The advantages and disadvantages of electronic books - Essay Example

Furthermore, personal readers from Amazon and Sony have been experiencing a breakthrough in the commercial business and this has attracted popular press and business. There has been rising interest in the academic field for the usage of e- books owing to their convenience and increasing printing costs. This paper gives a comprehensive analysis of the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of e-books and gives recommendations on how to improve in their usage. In spite of the numerous disadvantages associated with the use of e- books, different users are gradually accepting their use in the academic and commercial fields (Steve, 32).

In the recent times, e- books have gained popularity due to the several advantages they have over printed books. There are numerous advantages linked with the usage of e- books that are discussed below. According to a recent survey conducted among users, the main advantages were found to be ability to search key words, ease of access from different locations; they are environmentally friendly and portable (Anuradha and Usha 47). It is clear that users value the ability to search information in detail, time saving abilities and their convenience.

E- Books are more efficient since if one is looking for a particular topic they can apply a search feature to get the relevant internet pages that are worth checking out. In addition to, e- books are ranked in order of importance hence the reader can establish the credible ones (Staiger 367). E- Books offer customized display since the user can adjust them according to their desires. They can make the print bigger or smaller depending on their wish or even minimize the web page. E- Books are an amazing way of preserving past literature (Grant).

This is through the digitization of historical collections that leads to the creation of a knowledge base and restoration of cultures. E- Books enable audio translation and this enables the readers to privately listen to the information on the book. This improves learning and has massive benefits for the visually impaired users. Additionally, e- books are easy to navigate and search for information. In relation to this, e- books enhance interactivity and allow the use of different learning styles (Grant).

Moreover, e- books offer privacy as it is difficult to see what one is reading (Jeong). E- Books have a positive impact on the environment. This is because e- books minimize the amount of paper used for printing since they do not require any printing paper. In the long run, it will lead to the conservation of trees (The Economist). It is easy to transfer information that is contained in e- books and this is convenient for travellers and long – distance learners. At the same time e- books are free from problems of wear and tear, theft and the risk of being misplaced.

The dictionary function makes learning of new words and concepts easier as one can easily find out the definition of a word by simply clicking on it (Siriginidi, 371) . E- Books allow for the integration of social sites such as Twitter and Facebook thereby facilitating sharing of information (Siriginidi, 256). Additionally, it enhances the making and taking of notes and this leaves a digital trail for future student (Shelburne 60). This also benefits book clubs and recreational readers. E- Books offer divers e choice to the readers as they can have as many books as they