To e-book or not to e-book? That is the question.

These days, many classes taught at NIU offer students the opportunity to access either a free or purchased textbook online versus buying from the VCB or the Holmes Student Center bookstore. Some students love the transformation from book to PDF or web browser, while others are not quite as fond of the change.

“The pros are the online study guides and quizzes,” said senior business major Rebecca Cronin. “But the cons are definitely not being able to highlight information and take notes.”

In my opinion, the biggest advantage to using an e-book has to be the low cost. I’ve seen e-books that went for as little as one quarter the cost of the printed version. I’ve even had e-books given to me for free. If you are a student like me who is on a budget, this comes as a huge advantage over throwing out $100 or more on a single textbook that you may only use once or twice.

Another big advantage that I see is lighter loads to carry. There’s nothing worse for a student who has to walk all over campus on a daily basis than to have to do that while carrying a half-dozen or so large textbooks. It’s uncomfortable and very tiring. The e-book requires the students to carry just their computer, which weighs only a few pounds. This definitely helps if you have a class in Barsema Hall and then have to walk to DuSable Hall.

Not all prefer the use of e-books.

“With an e-book, you have a lack of intros and guides that are in texts,” said assistant English professor Melissa Adams-Campbell. “E-books are good for pleasure reading versus academia. They can keep classes more affordable, but still are potentially more difficult for use in class.”

One major disadvantage in my opinion is the ability to take easy notes. I love to highlight passages and take notes in textbooks, which allows for me to concentrate on the more important information. With an e-book, I have not figured out a way to be able to do the same thing. It may be possible, but if you’re like me and you are not technology savvy then it’s even more difficult to use an e-book versus a textbook.

I believe the biggest disadvantage to me is it’s more difficult to read a computer screen. It’s just too harsh on my eyes for long term use. I prefer a book that doesn’t have the glow of the computer screen, or the extra toolbars and all that stuff that’s in PDF Architect or Microsoft Word. It’s just too busy of a screen for me to easily focus on the text.

E-books are a great way to keep your class costs low, but they may be more harm than good. If it were up to me, and textbooks were cheaper, there’d be no contest between the two.