This year, our school is one of many that has turned the page from paper books to online books. With the change has come mixed reviews from students.

   Even knowing they make a student’s life easier, some students do not have the technology needed to run ebooks and have log-in problems. Teachers are getting frustrated as they have to assign work for homework but some students are still not able to make it work.

   “In all honesty, there is no replacing paper books,” junior Joy Hall said. “There’s a certain experience you get from holding a book in your hands, opening and being engulfed to a new world.”

   The school library has also needed to adapt with the years. Students have not checked out books as they used to and simply prefer to research online. Compared to last year, the library has changed a lot,  building the new “Cloud” and donating more than 7,000 non-fiction books to local charities.

   “About 7,000 titles were donated to local charities, and the fiction books are still available at the library. We have plenty of students who check these out and read for pleasure,” said Roxanne Trejos, one of the librarians.  “If you need a book from the library, please visit our website at gulliver.life/2ndfloor and visit the library if you need assistance.”

   Some teachers are more than ready to move on to online books but others just can’t seem to let it go of their paper books, and others prefer to use both, depending on the teacher.

   “I love having access to books online.  They will never replace the feel of a book in my hand or my incessant need to annotate on the pages of a book,” English teacher Inelissa Artzt said. “I do not use ebooks in my course, simply because it makes it difficult to collect them for annotation, grades and to ensure academic integrity.”

   Online books are good for the student body since they don’t need to carry books in their backpacks and store them in their lockers, they can have everything just on their laptops, but we can’t always trust technology since computers don’t work perfectly, or the WIFI may not work.

   “Online books can be very confusing and hard to reach,” sophomore Sydni Rosenthal said. “Sometimes they work, and others don’t, I think it would be better if we just revived the hardcover instead.”

   Every student and staff member has a different opinion,  but as a school, keeping up with technology is a must. Online books are here to help make classes more efficient and help teachers.