titles that meet their needs. As Robert Slater has observed, a
critical mass of electronic books is necessary in a patrons subject area before they begin to
accept, expect, and regularly use those e-collections.
Building a strong eBook collection is difficult, however, since many academic titles are not
available in any eBook format. This has been a major factor in librarians reluctance to
commit to eBook collections. For one thing, most eBook publishers and vendors focus on
popular titles rather than the academic market. Scholarly titles account for just one-tenth of
all eBooks.
Delays in the Release of Academic eBooks and eJournals
Because nearly all books are typeset electronically, digital distribution has the potential to
reduce the time between the acceptance of a book manuscript and its delivery to the public.
That potential has not been realized, however. In fact, many academic eBooks and eJournals
are released three to eighteen months after the corresponding print editions. These embargoes
are intended to protect print sales. As Dracine Hodges and associates have noted, The timing
of each release (hardcover, softcover, and eBook) is based on a schedule that publishers hope
will maximize profit. Some publishers release the eBook at the same time as the print
edition, but only to consumers who acquire the title directly from the publisher. Those who
use library vendors or other third-party channels must wait several months before the eBook
is available.
Ebook And Ejournals Leasing And Licensing Issues
Unlike print books, e-books are leased rather than purchased. Publishers and vendors offer
three kinds of e-book leases:
Annual access: The library pays an annual fee for one years access. The lease can

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be renewed each year.
Perpetual access: The library pays a one-time fee. There may also be an annual
platform fee.
Pay per use: The library is billed, or debited from a prepaid account, based on the
number of uses (titles viewed, pages viewed, etc.). There may be an annual platform
fee.
All the major e-book vendors offer annual access, and one-third offer perpetual access. In
2007, about 75 percent of annual and perpetual access leases were priced according to the
number of students enrolled; 25 percent were priced according to the number of concurrent
users.
Ebook And Ejournals Only Can Be Access If There Is Internet Connection And PC
eBooks and eJournals only can be access through internet connection and viewed in PC or
laptop. However, not everyone has internet connection or even a PC especially schools
student, and people from rural area. Thus, this will make them difficult to acquire the eBooks
and eJournals version.
3.0

THE RATIONALE OF PRINTED BOOKS IN LIBRARY

Printed books revolutionized the world nearly 600 years ago, and since then they have
influenced every part of the world specifically in culture and science. They gave people
chance to share their ideas and thoughts with the whole world.
3.1

A BOOK OFFERS AN EXPERIENCE

Books are a tactile experience. An e-book reduces books to merely words; a printed book
maintains that a book is far more than wordsit is an experience and an object. Books can be
touched, they can be held, they can be smelled (particularly if they are old!). A book includes
a cover, a binding, a slip cover, the texture of words or images impressed upon that cover, the
pages, the deckled edges, the weight of the paper, the feel of turning a page. All of these
elements combine to make a book what it is. They tell you a lot about the book, about its
value, its uniqueness, its importance.
As devices go, a book is uniquethere is nothing else quite like it. An e-book reduces a book

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to just its words, it strips out any sort of tactile experience, and makes turning a page that
same experience as playing a video game or shuffling music. It makes a book a whole lot less
than it ought to be.
3.2

A BOOK IS A SINGLE-TASKING DEVICE

A book is inherently opposed to multi-tasking. There is very little that can be done while
reading a book (apart from the act of reading itself) and the book never seeks to distract its
reader. The book is a single-function device, a technology crafted and honed in order to
provide the best possible reading experience. If we wanted to create a technology that would
do reading well and do nothing else, I dont know that we could do better than the book.
The e-book on the other hand, tends toward distraction. The devices we use to read our ebooks are rarely single-function or, perhaps more correctly, are tending away from singlefunction. They are created to do many things well, which means that the focus is not only on
the reading experience but on gaming, browsing, searching. The iPad has reading as just one
of many functions and a relatively minor one at that. Meanwhile e-books tend to be
interactive, to have built-in dictionary searches, hyperlinks and other ways of drawing
attention away from the text at-hand. In all these things the devices and the books tend to
distract, to offer far more than just the reading experience. They beep, they buzz, they
disengage in a thousand ways.
3.3

CAN BE ACCESS BY EVERYONE

As discussed above, eBook and eJournals only can be access if there is internet connection
and PC or tablet or so on. People in the rural area often does not have internet connection.
This makes them difficult to reach the information. On the other hand, printed books do not
need all this. It can be access or read at anywhere.

3.4

THE FEELING AND THE SMELL

For the book lover, they really like the smell from the paper of the book and the feeling of
reading a real book. There are some research found that reading a book before sleep can
produce a healthy sleep. Thus, this feeling and smell cannot be obtain if reading the version
of electronic book.

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4.0

THE NEED OF CHANGES IN A LIBRARY

As stated above, a library should provide more books rather than invest on eBooks and
eJournals. The definition of a library itself showed that a library should have more books
from various version, genre, years, publishers, writers and many more. Investing in eBooks
and eJournals require huge cost. It is also always have to deal with licensing and copyright
issues.
If a library does not provide printed books anymore, what is the point of the library building
as people can easily access to the library from other places? Thus, the library will become an
empty hall and finally will be going to extinct. All the great history of a library, the original
copy of the writers books and the tradition will lost.
It can be denied that the use of eBooks and eJournals bring benefits to people, but the printed
books provide more advantages. Thus, the library management should think wisely before
decide on investing to eBooks and eJournals. They might not realize that they can risk the
original function of a library to human being.
5.0

CONCLUSION

A library is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a

defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to
material, and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both. Libraries range
in size from a few shelves of books to several million items.
The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing the clay tablets in
cuneiform script discovered in Sumer, some dating back to 2600 BC. Private or personal
libraries made up of written books appeared in classical Greece in the 5th century BC. In the
6th century, at the very close of the Classical period, the great libraries of the Mediterranean
world remained those of Constantinople and Alexandria.
A library is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, a corporation,
or a private individual. Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for
use by people who choose not toor cannot afford topurchase an extensive collection
themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or who
require professional assistance with their research. In addition to providing materials,

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libraries also provide the services of librarians who are experts at finding and organizing
information and at interpreting information needs.
Libraries often provide quiet areas for studying, and they also often offer common areas to
facilitate group study and collaboration. Libraries often provide public facilities for access to
their electronic resources and the Internet. Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined
as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources.
They are extending services beyond the physical walls of a building, by providing material
accessible by electronic means, and by providing the assistance of librarians in navigating
and analyzing very large amounts of information with a variety of digital tools.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that the printed books are more needed and useful in a
library rather than the eBooks and eJournals version. A library should maintain its function as
a warehouse of thousands book from all over the country. It cannot be replaced by new
technology as it will make the library tradition fade away and lastly lost. Thus, let the
libraries have the book rather that eBooks and eJournals.
(2513 words)

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REFERENCES

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Baccino,

T.

(2013).

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Besen, S. M. and Kirby, S. N. (2014). Lbrary demand for e-books and e-book pricing: An
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Desilver, D. (2014, January 21). Overall book readership stable, but e-books becoming more
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