Digital Literacy: Reading in the Age of ICT

Abstract

Digital literacy is an important aspect of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and in this chapter I focus on particular elements of it, including new ways of reading and processing written language, with implications of how literacy is embedded in language. Reading in the 21st Century is no longer confined to reading print books. Electronic versions of many print materials have been made available on the World Wide Web. Some of the advantages of using electronic or digital materials include their relative accessibility and flexibility in terms of time and space. Electronic materials also allow the inclusion of multi-media elements like sound and video clips, which cannot be presented in print books. These and other factors have contributed to growing acquisition rates of e-books and e-journals in academic libraries around the world. As urban areas all over the world become more and more crowded, the save-space feature of digital libraries is an even more attractive reason why users of library facilities in academic and public libraries are being encouraged to read electronic versions of publications.