#22, #23 Audiobooks and downloadable media

In my school library we have quite a number of audio books which are especially useful for ESL students and students who have reading difficulties. We plan to keep augmenting our audiobook collection and recognise that audiobooks can also be useful for improving students' listening skills.
We also have  a number of different types of e-book readers which are proving popular with staff and students. The principal of our school is keen to expand on the use of e-books and I can see sometime in the future that our senior students will be using iPads which have electronic versions of their textbooks as well as the novels they are reading. There are obvious benefits - no heavy books to cart around, no bookrooms in schools and loan schemes, reduced need to handle books and process loans, students able to search textbooks and quickly find what they are looking for, portabilty of resources, and so on.
However, I prefer to still read a book rather than use a Kindle. There is something about having a book in your hand and flipping the pages. The downfall of paper and books has been predicted for sometime but they are still flourishing (but for how long?).