Have you read an e-book yet? Do you think it means the end of bookshops and libraries as we know them? Will book people have to turn into e-book people to meet the brave new world? It’s all a bit early to say.
I [Philip Harvey, see below] haven’t read an e-book and when asked by borrowers if I feel that my profession of librarian is under threat, I ask them if they themselves have used an e-book. No, is the consistent reply. But they know chapter and verse about the developments, usually from what they have seen on the internet. The new slimline gadgets can display everything a text maniac wants to get their hands on. Or so it seems.
More on ebooks, Google, digitisation, and the Information Revolution from Philip Harvey, President of the Australian and New Zealand Theological Library Association in Australia’s Eureka Street.
Love my Kindle
I received a Kindle for Christmas and have been loving it. I was surprised to enjoy it, because I have been a book snob my whole life and assumed I would never be able to get into it. While there are definitely issues with DRM, I adore the fact that all I have to carry is my Kindle when I travel instead of an extra suitcase full of the books I might want to read. Also, while I am a fan of the random conversations carrying a book around can begin, I like the privacy that stems from an e-book. Overall, I am very happy to have a Kindle and I’m looking forward to the future iterations of ebooks.
Katy Vance
MSLS student at UNC Chapel Hill