BuffaloBill Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 When at the airport the other day I saw a guy reading from his Kindle. This caused me to think about libraries. I believe we are a few short years away from seeing libraries as physical buildings disappear from the landscape (as will book stores). I suppose there will still be a few libraries that house rare documents and books for the sake of retaining history but the idea of housing “everyday” books is about to become a relic. Are there any reasons to believe otherwise?
RayFinkle Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 We might lose some libraries because of the ability to do research on the internet. Why would book stores be effected? Plenty of people still purchase books.
BuffaloBill Posted March 15, 2009 Author Posted March 15, 2009 We might lose some libraries because of the ability to do research on the internet. Why would book stores be effected? Plenty of people still purchase books. All of this is likely to be done through electronic media not printed and bound paper. You will download "books" not buy them in paper format. Just as some day (soon I believe) the day of going to the video store is about to become obsolete.
RayFinkle Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 All of this is likely to be done through electronic media not printed and bound paper. You will download "books" not buy them in paper format. Just as some day (soon I believe) the day of going to the video store is about to become obsolete. Books will be books for a long time to come. They are cheap to produce, compact, easy to travel with, and don't require batteries. I read the news on a laptop, but I would never consider reading a book on one.
ofiba Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 All of this is likely to be done through electronic media not printed and bound paper. You will download "books" not buy them in paper format. Just as some day (soon I believe) the day of going to the video store is about to become obsolete. The video store becoming obsolete will happen way sooner than the book store will. Watching a movie you rented/bought from the store is the exact same as watching a movie you rented/bought off the internet/on-demand, but reading a book on a digital device is way different than reading a hard copy book.
Dr. Fong Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 I think it's just another example of how we are being cut off from each other in this digital world. Yes I appreciate the irony of pointing this out on a message board instead of shouting it on a soapbox in the park.
The Dean Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 When at the airport the other day I saw a guy reading from his Kindle. This caused me to think about libraries. I believe we are a few short years away from seeing libraries as physical buildings disappear from the landscape (as will book stores). I suppose there will still be a few libraries that house rare documents and books for the sake of retaining history but the idea of housing “everyday” books is about to become a relic. Are there any reasons to believe otherwise? Libraries, as a place for book lending, will probably never die, but will be challenged to adapt to changing consumer media consumption. Of course, libraries aren't just for book lending, but are a storehouse (and an archive) for important books, manuscripts, documents, art, etc...basically, a center of information. I think smaller libraries will be challenged to adapt in a meaningful way, and may be on the decline. Larger libraries, and university libraries, will adapt and become centers of cultures, as much as they are on information. Here's a brief, and relatively interesting, on some things libraries might have to do, to remain vital and relevant, in the future: http://www.davinciinstitute.com/page.php?ID=120
IDBillzFan Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 Our local library is constantly in use by my wife and son, and on the few occasions I go with them, it's always filled with people, primarily with their children. They have outstanding reading programs and storytelling events, and remains a great place to rent movies at ridiculously low prices (granted, most of them are children's movies, educational DVDs, etc.). Not to mention, my wife is a voracious reader. She manages to get good deals through an online book-selling company named The Literary Guild, but quite frankly even at discounted rates, we still spend an insane amount of money on books. So she will buy some new releases for a while, and when she finds a new author she likes, she goes to the library to get any other available books by that author. But if you think libraries are dying, go visit one. I'd be willing to be you'd be stunned at how many people are there. Also, for what it's worth, I've tried to interest my wife in a Kindle and she gives that look much like I saw from her retired father when someone gave him a Palm Pilot as a present. One of my wife's great loves is curling up with a cup of coffee/glass of wine and a book. Doing that with an electronic tablet won't happen until she has no choice.
aussiew Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 I just cant imagine laying out by the pool with a Vodka and reading from a lap top! Ugh. I think books are here for a long time.
BuffaloBill Posted March 15, 2009 Author Posted March 15, 2009 But if you think libraries are dying, go visit one. I'd be willing to be you'd be stunned at how many people are there. Also, for what it's worth, I've tried to interest my wife in a Kindle and she gives that look much like I saw from her retired father when someone gave him a Palm Pilot as a present. One of my wife's great loves is curling up with a cup of coffee/glass of wine and a book. Doing that with an electronic tablet won't happen until she has no choice. I appreciate the thoughts but there is another angle to view the situation from. At some point the cost of publishing and binding paper books (plus shipping them etc) is not going to be cost effective. I like to read also but just like people once said that newspapers would never go digital the same is being said about books. My hunch is that once kids are given an electronic "book" (like a Kindle) to use in school the nature of the game changes. It is an intersting situation as I am not sure how much people may resist the loss of books. For example I have no problem with getting my news online. It is quick efficient and easy. However, when reading, especially to learn, I much prefer a real book. I can write all over it and refer back to my notes when I want to. I suppose the same may be possible through technology but we are not there yet. Not unlike the tablet PC I once had. I thought I would love it as I am a prolific note taker at work when in meetings and the like (oddly I was not in school). The tablet just did not prove to be a good tool because I like to have my pc (keyboard) and a notepad to work from. Time will tell how much change comes about.
