eBooks

[okami_loli_chan]

I'm super stoked because I completely forgot that I put myself on the waiting list for NYPL's e-edition of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and I woke up to an email saying that it was ready for me to borrow! I'm in the middle of The Last Warewolf by Glen Duncan, but I'm probably going to put that aside so I can read The Night Circus before it

Comments

[idiotrabbit]

I really don't like them :/

[okami_loli_chan]

Is there a specific reason why?

[idiotrabbit]

Sorry I didn't have time to write a detailed reply D:
I don't like the idea of reading off screens, I know its sounds silly because that's what I'm doing now, but its not like I'm reading an entire book off there. First we get rid of letters by having emails and now books. Books are pretty, they can be very old and have things hidden in them. You get to turn each page and I'll stop myself there as I'll go on forever. Basically I think it ruins the book reading experience.

[blue_meddy]

I don't use an eReader or think I will ever use one because of that singularly unoriginal but more or less universal reason, I still like the feel and weight of a good ole fashioned book in my hands, haha.

But your reasons why eReaders would be popular among those who need bigger print fonts or unable to hold large tomes is quite valid. But I can see a lot of logistical and potential copyright issues if libraries went the way of eReaders

Even if the library bought over copyright issues to certain titles and made them available to library patrons on a site to download, how do you stop library patrons from making copies on paper or burn onto a CD for others etc?

[okami_loli_chan]

There's already coding in the digital editions that prevents people (or at least, the averagely computer literate person) from copying the library books. The borrowed items download directly into Adobe Digital editions and are a file that is only readable by ADE, and it doesn't let you print them. Once you transfer the file from ADE to your eReader, that eReader can then read the book as well, but it's not a file that you can just make copies of.

I don't know enough about computers, file types and encoding to explain it properly, but I just know the libraries and publishers have set it up so that unless you know more than the average computer geek you aren't able to figure out how to copy the files.

[blue_meddy]

Part of me is skeptical and thinks that no matter what codings has been done for eReader downloads to prevent copying, someone somewhere will find a way to bypass them.

I'm pretty sure there's probably already a taskforce existing in Singapore's National Library Board to look into eReaders as part of their digital and books-on-the-go movement.

While I'm not against eReader downloads as part of a library's offered services, I don't think eReaders will completely or even overshadow actual hardcopies anytime soon in the coming future.

Although I do also think if one day, eReaders become the norm and books go the way of the dinosaurs, it'll be pretty sad with that machines has taken over our lives completely feeling. Reading from a page of a book just doesn't have that dystopian feel of hordes of people staring onto their mini-computer screens, lol.

[okami_loli_chan]

Oh no, eReaders are not going to completely replace books for at LEAST another hundred years, I would say. There are still too many people that enjoy reading actual books. And at a nook training session that we did at work the other day, the trainer was like "how many of you have nooks?" All of us raised our hands. "How many of you have purchased physical books since you got your nook?" All of us raised our hands again. And I see nook customers coming in and buying books too. I don't think eReaders are a book replacement so much as a book supplement.

[torment2romance]

Honestly I hate e-readers. I admit they are very useful because they conserve space and are easy to carry around...but I adore having my own collection of books, and I dream of owning my own library one day! I've downloaded books in the past and I always end up buying them because i strongly dislike reading off a screen. Also I love getting 'special' edition books for the cover art and beautiful illustrations. For me e-readers are kind of an abomination XP

[moonchaii]

I'm not a big fan of them. Not that I really dislike them or anything, but I just like books enough that i'm not interested in an e-reader.

I absolutely loved The Night Circus though!

[mscoco62]

i love them i can take my stuff with me when im away from home and mine is cute and pink!!! mine dosent have wifi i still have my desktop and netbook i can get what i need and cheaper too!!! i need large print too and dragging books is out too and im not as mobile as i used to be soooo this works for me yayayayayay!