Er is weer een nieuw Pew onderzoek verschenen gisteren en het onderwerp was deze keer ebooks en ereading. Pew Internet is onderdeel van een onderzoeksbureau dat zich toespitst op onderzoek over de impact van technologie, internet en sociale media op het Amerikaanse leven. De bevindingen zijn dan wellicht niet vergelijkbaar met wat de resultaten in Nederland of Europa zou zijn maar het geeft toch een heel aardig beeld wat de stand van zaken nou is als het gaat om de doorbraak van digitaal lezen, het gebruik van ereaders en tablets en hoe lezers nou aan hun (digitale) boeken komen.

Het hele rapport is hier te vinden als PDF bestand maar ook als website, onderverdeeld in 6 delen. De essentie wordt echter als volgt samengevat:

One-fifth of American adults (21%) report that they have read an e-book in the past year, and this number increased following a gift-giving season that saw a spike in the ownership of both tablet computers and e-book reading devices such as the original Kindles and Nooks.In mid-December 2011, 17% of American adults had reported they read an e-book in the previous year; by February, 2012, the share increased to 21%.

The rise of e-books in American culture is part of a larger story about a shift from printed to digital material. Using a broader definition of e-content in a survey ending in December 2011, some 43% of Americans age 16 and older say they have either read an e-book in the past year or have read other long-form content such as magazines, journals, and news articles in digital format on an e-book reader, tablet computer, regular computer, or cell phone.

Those who have taken the plunge into reading e-books stand out in almost every way from other kinds of readers. Foremost, they are relatively avid readers of books in all formats: 88% of those who read e-books in the past 12 months also read printed books.Compared with other book readers, they read more books. They read more frequently for a host of reasons: for pleasure, for research, for current events, and for work or school. They are also more likely than others to have bought their most recent book, rather than borrowed it, and they are more likely than others to say they prefer to purchase books in general, often starting their search online.

Opvallende conclusies die in het onderzoek geconstateerd zijn:

• 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.
• There are four times more people reading e-books on a typical day now than was the case less than two years ago.
• Those who own e-book readers and tablets are avid readers of books in all formats.
• E-book reading happens across an array of devices, including smartphones.
• 42% of readers of e-books in the past 12 months said they consume their books on a computer
• 41% of readers of e-books consume their books on an e-book reader like original Kindles or Nooks
• 29% of readers of e-books consume their books on their cell phones
• 23% of readers of e-books consume their books on a tablet computer
• 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.
• 20% of e-content consumers say the material they want is always available in the format they want.
• 50% of e-content consumers say the material they want is available “most of the time.”
• 17% of e-content consumers say the material they want is available “only sometimes.”
• 3% of e-content consumers say the material they want is available “hardly ever.”
• 4% of e-content consumers say the material they want is never available.
• 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.

Dat ruim 20% van de Amerikanen het afgelopen jaar minstens 1x een ebook gelezen heeft vind ik inderdaad wel opvallend hoewel dat waarschijnlijk vooral het contrast met de situatie in Nederland zal zijn. Ik ken geen soortgelijk onderzoek in Nederland maar op 20% zal dat aantal hier in elk geval niet liggen. De meeste overige bevindingen sluiten wel aan bij mijn eigen verwachtingen: dat lezers van ebooks meer lezen, liever kopen dan lenen en bij kinderboeken (voorlezen) papieren boeken prefereren.

Wat me echt verrast is dat 42% van de digitale lezers hun boeken voornamelijk op de pc lezen. Dat aantal is echt veel hoger dan ik zelf had ingeschat en maakt, in Amerika tenminste, de computer (nipt) het meest gebruikte apparaat voor digitaal lezen. Het beschikbare aanbod is niet verrassend maar wel jaloersmakend: 70% van de e-content consumenten vindt bijna altijd de gewenste content digitaal waarnaar ze zochten. Vooral op dat punt hebben we in Nederland nog een hele lange weg te gaan volgens mij.

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