Chapter Twenty-Eight, in which a Study of Books is presented

The Convenience, Educational value, and Pleasure of Books

The 2005 Literary Guidelines for Americans recommend people read more books than any other printed matter. Healthy minds for most moderately active adults and teens should consume five pages of reading a day. The best way to instill in Americans the need to read is to encourage everyone to Buy a Book a Week.

Americans often cite convenience as a main barrier to reading books. Because of their convenience and value, libraries continue to be the most visited place for books. Unfortunately, many libraries are faced with restrictive budgets as well as space limitations, resulting in limited availability of updated material or the removal of old material to allow for newer. Bookstores more than fill this gap. A visit to your local bookseller once a week can be just as easy and quick as a stop at the library.

Both online and instore, booksellers have the ability to offer a far wider range of materials, and at prices that make ownership preferrable to borrowing. Industry insiders believe that the internet is playing an important role in making books more accessible at home as well as in schools. Ownership of books makes a house a home, and provides a lifetime of opportunity. Many avid readers think of books as friends, and having them on one's shelf where one can visit, consult, or reminisce with at any hour is, in the long run, more valuable and convenient than borrowing them for two weeks and then having to share them with others.

Sellers have widely adopted "Good Ethics Practices" through organizations such as the Independent Online Booksellers Association, which provide guidelines and criteria necessary to reinforce accepted and expected standards in the buying and selling of books. Booksellers are less retailers than doctors and mentors and confidantes. A good seller can help one build a useful and treasured collection, prescribe the right title to combat a case of greed or malaise, and even keep in the strictest confidence one's dislike of the latest chic-lit release.

There has been significant research to study educational values of books. Just like consumers at home, booksellers must store and handle the product properly to avoid spoilage. Sellers also know which varieties of books are best for certain situations or moods.

Educational Quality of Books Research Summary
Westerns
There was no difference in educational quality between most western novels and epics and sagas. Pacatis et al, 1999. Lit. Nug. 15: 113-123.
Romance
Though romance was found to contain few facts, the overall effect of stimulating the mind and senses was similar to horror and comparable to science fiction. Aguivar C. et al, 2004. Book Chemistry 89: 69-76.
History
Attained the highest ratings of all categories, with no significant loss of educational value over time. Skgar I.T. et al, 1998. Hist. Sci. 64: 433-440.
Poetry
Educational value can vary greatly depending upon the ability of the reader to translate and assimilate information. A steady diet of poetry may improve overall faculties for learning in spite of the belief of readers that they do not understand it. Chatapavasashoon S. 2000. M.S. Thesis University of Serendip.
Fiction
Proven as well in sociological and cultural studies done at Mifflin University to be one of the key ways in which significant information about life and living is conveyed from one human to another, and unparalleled in breadth and depth of educational value. Dela Goure et al, 2004. BTL 64: 99-105.

News Reports on High Levels of Bacteria Found in Used Books
Books are living things; therefore they normally contain bacteria, but these bacteria are harmless to people. Dr. Barry Leuchat of the Center for Book Safety at Universitat Angstadt states: "High quality books will normally contain at least 10,000 harmless organisms per chapter and used books can range up to 10 million. That may sound alarming to people but it's the type of bacteria, not the numbers, that are of most concern."

It should be noted that bacteria and microbes are present on all living things, not just books, and some microbes can be beneficial for human health, like the bacteria found in many gardening books.

The Geometric Effect of Buying a Book a Week
Most books bought and sold in the United States are published in the United States. When one buys a book a week, one is not only enriching oneself, but also helping keep the economy strong. As knowledge is disseminated, craving for more begins to appear, and demand for more and better books spreads. The overall benefit of a nation of book readers and lovers to America as a society far outweighs any costs, as prosperity, wisdom, and a shared sense of purpose result.