Another sign of the changing times…
5,400 public libraries are now lending free e-books and audio books to their patrons. With the help of OverDrive, library customers can download texts to their Sony e-book readers, computers and various hand held devices. They get two to three weeks with the book, and then, poof, it expires. It’s yet another trend worrying publishers, and I have to think it might make the Amazon Kindle people a little nervous too. The New York Times has the full details here.
Meanwhile, on a quite related note, the Times separately poses the question Does the Brain Like e-Books? to five prominent thinkers. When you read their replies, you can’t help but wonder whether we’re generally developing a flawed digital reading experience–one that doesn’t really give much thought to how we read when we read well. But then it’s important to remember. We’re early on in this game. And, with a little time and smarts, we’ll end up with something much better, even if it’s some strange fusion of the traditional and digital book.
