[Web4lib] Kindle lending

[jimm wetherbee]

I should think that by the time eBooks and eReaders are the norm, that
publishers will have figured out for them what they already know about
printed books.  It is better to sell an additional few thousand eBooks
titles to libraries that to forgo selling them at all.  It is not as if
people would buy everything they've read from the libraries if it
suddenly were suddenly shuddered.  I'm not even sure reader would flock
to an eBook rental arrangement.  And who knows, just as lending books
generate sales for certain authors in the print world, why not in the
eWorld?  Libraries, it would seem, would need to adapt at being the most
convenient lenders in this emerging market.

--jimm

On 11/2/2010 2:10 PM, Jesse Ephraim wrote:
> I agree with Bill.  As a profession, we tend to spend far too much time fretting about whether a new technology or trend will threaten the existence of libraries.  If libraries disappear, it will be because we didn't adapt to the changes and revise our services accordingly.  When it comes to technology, we are our own worst enemies.
>
> I doubt we will see the end of print books in the next few decades.  There are just too many people who grew up reading them and prefer that format.  Ebooks will probably become a larger part of the market, particularly when it comes to time-sensitive materials, but that doesn't mean that print books will disappear entirely.  
>
> I do think that bookstores may eventually move to POD machines, though, with a sample copy of each title on the shelves for browsing.  POD machines are getting faster and better every year, and they bypass the issue of returning unsold books to publishers.  They would also allow publishers to keep titles "in print" indefinitely.
>
> Jesse Ephraim
>
>
> I agree that ebooks will eventually replace print books.  What I object to is the continued negative response in using such language as "undermine" and "threatening" as well as other value laden adjectives.  It is time to quit move away such things and start looking more at how we provide services in what is clearly a new paradigm.
>
> -----------------------------------------
> Wilfred (Bill) Drew, M.S., B.S., A.S.
> Assistant Professor
> Librarian, Systems and Tech Services
> Strengths: Ideation, Input, Learner, Command, Analytical 
> E-mail: dreww at tc3.edu 
> Follow the library: http://twitter.com/TC3Library
> Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail or document.
>
>
> I agree with Tim Spalding that ebooks will eventually dominate.
>
> Almost 10 years ago, when Rocketbooks were the leading ereaders,
> someone told me that libraries will always be around because
> not every print book will be converted to electronic form and
> people will go to libraries for those documents.
>
> I agree in the same way that automobiles have not completely replaced 
> horses and buggies.
>
> Horses and buggies are still used in a small number of situations, e.g., 
> Central Park,
> and by a relatively small number of people, e.g., Amish,
> but for the vast majority of times, places and people,
> horses and buggies are ignored.
>
> With the rise of Google and the Web, reference books are being ignored 
> by most people,
> even though reference books may offer better information. I think the 
> same is eventually going to happen with other books.
>
> It's the "principle of least effort" in action, i.e., people, including 
> professional like doctors, use the easiest source of information 
> available even when they know better and newer sources are available in 
> the nearest library.
>
> Online delivery of ebooks is a threat to libraries because this delivery 
> undermines libraries' traditional asset of having most easily available 
> local reading material. Kindles are especially threatening to libraries 
> because Amazon will not allow libraries to provide popular content to 
> local Kindle owners.
>


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