Nieuw rapport Pew over digitaal lezen in de VS

Toegegeven: de opmars van het digitaal lezen van boeken is in Nederland nog niet bepaald indrukwekkend te noemen. Desondanks geloof ik nog steeds dat ook ons land uiteindelijk in de voetsporen zal treden van de Verenigde Staten, waar de markt al flink in beweging is gekomen.
Mede daarom las ik met veel belangstelling de samenvatting van het nieuwe rapport van Pew Internet, over digitaal lezen in de VS. Dat rapport maakt niet alleen duidelijk hoe snel het daar inmiddels gaat, het laat ook zien dat digitale lezers ook méér boeken lezen en dat zij die boeken liever kopen dan lenen:

• A fifth of American adults have read an e-book in the past year and the number of e-book readers grew after a major increase in ownership of e-book reading devices and tablet computers during the holiday gift-giving season. 
• The average reader of e-books says she has read 24 books (the mean number) in the past 12 months, compared with an average of 15 books by a non-e-book consumer. 
• 30% of those who read e-content say they now spend more time reading, and owners of tablets and e-book readers particularly stand out as reading more now. 
• The prevalence of e-book reading is markedly growing, but printed books still dominate the world of book readers.
• E-book reading happens across an array of devices, including smartphones.
• In a head-to-head competition, people prefer e-books to printed books when they want speedy access and portability, but print wins out when people are reading to children and sharing books with others.
• The availability of e-content is an issue to some.
• The majority of book readers prefer to buy rather than borrow.Those who own e-book reading devices stand out from other book readers and there are sometimes differences among device owners in their reading habits. 
• Device owners read more often.
• Device owners are more likely to buy books