The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released their first-ever on report on the reading habits of eBook users. The rise of e-reading presents some very interesting findings:
- in a survey carried out in February 2012, 21% of adults reported reading an eBook in the last year. In a survey carried out in December 2011 (before Christmas), that number was 17%.
- of those surveyed who owned an eBook reader or tablet, 90% reported reading at least one print book in the previous year
- respondents reported that their preference of reading format depends on how they are reading:
- eBooks are more popular when they want a book quickly or are traveling
- print books are more popular when reading to children or sharing books with others.
Other key findings include:
- eBook readers read an average of 24 books (of all formats) in the past year, compared to 15 books by non-eBook readers
- despite the rise of eBooks, print books still dominate. 72% of respondents reported reading a print book in the last year while only 17% reported reading an eBook (this particular survey was carried out before Christmas 2011)
- only 20% of eBook readers reported that the material they want is always available in the format they desire
- 24% of eBook readers reported that the material they want is only sometimes, hardly ever, or never available in the format they desire
- a majority of print readers (54%) and eBook readers (61%) prefer to purchase books rather than borrow them from any source
- eBook readers are more likely than other readers to:
- be under age 50
- have some college education
- live in households earning more than $50,000 per year.
The full report is available via the link given above; to see what others are saying about the data, check out:
Four key takeaways from Pew's new e-reading study
Rise in E-Book Readership is Good News for Reading Over All, Report Says
