Reading on Public Transport & Resisting Technology - Jacqueline Maley says "yes"

Source: Maley, J. 2025. "Here's a novel idea: Break the grip of the algorithm and read a book". The Sun Herald, May 4: 24. 

Jacqueline Maley wrote in The Sun Herald on Sunday about her observations of commuters engrossed in activity on smartphones. I look back at my school days. People had mobile phones, but they were primarily used for making phone calls, and they were not commonly used on trains.

Some would read a newspaper or a book, or otherwise simply look out the window.

Maley made an interesting point that book sales have declined post-pandemic, while book costs have risen. Although not mentioned, it is likely that some schools have had their book budgets reduced due to either reduced school funding or changes in broader school priorities.

She is right about one element of smartphones: We don't engage with the content as deeply as if we were, say, reading a book. Algorithms often dictate what we read in a digital world, whereas with printed books, we can engage more deeply but also show more curiosity. 

Digital technology can also stifle creative thought, whereas a printed book can stimulate that, as well as writing and reflection. Reading and writing can also take us to unexpected places. 

What does it mean for me? What does it mean for Teacher Librarians?

We can do something to encourage reading in the commute to school, but also shift students away from devices, even for a short period of time each day. The solutions are simple, and you may already be applying them in some form.

To begin with, consider the students who travel a long distance to school. My school does have a large number of students who reside out of the area (Inner West, Hills Shire and Sydney CBD). I have worked in schools where students were travelling much further, which I have seen and still see for myself as I commute on either the T4 (particularly), T9, or Sydney Metro lines. Encourage them to make use of the time to read. Emphasise the benefits, e.g. can calm and relax a person. It can slow a brain down, and I see this for myself and others; it calms one down. It amazes me in my School READ sessions how the noisiest and "loudest" students can be easily calmed by reading.

Quick reads, e.g. graphic novels and verse novels, should be encouraged. They could even be used as a "hook" to encourage students to read longer-form books.

If you have a wide reading program. Well done. That encourages one to read for a longer period of time, while also providing opportunities to be introduced to texts that they may not be familiar with.

Does this mean that she would be discouraging eBooks? Not at all, but it allows us to be more wise with our use of screens. For some, there are benefits, e.g. audiobooks or being able to read a book in a larger font. 

In the library, encourage books using the motto "Reading is Power" to resist algorithms. Books let you decide what you think while algorithms decide what you see. Book Reviews by students should be encouraged, whether they are posted on the shelves, through the library catalogue or a mixture of both. 

The rise of eBook collections (SMH Article)

Last Saturday (16/1/2015), The Sydney Morning Herald did a short feature on the rise of eBook collections in public libraries in Sydney. Sydney City Council now claims to have 10 000 eBooks in its collection.

It also claims that more people are joining libraries in response, encouraged by the convenience of iPads and Kindles as a reading tool, and existing members are borrowing more regularly which is encouraging news.

But the article fails to mention the percentage of eBook loans in comparison to loans of printed items. There are definitely some that have been attracted to borrow because items are now available as eBooks and don't have to lug a printed book around, or is it merely because people want to read something in print? Or perhaps did reading something in a digital form encourage them to pursue reading in a printed format.

Also have loans of printed items increased? We don't get that figure either.

Looking on the positive side, it is good though to see people making use of their local libraries and their collections, while at the same time developing their interest in reading. As I do believe, some are more suited to reading items digitally as opposed to print. Everyone has their style of learning and therefore everyone has their way of reading.

And what if one cannot access that printed copy of a book that they want to read at a particular point in time - at least an electronic version will fill that need, unless they really want that tactile version.

What about in a classroom situation? There will be no longer an excuse to not have bought a book to class, especially if the school library has its own eBook collection. I would be encouraging my students as well to pursue membership of their local library, not just for their digital collections, but also their print collections. Every library in every council area has its own unique collection of books. From holding accounts with four councils, I am often coming across items that are "exclusive" to that collection and have read some very interesting books that I may have not come across. I even want to recommend them for my school library!!! I might make that a challenge for this year in my work.