The digital age has not crept into literature as fast as some might think, according to a recent study. 

The Pew Research Center recently released a study saying about 75 percent of people ages 16 through 29 read an actual book in the past year, as opposed to an e-reader like a Kindle or Nook. This statistic is wonderful to hear, one local librarian said, because it is evidence those people are reading. 

The digital age has not crept into literature as fast as some might think, according to a recent study. 

The Pew Research Center recently released a study saying about 75 percent of people ages 16 through 29 read an actual book in the past year, as opposed to an e-reader like a Kindle or Nook. This statistic is wonderful to hear, one local librarian said, because it is evidence those people are reading. 

“I still think people read actual books,” Rosemary Honn, circulation and reference librarian at Ottawa Library, 105 S. Hickory St., said. “I think, at that age, they’re often so busy with other things that usage does tend to go down a little bit.” 

The study also found 60 percent of Americans age 30 and younger used a library in the past year. Some 46 percent used the library for research, 38 percent borrowed books (print books, audiobooks or e-books), and 23 percent borrowed newspapers, magazines, or journals. The Ottawa Library, with its more than 47,000 books, has more than 13,000 active borrowers to the library. The city’s library boasts an ever-growing teen book section, Honn said, and plays host to activities throughout the year to encourage people to visit the library. 

Hugely popular teen and adult series like “The Hunger Games,” “Twilight” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” could have been a contributing factor, Honn said, in the Pew study that surveyed almost 3,000 people ages 16 and older. The waiting lists for those popular series, Honn said, are lengthy at the Ottawa Library. 

Honn suspects the Ottawa Library has lost some patrons because of the growing popularity of e-books. The majority of people who have come in asking about e-readers have been older, she said. 

The Wellsville Library, 115 W. Sixth St., has not seen a dramatic decrease in patronage since the release of e-readers, Becky Dodd, the library’s director, said. She said she thinks it is because people tend to want to stick with their real books. 

“The response I get from the patrons is that there is still the romance between holding the book and reading the pages, and the connection,” Dodd said. “That’s what I hear from the people. They don’t want a machine.”

Among Americans who read e-books, those age 30 and younger are more likely to read their e-books on a cell phone, 41 percent, or computer, 55 percent, than on an e-book reader such as a Kindle or tablet, the study also found. While both librarians prefer actual books to e-readers, they both agreed they could see the advantages in having the electronic version of a book. 

“I hear the e-readers are great for reading in bed because you don’t have to worry about bothering your spouse with the light,” Dodd said. Likewise, Honn said she appreciates e-readers for their ability to hold multiple books. 

While neither library loans out e-readers, both libraries offer residents the option to get a Kansas library card, which gives them access to the online archive of free digital books that has been compiled by the state. This archive, which has a limited selection, allows people to read books on a computer or tablet, but cannot be downloaded to an e-reader. 

Regardless of what method of absorbing the printed word people choose, Dodd said, there is one thing she would like to see for sure. 

“I prefer people just to read, just to continue to grow for either knowledge or entertainment,” she said.