It is amazing that in this day and age we still see students hauling around backpacks full of heavy school textbooks. This is true not only for college and high schools students, but also for much younger students in middle school and elementary school.
With the technology available such that many voluminous books can be loaded electronically onto an electronic book reader, a laptop, an iPad, or even a PDA, there seems no reason why kids should have to shoulder the heavy weight of books.
The electronic book readers allow for searching, highlighting, taking notes, and other features.
It is true that some people like to physically hold and read a hard copy book, and for them, actual physical books can be available. This also should be the case for students who do not have the technology available to them for e-reading. And some books are not yet in electronic form, and hard copies are the only option.
But still, schools should move in the direction of the option of electronic reading for students. Some schools already are there, but others can make further progress in this regard.
Not only do electronic books lighten the physical load for students, it also is possible the some students will read more with the ease of electronic reading – many books will come alive right at their fingertips.
Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP (http://www.duanemorris.com) where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology and intellectual property disputes. His Web site is http://www.sinrodlaw.com and he can be reached at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com. To receive a weekly email link to Mr. Sinrod’s columns, please send an email to him with Subscribe in the Subject line. This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s law firm or its individual partners.