Fezmid Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 Also, for what it's worth, I've tried to interest my wife in a Kindle and she gives that look much like I saw from her retired father when someone gave him a Palm Pilot as a present. One of my wife's great loves is curling up with a cup of coffee/glass of wine and a book. Doing that with an electronic tablet won't happen until she has no choice. I just cant imagine laying out by the pool with a Vodka and reading from a lap top! Ugh. I think books are here for a long time. My wife loves to read as well -- and she said the same thing about the Kindle when she first heard about it. Then her dad bought one, she tried it out, and he's lucky she didn't take it with her on the way out the door. Her parents ended up buying her one for Xmas, and she just received it a couple of weeks ago (the old model wasn't available for many months, and the new model just shipped). She loves the thing -- and has already read 5-6 books on it in that two week period. It's NOTHING like reading on a monitor/laptop. It's thin, light (10 ounces), has no backlight, and the print looks similar to what you'd see on a real book because of it. Even better, you can adjust the font size. You should see if you know anybody who has one to see what you think of it because my wife was a convert after doing that. That said, libraries aren't going anywhere for awhile. Like LA said, they're always packed and offer more than just books. I'm glad my wife doesn't go anymore - she has a bad habit of getting a bunch of books, reading them, then not returning them. I think we owe the library $90 right now With the late fines she's paid, they should re-name it after her.
Fingon Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 There are a lot of electronics that are geared to emulate the feel of reading an actual book. These will eventually take the place of hard copies.
millbank Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 Good question and thought to ponder you posed regarding library's . Certainly there is a segment of people who make a regular trek to library but there are also many who would be hard tasked to recall the last time they have read a book. Suppose such things relative to the circles one walks in. Time will tell as economics change and where people wish to spend their money and what they will object to it being spent on. More and more public services are being scaled back in terms of public monies, for Library's to survive, just as art Galleries , it is going to take a commitment by people to do so. Interesting to speculate on what may be priorities of future generations. I have fears about that..
Lv-Bills Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 Actually, I'm a recreation director for a county government in VA, and we house a branch library in one of our recreation centers. It's a rural county. The library is packed because of the reason that will most likely eventually be it's downfall. The county is still largely without high speed internet, but our recreation center has high speed wi-fi. The library is actually jam packed every night with citizens using high speed internet in it's computer lab. It's funny, because the only people in there looking at books are the one's waiting to get on an open computer to use the internet. But yeah, this library is adapting and making almost half of the library a computer lab. The people in there using the computers every night dwarfs the amount doing everything else though.
WellDressed Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 When at the airport the other day I saw a guy reading from his Kindle. This caused me to think about libraries. I believe we are a few short years away from seeing libraries as physical buildings disappear from the landscape (as will book stores). I suppose there will still be a few libraries that house rare documents and books for the sake of retaining history but the idea of housing “everyday” books is about to become a relic. Are there any reasons to believe otherwise? I own a kindle and there is just TOO much literature to close institutions like that. I use the kindle a lot for the free internet via their sprint whisper web. What would happen to books with artwork in them; art history needs to be on a bounded format.
KD in CA Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 Books will be books for a long time to come. They are cheap to produce, compact, easy to travel with, and don't require batteries. I read the news on a laptop, but I would never consider reading a book on one. Exactly. Books are not going anywhere in our lifetime. The only threat to libraries is from the morons who run the government not being able to continue to fund them because they need to protect their gov't employee pension plans instead of buying books and providing a place for poor kids to gain equal access to resources, materials and the web.
/dev/null Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 And a few generations later when there's a problem with the technology, where will people go to look up the answer Maybe we should download everything and bury it under the Sphinx
The Dean Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 I own a kindle and there is just TOO much literature to close institutions like that. I use the kindle a lot for the free internet via their sprint whisper web. What would happen to books with artwork in them; art history needs to be on a bounded format. My sister loves her Kindle. She is a voracious reader, and travels a lot, so it makes a lot of sense. Still, she's never give up the option to have bound books.
BuffaloBill Posted March 15, 2009 Author Posted March 15, 2009 My sister loves her Kindle. She is a voracious reader, and travels a lot, so it makes a lot of sense. Given tat there have been a few positive remarks about the Kindle, I might have to seriously look at buying one. My guess is that prices will fall precipitously as is usually the case with all electronic devices.
Lv-Bills Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Exactly. Books are not going anywhere in our lifetime. The only threat to libraries is from the morons who run the government not being able to continue to fund them because they need to protect their gov't employee pension plans instead of buying books and providing a place for poor kids to gain equal access to resources, materials and the web. Yeah, or the morons who speak like this, when the choice comes down to Fire, Police, and EMS services or Libraries. Real tough choice. How about Economic Develoment Departments (which attract businesses so chronic whining citizens like yourself can have lower taxes) or libraries? How about social services or libraries? How about waste water management or manned trash sites or libraries? How about Comp Services or libraries? Hell, how about Parks and Rec where thousands of people use them a year or libraries? Uh huh, Libraries should be right up there with all of those, especially in tough times!
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