[WEB4LIB] Re: Still More Copyright

[Lloyd Davidson]

At 08:04 03/22/2001 -0800, Brian Cockburn wrote:
>Ebooks will not, for the most part, replace linearly read volumes.

Actually, while my own ability to foretell the future is most assuredly 
badly flawed and no one knows for sure how things will develop in this 
area, the reports from those who have used ebooks for long periods of 
linear reading find them not only addictive but completely interchangeable 
with print texts.  In fact, one reporter who tested ebooks for a couple of 
weeks found herself frequently looking around for the paperback she 
remembered reading after she had set her ebook reader down for a few 
minutes.  And this was on a reader that was by no means optimal in its design.

Technology has a way of invading our lives both because of its perceived 
and actual benefits.  The ability to carry a library of nearly unlimited 
size around in one's hand, contained in a small, light weight unit that can 
be read while waiting in line at the supermarket or for a dental 
appointment, or while riding a train to work, is very 
attractive.  Especially if material like the morning paper and the full 
text of your favorite magazines and journals were also made available on 
it. I would certainly be an early adopter if the reading list was good, the 
ebooks and reader inexpensive (the ebooks perhaps available for a daily 
rental fee), and the reader comfortable and convenient to use, with a 
long-lived battery.  I would even be happy to exchange much of my use of 
the free public library for a limited-cost system that provided the 
convenience of guaranteed access to the latest published works as soon as 
they are published and didn't necessitate finding a parking place near our 
local library or the time required to get in and out of it, which usually 
includes waiting in line to charge items out. Even though an electronic 
book doesn't have the same appeal as a nicely bound print volume when 
presented as a gift to a friend (for the same reasons that nobody would pay 
$1,500 for a CD of the Encyclopedia Britannica), it has sufficient other 
advantages that its widespread adoption is ultimately assured.  Not the 
least of which, of course, might be snob appeal and current style 
imperatives (for those affected by such things).

>However,
>in most academic libraries, scholars and students pursue research by using
>"parts" of books.  By scanning table of contents and indexes, you look for
>your "topic" and related topics.  The ebook will make its first significant
>mark in libraries when it makes possible the searching of libraries of books
>by topic and word.  That would be extremely valuable and would fit with
>scholarly use.

Yes, this defines a further set of its advantages.  netLibrary is one ebook 
system that already provides this feature.


>BAC
>
>Brian Cockburn
>Digital Services Librarian
>James Madison University
>VMail:  540.568.6978  EMail:  cockbuba at jmu.edu
>Public Calendar:  http://calendar.yahoo.com/cockbuba
Lloyd