Sara B. Metcalfe

ILS503-Foundations of Librarianship

E-Books

Imagine waking up on a Sunday morning. You pour your first cup of coffee, settle down in your favorite armchair, and open up your electronic book to read your newly downloaded copy of the New York Times. No longer do you have to worry about being the first one up to get to the still pristine, untouched paper, nor do you have to worry about the black ink stains all over your hands. Life couldn't get much better...or could it? What about the smell of a freshly opened newspaper, or the crackling sound when you turn the pages? In the age of computers, it was only a matter of time before someone invented the electronic book.

Though they all offer the same service, the hardware requirements are all different. Some require you to purchase their "readers", while others such as Books2read.com have adapted their product to be used on already existing formats.

BOOKS2READ.COM

Palm Pilot

Windows CE-based palm computers

Windows PC's & Mac’s

Millennium eBook $199.00

Single Screen

12 oz

AA & Rechargeable Batteries

Will hold 10 Novels

NUVOMEDIA

Rocket eBook $499.00

Single Screen

22 oz.

33 hours between charges

Will hold 4000 pages of text (approx. 10 novels)

EVERYBOOK, INC.

EB Dedicated Reader $1500.00

Double Screen

Will hold 200 Novels

SOFTBOOK PRESS, INC.

SoftBook Reader $299.00

Single screen

2.9 lbs

5 hours between charges

Will hold 100,000 pages

The readers are basically "dumb" laptop computers designed to look like books. They are programmed to download the books, save them, and allow you to perform a few simple searching features. However, they will not allow you to make notes in the margin (like a paper book). The text can be downloaded from a company such as Barnes and Noble, Levenger Internet or AOL. Many of these eBook companies are beginning to negotiate with publishing companies like Simon & Schuster for exclusive rights to their library. Once the material is downloaded, each machine will hold a different number of pages on the hard drive. Many of the readers come with illuminated screens. For a person who loves to read before going to sleep, yet hates to bother their partner by leaving the light on, the illuminated screen is a most ingenious invention.

Though none of the websites give the exact cost of the actual book, they all state that it is cheaper(and more convenient) than shopping at a bookstore. Paper books are expensive to print and ship, and if you don't sell your quota, you loose money. By offering downloadable books, the distributors are cutting out many middlemen, thus lowering the cost. Magazine and newspaper subscriptions to major titles are also being offered. Have you ever been discouraged in your quest to find an out of print book? Not only does this mean accessibility to an authors out of print works, but increased revenue for the author. As this service is very new, there aren't allot of books available yet to be downloaded. Like the birth of the VCR and the battle of Beta and VHS, the eBook companies are still vying for the lead in the fight over which reader format will prevail. Though there are many benefits to this new format, there are also many problems. A small "zap" of static can completely wipe out your hard drive. Therefore backing up you your books is essential. A number of the companies offer insurance for such disasters, and will redownload all of your books for free.

With the concern over the environment, these "electronic books" seem to be the "wave of the future." No longer do we need to worry about the logging companies harvesting too many trees for paper. The chemical companies who produce the ink polluting our air, and waterways. And the factories that print the materials wasting valuable electricity. Books can simply be downloaded on a phone line rather than trucked across the country, wasting fuel and polluting the air. Once the consumer is finished reading their book, magazine or newspaper, they can either store it on a PC based hard drive or delete it. No more wasted paper cluttering the landfill sites.

The one benefit to this new format, is its accessibility. For travelers, students and business people this is a godsend. There is no longer the need to lug around every book and magazine they want to read. All they have to do is download their selections onto their port table ebooks. Students can keep their whole years text books on a piece of equipment that weighs a few ounces. Most of the readers come with charge pack which last anywhere from 5 hours to 33 hours between charges. On a seven hour flight to Europe, or a 24 hour trip to Japan, I would opt for the later.

Many libraries have begun experimenting with the ebooks possible uses. Grand Rapids, Michigan, for example, just purchased a number of Rocket eBooks a year an a half ago. Each of their employees has been given the chance to try the ebook. Not only for the benefit of the employees to experiment with the new technology, but to find useful applications for libraries. The large type seems to be a definite plus for many public libraries. It allows accessibility by patrons with poor sight to all of the materials available on the readers.

Though it sounds like an ideal solution to many of today’s problems, I'm afraid I need my paper. I've grown so accustomed to it, I can't live without it. I love going to the bookstore, buying a cup of coffee, and wandering around trying to find that perfect book. Looking at the cover, reading the spine, feeling and smelling the pages. Even for this class, there have been numerous occasions where I could have downloaded information onto my computer, and accessed it there. I don't feel comfortable reading the information off of the screen, so I always print it up. Though these will be invaluable resources for a small percentage of the population, I believe it will take a few more generations before they finally catch on.