Why E-books?

[veronica]

Gary Masters wrote:
E books remain the best way for a library to get books to its clients on the
web - if the copyright issue can be solved.

I've just come across the Tampa Bay Library Consortium's ebook project.  An
article in "Computers in Libraries" (March, 2001) states that "Librare, an
electronic book (ebook) cooperative collection development project,
undertaken by the 31 libraries belonging as members of the TBLC, ...has been
successful in that it has been well received by library users. Usage
statistics increase each month and the collection continues to grow."
http://www.tblc.org/ebooks/

It sounds like a marvellous service, but I could not picture ebooks ever
superceding printed books, even without the "Digital Divide". For example,
what about the visually impaired?

There is an interesting article from New York
Times Online about an upcoming city-wide reading project in Chicago.
"Planners of Chicago's project...want it to be a communal event rather than
a series of private experiences."  Ebooks don't get a mention anywhere!
Certainly they can provide an additional resource, but I think that there is
a fundamental egalitarian and bonding element in the use of printed books.
How many of us have struck up a conversation on a train or tram with a
fellow commuter because of a book?

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/28/books/28MOCK.html?ex=1000011072ei=1&en=b93
6ac3340789d1b

A major advantage I would envisage is the ability to download in different
languages; foreign language resources are surely an expensive part of any
public library's budget, and libraries in ethnic communities would be able
to offer the latest foreign titles in a wide range of both fiction and
non-fiction material.

As a layperson, I am concerned about archival issues - what systems are in
place to preserve and ensure long term access to electronic publications?
Also, acquisition librarians in Australian public libraries often develop
important liaisons with their local quality booksellers, whereby new titles
are lent to staff for assessment.  With ebooks, you are unable to get the
"feel for a book" by physical browsing.  Would librarians have to rely on
publisher reviews?

Finally, is anyone familiar with the "Illumination" software by ?
http://www.the-office.com/bedtime-story/indexmain.htm

Veronica Tastl
BIMS student
Monash University