Weight Limits for School Books

Mass., backs & e-books [it’s about time]
Delighted to see the original post as well as Great Dragon’s remarks.

TeleRead has already commented on the Massachsuetts controversy. Yes, e-books could help–both as a back-saver and as a textbook alternative in general.

Now, here’s one library angle that some might not consider. With only p-books in use, we in effect punish the most frequent readers with an increased threat of back problems–since they have more to struggle with. In other words: the best “customersâ€? of school libraries and public libraries.

This brings back old school memories. I injured my back in PE and had to stay home for two weeks, and after that, for a long time, I had to avoid carrying too many books. I could very much understand the plight of smaller kids whose love of reading wasn’t quite up to their book-carrying capacity.

Also, the back issue affects teachers and librarians themselves. They have backs, too, you know, and while they may not use book packs, it isn’t as if they are entirely free from the strain.

Finally, whether in a school context or not, there’s the issue of the disabled. My wife must take heavy-duty pain killers to cope with her back injuries and usually doesn’t even feel like going to the library, period. With e-books she needs to deal with nothing more than her trusty Gemstar tablet. Carrying around a “kid-size” load of books would land Carly in the hospital for sure.

But “back” to Massachusetts: I indeed hope that public dialogue in Massachusetts will change to include a serious discussion of e-books as an alternative. Significantly, the U.S. Department of Education is expected to require soon that textbooks be made available to visually disabled children in a National File Format. And slicker version of the books could appear in a related format based on the Open eBook standard–allowing some rather sophisticated typography. Once a publisher goes the NFF route, the production people might as well move up to the next level.

If any librarians, educators or policymakers are interested–whether or not they live in Massachusetts–I can point them to some highly qualified people with very specific ideas for addressing the technical, financial and human sides of the above issues.

David Rothman, Coordinator, TeleRead.org
703-370-6540 | [email protected]

Me too
Although I don’t have quite all the neat toys you have 🙂

Do you get hassled for concealed weapons if it’s in your backpack?

And yes, that stuff is lighter than stuff in school, including college (which doesn’t have lockers).

I really hope they encourage digital books on CD. But we still need a generic format, PDF might be a possibility. But they all want control over their content, and you can’t flip open a CD in the bathroom, unless you have a laptop to go with it. :

— Ender, Duke_of_URL
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