Professor Janik posted a link to a podcast and accompanying article on the discussion board today. For those that haven’t listened yet the address is: Future of Books and Libraries. The author, Jason Perlow, posits the following question:
“So if Kindle readers become ridiculously cheap and every American, regardless of credit will be able to do business with Amazon, giving them instantaneous access to millions of books, what happens to the libraries? (Perlow, 2011)
There are several points that come immediately to mind. First, Amazon, for its zillions of products, does not carry every book available. Secondly, there is no assurance that the Kindle will become the undisputed king of e-readers (I have an iPad and use Apple’s bookstore). It is his question “What will happen to the libraries”, with the implied “what will happen do the librarians” that is the central point.
Libraries are, and I’m preaching to the choir here, so much more than places to get books. For many communities they are the home of art and history. They offer guidance and resources that aren’t available anywhere else. And yes, they offer books both in paper and electronic formats. The demise of the printed book doesn't mean the end of librarians, it just means our role and tools are changing.
Greg Hayes
References
Perlow, J. (2011, October 8). Digital underclass 2: The future of books and libraries. Retrieved October 11, 2011, from zdnet.com: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/digital-underclass-2-the-future-of-books-and-libraries-podcast/18912?tag=nl.e539
One thing also about Kindles and such is the books you get aren't always ones you are permitted to keep.
ReplyDeleteI point out the article by NPR that tells how Amazon, in the height of irony, removed copies of G. Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111487759
Now the buyers were credited the purchases back to their accounts but the truth remains that similar products I've read of offered by other libraries with electronic source materials this has never happened(to my knowledge). Nor is it likely too. I point out the article with amazon to illustrate a point that there are a lot of problems still with e-readers and the like, especially in the hands of private business where their goal is less 'books for everyone etc' then 'show me the money'. And there's nothing wrong with that as long as people understand that Amazon/Kindle etc will have different priorities then libraries and even if the technological problems are worked out, businesses will be unable to carter to every need by their very nature. Even for those who are totally online these problems may drive more to the library as a respected back up source. And as has been pointed out libraries are so much more then books. We can offer a lot to people who either don't have time figure it out themselves or can not for one reason or another. There is so much information out there that librarians are still needed to help make sense of it all even if for nothing else.
The problem with Kindle and most other e-books is that they're sold with DRM (Digital Rights Management). So when you actually buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc. you're actually buying a license to view the book NOT the book itself. Which leaves Amazon perfectly within its rights to take back those copies of 1984 and Animal Farm if the company discovers that it didn't have the rights to sell you the license in the first place. In fact, Amazon could actually take back an entire user's library if they decided for whatever reason that they wanted to revoke the user's right to read the material on the Kindle.
ReplyDeleteA lot of e-book users have decided to either strip their e-books of DRM (which in effect makes the book theirs) or only buy e-books that are DRM-free (which is difficult as most of the major publishers and the major booksellers use DRM).
This isn't an issue with paper books because when you buy a copy of a paper book, you're actually buying the book and not only the right to read the book.
I do love e-books as they're very convenient but issues such as DRM will have to sorted out eventually. I think they will be as e-books become more popular and mainstream.
I agree that not every book that you would want to read is available in e-reader format, or for the e-reader you may already own. That being said, I'm not sure I would want to have all my reading material on such a device. There is value - at least to me - and I'm sure to others as well - in having the print edition. For research materials, I can locate the section more easily using the index and/or the contents page than I can with the search features provided by Kindle. I like sitting down with the print in hand, in my favorite chair, with a cup of hot chocolate.
ReplyDeleteThe more important question is: "What is the role of libraries and librarians in this digital age?" Our role will include evaluating devices, loaning policies, training new users on a variety of devices, staying current, developing collections with a variety of formats to meet the needs and desires of our library patrons. I'm sure you can also define other roles for our profession in the future.
Academic, special and research libraries will have to look at accessibility of content as time moves forward and devices no longer support older digital formats. We are seeing this already with film and audio formats of the past 20 years not being usable unless the content was moved onto the next platform.
Libraries and librarians have much to look forward to in the future that is rewarding.
