Originally Posted by
tuind13
Not necessarily. I've heard our local library is considering (may already be? I should ask the hubby, he mentioned something about this a while ago) lending out ebooks. I'm not sure of the details, but I think there's the possibility of lending out the devices as well as the ebooks. That would be great for someone who can't afford to buy a Kindle but also doesn't want to cart a whole lot of books along on vacation.
In any case, I think libraries now spend as many resources on lending DVDs and providing computer access as they do lending hard-copy books. Their role is changing as the technology changes.
I'm bothered by that, too. The thought of corporations controlling what we get to read (and thus think) worries me. Look at the limitations of what's available as far as news now that just a few corporations own most of the news outlets, whether it be newspapers, radio, or tv. Heck, look at newspapers recently. They've got some guy looking out for the bottom line, so they cut the reporters and then wonder why readership/subscriptions/income drops. Or, in the case of the local paper, they print the state workers salaries without any context and then wonder why (in the state capitol) subscriptions tank. As they're losing income, they cut more employees who know what they're doing, subscriptions fall further, and soon the paper closes. How many newspapers are actually locally owned anymore?
Yes, CADL has e-books. They can be downloaded from home, I think. If not, other libraries do already offer that service to users. That's fine, I'm not a Luddite by any means. But my concerns still stand.
As far as I know, Kindle2 can't be used for library downloads. Kindle2 is like Microsoft used to be--by owning the software, they control the product totally. It's like saying only one printing press is allowed, and all books, magazines and newspapers must be printed on that press. Unacceptable. I will not support Kindle until Amazon makes the software available as freeware to competitors and to libraries, governments, etc.
As for newspapers, the problem usually cited is competition with the Internet. Craigslist took away classified revenues, and online papers plus bloggers got people used to the idea that news should be free. Of course the blogs will lose most of their free content if newspapers go under, so they're shooting themselves in the foot when they refuse to pay for links to newspaper articles.