In his presentation last week Michael Cart mentioned this article which has some startling statistics about book publishing and book buying. One particular quotation stood out to me however:

"People are reading less, so what you're seeing is the same phenomenon that has hit magazines and newspapers, a massive shift toward home video, DVD, internet and cable," said Albert N. Greco, an industry consultant and a professor of business at the graduate school of Fordham University.

I'm not sure if I agree with Professor Greco on this. I don't think you can equate book buying with book reading. What about library patrons? Just because they don't buy doesn't mean they aren't reading. With the rising cost of books and the decreasing amount of disposable income, I think more and more libraries are seeing an influx of patrons who previously purchased books and now have to borrow them. Which leads me to this question: when it comes to a book, how important is ownership?

For me it is very important. I like having that nice, clean copy in my hand. I don't want a book with a cracked binding marring it. Immediacy is also an issue with me. I like getting a book the first week it comes out. I may not read it right away, but it is a comfort to have it sitting on the TBR shelf of my bookcase just in case. I'm a freak, I know. But what about other people?

Awhile back I read a great post about Readers vs. readers (and no, I will not link to the post in order to protect the identity of the blogger). The basic gist of the post was that there are two classes: Readers and readers. Both groups enjoy reading. Both groups have people that would be considered voracious readers. The distinguishing factor between a Reader and reader? Passion. Passion about discussing books, passion about the book as a format, and passion about understanding readers (what they read and why they read it).

And now I'm wondering if I've accidentally discovered another distinction between the two groups: ownership. Could it be that the need to own a book vs. borrowing it depend on whether you are a Reader or a reader? Not to say that readers don't buy books. I just don't think that a reader buys as many books or places as much importance on owning a book as a Reader does.

What about you? How important to you is it to own the book?

--------------------------------------------------------------------