In Kansas City, there are many different local places to get books; libraries and bookstores. Consumers may now have to look to different sources for their literature as the book world is changing.

A popular choice for high schoolers is their school’s library.

“We have a lot of books that are checked out from here.” Blue Valley SouthWest school librarian Lindsay Hogan said. “[We also have a good selection of books] because all of the books are new.”

The school library is open before and after school for students to use. The SouthWest library is open from 7:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. In addition to books, it also features computers, a puzzle, and reading section, as well as a wide variety of magazines.

Yet another possible source is the public library. “[I get most of my books from] the public library. I can find more things there and they have a bigger selection [than my school library],”A freshman, Valaria Lobitz, said. The Johnson County Library has 13 branches in the area.

“I think a fair amount of high schoolers come in, but in high school, the time available for pleasure reading drops off. It is so much more difficult to find time.” Blue Valley Public Library Youth Specialist Peggy Hendershot said.

The public library is also changing to fit with modern electronics. They now have an app that users can place holds on and renew books. Among many other things, it allows people to search for books and have easy access to their library card.

Yet another option for books in the Kansas City area is a bookstore, like Half-Price-Books located on 15309 W. 119th St. and Black Bob Rd. Olathe, Kansas. Employees don’t seem to be worried that anything will take its place for a while.

“I think there will always be a place [for books],”said Sam, an employee at Half-Price Books. “…Some bookstores will become obsolete and chains may go out of business, like Borders, but they will still be there.”

With the option of the Kindle, many people seem to be switching over to the digital option. But this change may not be problem-free. “I read a lot of fiction and a lot of books I want to read are not available on Kindles,” said Jenny, also an employee at the bookstore.

According to amazon.com/kindle, there are over a million books avalible under $9.99 and 23 million books, magizines, games, and movies avalible. Leonid Taycher, software engineer at Google published a study claiming that there were over 129 million books published.

Whatever kind, people believe that reading is important. “They need to grow readers. The biggest joy is making reading fun.” Hendershot said.

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