As Dean of the Library at Calvin, I was so pleased to read two articles highlighting the continued role of print books in our culture in the Feb. 6 edition of Chimes. I should note that I am quite appreciative of the wealth of digital content we have within finger reach that we can use night or day. Yet print books have qualities that have yet to be supplanted by new technologies.

Numerous studies highlight increased retention and comprehension associated with reading print books versus books on screens. This comes in part from the fixity of the text that occurs with a printed page. The text does not shift as it does in many e-readers. It stays put and gives our brains an opportunity to cement it in our memory. Print books also afford the reader the opportunity to reduce distractions that readily come from electronic devices. Electronic devices can readily draw people away from reading to respond to a text message or email or even to look up an unknown word we encounter in our reading.

Books are central to the scholarly communication methods in the humanities and social sciences where long-form writing (and reading) is regularly used. These fields represent the majority of books in the Hekman Library.

Keep reading, Calvin! Remember that reading introduces you to new worlds, words, ideas and perspectives. In doing so, you garner increased vocabulary and language skills that enable you to become better writers and oral communicators — skills employers say are invaluable.