Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/477973
"They can read e-books at school or at home, or access e-books through the school library website," says Piscionere, United Teachers of Santa Clara. "A lot of them use both." The school purchased online reference books that stu- dents access through the Gale Virtual Reference Library, which the library subscribes to. While books can be read on a computer, they cannot be downloaded. However, the library has a "downloadable" library it is also piloting, where students can check out books for weeks at a time. When it's "due," the book vanishes from the student's device, so there are no fines. S o m e o f t h e m o s t popular e-books, like Divergent and The Hunger Games, have "holds" on them like regular books, and can only be checked out a few at a time. Some e-books must be repurchased annually by the district. "I remember everyone saying librarians will be obso- lete and libraries will be empty because of digital reading, but that hasn't happened," Piscionere says. "I'm teaching lessons and using both print and digital for these lessons. And the Common Core is so aligned with library stan- dards that we're an integral part of the curriculum." D O S T U D E N T S D I G E S T D I G I TA L B O O K S A S E A S I LY A S P R I N T ? Researchers at the University of California and the Cal- ifornia Digital Library recently reported that a survey of college students reveals a majority still prefer print. Researcher Naomi Baron, a linguistics professor and executive director of the Center for Teaching, Research are struggling to find the money to build the infrastructure to support e-textbooks and provide students with the tools nec- essary to access digital materials, say teachers. More students are using e-books in colleges, because in 2012 Gov. Brown approved that the state fund 50 open-source digital textbooks to be reproduced by the state's universities. The books became available recently and are considered an "experiment" designed to lower expenses for students, costing just $20 apiece. Some K-12 districts made progress, such as Riverside Unified School District, the first school system in the state to adopt and implement digital textbooks. Students have Chromebooks and other devices for e-reading in the classroom. "Students at Miller Middle School are encouraged to bring their own devices from home, too," says Saucedo. "They like digital textbooks and are reading more." Her students have a set of "hard" textbooks in class and at home, so they don't have to lug them around. They can access e-books at home, or anywhere else for that matter. "I was at a softball practice and saw students accessing their e-textbooks on tablets. It's great when you have the option to do homework anywhere, which they do. Times are definitely changing." S C H O O L L I B R A R I E S G O I N G D I G I TA L Students have a choice of checking out e-books or print books at Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale, says Nicole Piscionere, school librarian. P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N Print isn't dead, any more than digital is the devil. Most of us have room and time for both. "Students can read e-books at school or at home or access e-books through the school library website," says Nicole Piscionere with Jessica Nguyen. "A lot of them use both." Feature Alex Christie, San Francisco Chronicle 38 www.cta.org