Monday, July 30, 2007
E for" eventually"
According to Wikipedia, an e-book is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book, either read on personal computers, or dedicated hardware devices known as e-book devices or e-book readers. The debate about the pros and cons of e-books is not going away anytime soon.
Less physical space is required to store e-books. On the average 500 e-books can be stores on one CD which according to Wikipedia is equivalent to several shelves of print books. Reference collection that use to house oversized and expensive books, can not be easily accessed and cross referenced on the e-book format. Readers of large print text can benefit from chioces in text and font.
However, often readers of large print material are older patrons and they do not or will not use computers as a first choice for reading material. In addition, the cost of special equipment and software may not be in the budget of readers who patronize a "free" library. As with all new computer equipment it is contantly evolving and screen resolution and choices of devices may be an ongoing process.
If I learn nothing else from my" 23 things" it is that we are in the computer age to stay and eventually our library and all libraires will offer e-books. As an additional format for patrons who look forward to reading from their laptops at lunch it will be an exciting addition. I still hope that nothing will replace the excitement of receiving the latest book by the best selling author that you can carry home like a prize won to read, enjoy and share.
Less physical space is required to store e-books. On the average 500 e-books can be stores on one CD which according to Wikipedia is equivalent to several shelves of print books. Reference collection that use to house oversized and expensive books, can not be easily accessed and cross referenced on the e-book format. Readers of large print text can benefit from chioces in text and font.
However, often readers of large print material are older patrons and they do not or will not use computers as a first choice for reading material. In addition, the cost of special equipment and software may not be in the budget of readers who patronize a "free" library. As with all new computer equipment it is contantly evolving and screen resolution and choices of devices may be an ongoing process.
If I learn nothing else from my" 23 things" it is that we are in the computer age to stay and eventually our library and all libraires will offer e-books. As an additional format for patrons who look forward to reading from their laptops at lunch it will be an exciting addition. I still hope that nothing will replace the excitement of receiving the latest book by the best selling author that you can carry home like a prize won to read, enjoy and share.
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