New libraries no impediment to ditching books
SCHOOLS are free to banish printed books even if they have built new libraries with grants, Finance Minister Penny Wong said.
SCHOOLS are free to banish printed books even if they have built new libraries with government grants, Finance Minister Penny Wong said yesterday.
But Senator Wong said she hoped schools would choose to keep traditional books as well as new digital versions.
"I have to say, as someone who enjoys books, I hope that we don't lose all printed material because the experience of reading a book . . . it's a great thing to have that accessible as well as e-books," she told ABC Radio.
The Australian revealed yesterday that schools were starting to get rid of printed books in favour of virtual libraries.
Senator Wong said it was "up to the schools" to retain traditional books.
But Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said the government should have spent some of the $4 billion it spent building 3472 new libraries on "quality teaching" instead.
Children's Book Council of Australia president Julie Wells said yesterday it was disappointing that printed books were being tossed away.
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