Countless printing media houses have closed shop in recent times and libraries are not as vibrant as was the case half-a-century back before the advent of electronic media.

One way to explain this trend is that with the internet revolution, information can be accessed more easily and readily compared to searching for a book in a packed library. Internet reading has further crippled hard print book publishing as the cost of getting e-books is relatively cheaper than that of a hard copy. 

Education experts have, in particular, had to come to terms with this turn of events and are calling for a complementary approach to consumers of hard or soft reading material. But what can explain this trend and how do we live with it?

Why dominance of internet?

Dr Modeste Nsanzabaganwa, the head of language division at Rwanda Academy of Language and Culture, says the tendency of people to buy books or newspapers has fallen majorly due to the fact that internet libraries are cheaper means of getting information.

He notes that the price of hard books is far higher than that of online information.

"I would, for instance, require Rwf500 worth of airtime to surf for any information that I need. But on other hand, I would have to part with Rwf20,000 to purchase a novel,” he says.

He adds that the internet reading ensures easy and improved access to well-organised information compared to information from hard material.

"Whenever you want to read a book online, you just type the author’s name and titles then you access the book instantly, which makes this e-media more user-friendly,” he adds.

Aline Umutoni, a third-year student at the University of Rwanda, Huye campus, believes that the main reason behind the internet’s dominance among students is because it saves time.

"Visiting libraries takes a lot of time. For example, getting information on Google is much faster than visiting libraries which could even come with transport costs,” she says.

For Marie-Ange Niyigena, a librarian at the University of Kigali, whereas internet reading comes with many advantages, it has a downside to it. 

She believes that over-reliance on the internet for research has greatly affected the reading culture, which impacts negatively on the quality of information and knowledge students access.

"Students are reluctant to spend their money buying a book or newspaper, but rather prefer rushing for an internet bundle to stay connected to their friends on social media.

"Our students mostly read non-academic content online because they lack the culture of research and an investigative mindset that comes with reading hard books,” she says.

Niyigena also says that the internet reading has demoralised potential authors and booksellers because, unlike in the past, book sales are poor today due to preference of e-content, especially among the young generation.

But one wonders; is there a way to resurrect the appetite for the print?

Agnes Muzirankoni, a sales assistant at SBD Bookshop and Publishing Company in Kigali, says hard book writers ought to be more concise in their writings if they are to compete favourably with e-book sellers.

"One of the reasons why people prefer e-books is because they are short, clear and concise, which I think the hard book writer should adopt to remain relevant on the market,” she says.

Muzirankoni adds that writers have to be more innovative to attract more readers.

"Books that tackle compelling topics capture the interests of readers, comprise good rhetoric content and which address the problems in society are preferred more than the huge books which are philosophical and complicated to understand, a characteristic which most hard books tend to have,” she says.

Muzirankoni notes that hard print needs to be packaged in a way that attracts younger people, for instance, with more photographic content, not to just long passages.

Emmanuel Rutayisire, the proprietor of the Rutvan Bookshop in Kigali, says advertisement and marketing of libraries could only be the solution to attract more people to read hard materials.

"People need to read but because most of them don’t know the location of bookshops or libraries, they turn to online reading,” he adds.

He emphasises that reading is also part of leisure and entertainment, which calls for booksellers and hard book writers to capture this aspect in their trade.

"People always want to read for adventure so if they don’t make it enjoyable through improving the quality of their work they are likely to be out-competed by their online counterparts,” says Rutayisire.

Jean-Paul Cyubahiro, a senior six student at Indangaburezi Secondary School in Southern Pronvince, says parents and teachers should play a bigger role in encouraging students to consume printed material.

"They should encourage their children to read hard books without necessarily denying them access to phones with the internet. Teachers also have a role to promote reading of hard books because they direct the learning process,” he says.