“The Burlington County Library System is offering a new service that allows patrons to check out books without ever leaving home. Patrons can download their choice of e-books–or electronic books–onto their personal computer or personal digital assistants by accessing the library’s Web site…” – Courier Post in Camden, N.J.
The TeleRead take: “Skip the bricks,” the headline in the local paper, would scare many a clueless librarian; but actually it should reassure them. If public libraries don’t adapt, then they will indeed be Amazoned and Googlized out of existence. Electronic access counts, mouse clicks, not just turnstile clicks, can be used to justify library budgets.
Friends group pitches in
“Anyone with a valid library card,” the news story goes on, “can check out an e-book for 14 days after downloading special reader software. And there are never any overdue charges because the e-book automatically returns itself when it’s due. Within the next two weeks, the library will also start allowing patrons to sign out personal digital assistants, or PDAs. The Friends of the Burlington County Library donated $1,000 for the purchase of five of the hand-held devices. The library also invested $15,000 for the purchase of 600 e-books and its Web site to access them.”
Great-looking site–and Mobipocket is on the way
Kudos to both the library and the Friends group for keeping up with the times. What’s more, OverDrive Digital Libraries, in character, has heped Burlington come up with a great-looking site with bookstore-level polish. Soon, via OverDrive, Burlington, along with other sites, will even offer e-books in Mobipocket, the best proprietary format for onscreen reading.
The concerns: I remain worried that OverDrive will jack up prices on electronic library books, just as it changed the terms on small publishers.
What’s more, I was saddened, not just pleased, to see the cover of George Orwell’s 1984 shown on a PDA, as example of the library’s electronic offerings. Remember, if U.S. copyright law were more balanced, 1984 could be on the Net for free to anyone to download, with or without a library card. Not everyone lives in a district offering the same mavels as the Burlington system does. For the moment at least, before the copyright interests get their way, 1984 is still legally downloadable by Australians via a local version of Project Gutenberg.
Libraries and public domain titles: Even if public domain books are available without library cards, libraries still have a role to play. What better places for book clubs and other ways to help people digest the books? Plus, libraries can forge alliances with local computer clubs to help provide tech support for students book-loving PDA owners. Furthermore, Friends groups can get into the act by serving as a source of PDAs, with a small markup.
(Spotted via eBookAd.)