If you can't beat them, join them! That was the approach of the local library I used when living in Washington State. The Sno-Isle Public Libraries are a very successful and integral part of the communities they serve. So, when eBooks became popular they responded by offering Library eBooks for Kindle and classes on how to utilize the new technology. Instead of competing with new technology they simply integrated it into their resources offered to the public. The Library eBooks for Kindle program has been a huge success! Check out their website at: http://overdrive-audio-books.sno-isle.org/D6E1DE24-6CDC-463A-AD27-0E57E6A3232B/10/377/en/Default.htm
ReplyDeleteAs a librarian we have to look at new technology as an opportunity not as a threat. We cannot simply sit by and say people will always love reading print books (Idon’t). We have to listen to our constituents and adapt to their needs and desires. The Sno-Isle librarians did a great job of this…everybody wins and the library remains a relevant resource for the community!
Side Note: They partner with OverDrive, Inc. (www.overdive.com), a leader in eBook distribution for libraries and schools, to offer this service. I would also like to point out this technology works on several devices, not just Kindles.
"Academic, special and research libraries will have to look at accessibility of content as time moves forward and devices no longer support older digital formats. We are seeing this already with film and audio formats of the past 20 years not being usable unless the content was moved onto the next platform."
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the biggest concerns with e-books as formats can become obsolete (some e-book formats already have) or different formats can't be read on different machines. What do we do when a format become obsolete? How will this affect libraries who buy license for a book in different formats that will eventually become obsolete? It's definitely a question that libraries never had to face with paper books.
Okay, for starters, the idea that print books will eventually become extinct is both highly painful and unrealistic (at least to me--please see my upcoming blog post for details ;))
ReplyDeleteWhile I own a Kindle, I very rarely use it--at the moment the battery is dead; I'm in no hurry to recharge it. The main reasons I even use it are A)Getting a textbook when it's the first week of class and I need it immediately and B)The occasional freebies offered on Amazon.
In any other situation, I wholeheartedly support print. I don't need electricity to find out what happens in chapter 18. Amazon just can't rip books from my bookshelf as they can with my Kindle. It's easier to reference text when it's in print. And, perhaps most importantly, I just love the feel and texture and even smell of an actual book. I usually read books to escape my hectic life and enslavement to technology; when I'm looking to relax the Kindle just cannot offer the same degree of comfort as a book.
While I'm sure many people appreciate ebooks, I'm afraid that the complete elimination of print from libraries would alienate a significant number of patrons, and in this light prove detrimental to the viability and popularity of libraries in the long run.
I agree, Allison, that the physical book itself is what makes me want a real book as opposed to an ebook. The aesthetic value, to me, cannot be replaced. The convenience of the kindle cannot be disputed, but it feels like I should be reading technical instructions off of it, not an actual book.
ReplyDeleteThe same can be said for physical copies of music, which seems to be going away rapidly. I believe this is the case because the end product is the music itself, which can be easily stored and accessed on an MP3 player or ipod. The convenience of itunes,to most casual listeners,is paramount to owning the actual CD and enjoying the artwork and reading the liner notes and lyrics( myself excluded).
The reason DVD has not gone this route yet is due to the fact that most people do not have their computers hooked up to their television, though I am sure very soon we will see netflix go to a strictly streaming format.
As for the future of libraries and Librarians, I think back to the video in this weeks lecture on the library of the future. There was one woman who said that she always goes to the library to get her work done because being in her home is not conducive to learning, and I think that this really sums up what a library is: A place that inspires learning with the librarian being the facilitator of access to knowledge.
I don't think we'll see print books be eliminated in the near future but I do think that at some point, they will become more rare. E-books and e-readers are still in their infancy. I would not read a textbook or any other book that I wanted to mark up on an e-reader (tablets included) yet. However, electonic companies are already working on making tablets that will be able to take user input. I was watching a clip on yt with Bill Gates and he said that this was something he wanted to see on tablets in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Microsoft, Apple and other companies are working on making tablets (which I think will be used as e-readers) more user input friendly. Thus, we'll have tablets where you can mark up and highlight e-books much like you can on a print book. I would imagine that at least one company is also working on making e-books easier to flip through. This is one of the draw backs of e-book for me.
Plus, there is the convenience factor as well. In time, I think e-books will be used by the majority of book readers. I think my children and grandchildren will probably be more familiar with e-books and find p-books to be quaint.
As for the future of libraries, I agree with Charles. Libraries are much more than a place for holding p-books and that's something we need to emphasize. Some libraries are already going all digital or mostly digital while drastically decreasing the size of their p-book and p-journal collections. We should really focus on how libraries are a place to seek knowledge (in whatever form it may be) and librarians as docents in seeking that knowledge.
ReplyDelete