I read with interest a recent post by Maria Konnikova who contributes weekly to the newyorker.com on topics focused on psychology and science.  Her post “Being a Better Online Reader” (July 16, 2014) highlights several researchers who have explored onscreen reading behavior as it compares to reading print.  Obviously, reading online provides a multi-layer dimension where the reader can scroll and browse, move to links embedded in the page, change the font size and ultimately read in a less linear fashion.  The reading experience is definitely different!

I must confess that I printed out this article because I wanted to have something to read on the way home from work.  While I could have read the post on my iPad, I prefer to print out items as I have a habit of writing notes on the copy or adding my thoughts and questions as I move through the text.  If what I have read peaks my interest, I often go back online to explore any links that were shared.  I retain information better this way – same goes for taking notes at conferences, although I could transcribe what I hear to my laptop or iPad, I have come to realize that I don’t often remember what was presented. The process of transcribing becomes the primary task and not listening to what has been said.  If however I take notes (the old fashion way); writing them down actually helps me to retain the information longer as well as the overall learning experience.

In this post, Maryanne Wolf who published Proust and the Squid, a history of the science and the development of the reading brain, is cited several times.  She writes about “deep reading” and how “it is a bridge to thought.”  She brings up a point that perhaps the decline of deep reading might be due to our inability to focus attention.   I have to agree that it is far easier to focus attention on print content and be more easily distracted within the digital world.

For those with similar reading habits to mine, there is hope for us to improve our online reading and retention — it begins with developing our deep-reading skills and learning how to navigate online reading just as deeply as we once did print.

Donna Gibson
Director of Library Services