The digital book debate

It’s been so long since I’ve done a blog so thought i’d attempt to get back in the swing of things by writing about something which I’ve had interest in myself.
First off a confession… I’m a bit of a geek (GO SEE IT IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY … ITS AMAZING!!!)
Leading up to this I downloaded some e-comics from the Avenger series from the early 2000′s for my iPad (told you i was a geek) although it got me thinking… Are E-readers such as the Kindle or iPad, a possible idea to reduce the book library’s in classrooms?
Every class has a bookcase full of misplaced, misused and old books which takes up allot of space in the classroom which the kids have proclaimed they had read a million times before.
So why not use E-readers? Not only will E-readers reduce the size of the library corner in an ever restricting classroom space environment, but its obvious benefit is the mass storage space meaning more books than you could ever fit in a school library and usually for a cheaper price than your usual spine bound paper version.
But yet i’m still drawn to the classic book. I don’t really read very often but i feel more immersed with a book rather than a screen with writing on. I think its a possessive thing, the fact you can hold it and claim it yours only adds to the experience of reading which I personally don’t get when i’m reading an e-book.
However in the classroom, I believe the E-reader is the future of books in schools.. The prospect of sending students books via ‘The cloud’ straight to a E-reader for them to read is not only a lot easier, but can provide everyone in the classroom with their own favorite book collection.
Not only this, but e-books can be animated and edited with a simple tap of the screen. Combine this with the potential to hook e-books up to the IWB, I can’t see this going any other way apart from the digital way. And despite being an ICT specialist, i’m quite sad about this.