E-readers gain ground but print holds steady

Good news for digital publishers. A new survey by the Pew Research Center shows e-reading is on the rise, as more people buy e-reader devices.
The survey shows:

• 76 percent of Americans aged 18 or older, read at least one book in 2013 in some format,     
• About 69 percent read a book in print while at least 28 percent read an e-book, up from 23 percent a year ago,
• While reading e-books has grown in popularity, the number of people who read print books has remained steady. Of all the people who read an e-book in the last year, 87 percent said they also read a print book,
• 67 percent of U.S. children aged 2 to 13 read an e-book last year,
• Adults aged 18-29 showed the highest rate of reading e-books with almost half who responded saying they read e-books,
• While e-readers such as Nook or Kindle contributed to the rise of in e-reading, a greater number of people use their tablets for e-reading. The study showed 42 percent of adults own tablets, and 78 percent of them said they use those tablets for reading.

The increasing sales of ebooks has seen publishers devote more attention and resources there than on traditional paper-and-ink books and publishing giant, Simon and Schuster launched a pilot program Jan. 16 where 31 US public libraries have access to many digital books published by the company. Library members can borrow e-books for a period of 12 months or buy them if they prefer.
According to Joshua Brustein of Businessweek the ebook publishing industry will eventually evolve into a subscription-based business like Netflix and Spotify.

View the Pew Research Center survey