Comments on: BOTNS Books Podcast #61: Big Ideas

By: Jefferson Bickerton

Jefferson Bickerton — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:46:08 +0000

I thought you might like this
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.

By: Jefferson Bickerton

Jefferson Bickerton — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:46:00 +0000

I thought you might like this
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.

By: Ann Kingman

Ann Kingman — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:02:59 +0000

Hi Melissa,
You raise many good points.
Some libraries currently offer e-books for download to the Sony Reader (and perhaps Nook; I’m not sure on that one). They work just as you describe for audiobooks — books can be borrowed by one patron at a time, for a fixed time period (21 days currently). The program is run by Overdrive, which is the same service that most libraries use for audiobooks. You can find out if your library participates, here: http://sonysearch.overdrive.com/

As for the readers themselves: that’s still to be worked out in most cases. There were a few articles I’ve read over the last couple of years where libraries that wanted to loan a Kindle pre-loaded with some books were not given clear answers from Amazon about whether or not they were allowed to do that. It may have been clarified by now, I’m not sure. I also don’t know the policies of the other ebook manufacturers; I know that some libraries have been considering such a program.

It’s still early days in the ebook landscape, and much of this will evolve over time.

Thanks!
Ann

By: Ann Kingman

Ann Kingman — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:02:00 +0000

It’s still early days in the ebook landscape, and much of this will evolve over time.

Thanks!
Ann

By: Melissa W.

Melissa W. — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 04:13:16 +0000

As one who doesn’t own a credit card, I find it somewhat cost prohibitive to own an eBook, especially since I can get the book from my local public library. My issue with eBooks is that how will libraries accommodate those who have have an eBook reader? Will they, public libraries, loan out eBooks to those who don’t have one and how will they be able allow people to borrow books from their collections? Will people have a time period on their books that they have loaned or will they be able to keep their books on their eBook readers for an indefinite time period? I know with podcast downloads from my local public library system, there is a specific amount of time that one can have the material. I also browsed to see if they had anything that would download to an eBook reader and there was nothing available for the end user. My question is whether or not libraries will be forced to provide this service for customers as they become more more popular and more available, especially for items such as the Kindle and the Sony reader?

By: Melissa W.

Melissa W. — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 04:13:00 +0000

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:37:29 +0000

Eric Weiner has an interesting take on the e-reader issue:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122822760

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:37:00 +0000

Eric Weiner has an interesting take on the e-reader issue:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122822760

By: Sheryl B.

Sheryl B. — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:18:46 +0000

One more comment about the e-reader…

When I first started listening to this podcast, I was listening to all of the previous podcasts and I made a list of books that I was interested in and I downloaded about 20 samples. Now I don’t forget what books sounded good and it’s easier to see if I like them. Unfortunately, I seem to like them all.