CowgirlsFan Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 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. Yep!! I agree and especially as long as we have great athletes with high caliber status writing those books!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 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. naaah...books are as popular as ever....there is just something about having a book in hand that is a completely different experience from reading sometyhing on a computer screen....maybe its the comfort and portability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acantha Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 naaah...books are as popular as ever....there is just something about having a book in hand that is a completely different experience from reading sometyhing on a computer screen....maybe its the comfort and portability But devices like Kindle are addressing those areas. It's not a computer or even a computer screen, it's a new technology. Trust me, I love books. But I think that anyone who says books will never be obsolete are just kidding themselves and not really paying attention to history. Big things, even staples of life, change. I don't think books are on the verge of disappearing, but I have no doubt that sometime in the future, as the technology progresses and it becomes more common place and comfortable, books will phase out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Delaware Co here in OH is planning a new library. When was the last time anyone heard that? Edit: Let me clarify - new building expansion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 But devices like Kindle are addressing those areas. It's not a computer or even a computer screen, it's a new technology. For those who don't know anything about the Kindle: http://www.pcworld.com/article/159218/amaz..._the_e_ink.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I dont see myself ever giving up reading actual books. But, the kindle looks like something i'd love to have for magazine subscriptions. I've never played with one or seen how it works, but is this a possibility/does it already exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I dont see myself ever giving up reading actual books. But, the kindle looks like something i'd love to have for magazine subscriptions. I've never played with one or seen how it works, but is this a possibility/does it already exist? Yup, you can already do that for some newspapers and magazines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Yup, you can already do that for some newspapers and magazines. I just took a brief look and it seems they do, but there's not a wide variety of magazines available yet. If/when they get a wide selections of magazines available, i'd consider getting kindle. But i'll always get a paper subscription to playboy. A kindle can't replicate a centerfold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I just took a brief look and it seems they do, but there's not a wide variety of magazines available yet. If/when they get a wide selections of magazines available, i'd consider getting kindle. But i'll always get a paper subscription to playboy. A kindle can't replicate a centerfold. Yeah, the Kindle isn't in color either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damj Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 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? A guy at work (early 20s) asked me if I had a certain cd and I said no ... check the library ... he said "WHAT THE HELL IS THE LIBRARY??? A WB SITE??" I replied ... "Oh ... I'm sorry, I forgot that your a yung'un ... it's a building filed with books ... uh ... books ... sheets of paper with writing on them all bound together ... a building filled with books and records ... records ... big black things that spin and you listen to music on ... like cds, only bigger ... a building filled with books and records, and videotapes ... videotapes ... oh, yeah ... big black things we used to watch movies on ... you would put in in the vcr, they came in VHS and beta ... oh yeah beta ... NEVERMIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'LL JUST BUY YOU SOME!!!!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 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. Bad economy. Libraries are doing more patrons during economic down turns. Libraries are still largely FREE. Now, don't get me wrong... If certain libraries don't adapt and change to current tech swings, some may die on the vine. It is all about have a good model for the institution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damj Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Bad economy. Libraries are doing more patrons during economic down turns. Libraries are still largely FREE. Now, don't get me wrong... If certain libraries don't adapt and change to current tech swings, some may die on the vine. It is all about have a good model for the institution. Plus libraries have cds, dvds, computers and free internet. Books will always be around ... I'm a techno-geek, but would still rather read a paperback than read it on a screen. Libraries will survive though, because libraries are more about the information exchange, not the medium ... they'll evolve and adapt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Delaware Co here in OH is planning a new library. When was the last time anyone heard that? Edit: Let me clarify - new building expansion. Right hear, right now. My wife is the director of a public library... When she took over the library in 2003 the place was ready to die on the vine. They were living in the past and in the 1950's (when it was founded)... The collection wasn't "weeded" with tons of junk... There was no technology, no free Wifi, no video games or other audio/video to speak of... You couldn't move a paper-clip without having it go to commitee. The staff wasn't empowered to help the patron and the place was stuck in some gov't time-warp... If a parton didn't have a library card and live in the village (even if they had another one from a village that belongs to the library consortium/system) they couldn't check out a book or inter-library loan an article... Heck my wife was the first director to get a library card and we live the next town over! All that has changed and the archaic notion that the library was the "repository for the the South Suburbs (ChicagoLand). 6 short years later patron numbers are soaring. Before it took almost 2 weeks for a book to make it's way back to the shelf after it was dropped off... Now the same day. The old guard is gone (there was some very strong resistance) and the dead weight baby-boomers cut from the cloth of the post-war mentality that was the library she took over. Parton service, adult, youth, and children's service have all taken off ten fold with a friendly and empowered staff that is able to promote the vast resources that the library can provide into the future at a very cheap cost to the tax payer (no tax increase). Heck, the village even put out a survey a few years ago and the library wasn't even on the survey they put out... The focused on fire and other services... You know what the people wrote in the most as the service they wanted expanded... You guessed it, the library... I think they were stunned! Now with a much improved "business model" these last 6 years the library is looking to do an almost 2 million dollar physical building makeover that will take them more into the 21st Century and expand services... Since they can't afford a new building, they are literally expanding and re-working the whole interior. AND BY NOT RAISING ONE PENNY FROM ADDED TAXES. Heck, in 6 years they have never asked for a tax increase for the library. Before her current position, she was the director at the library in the town we live in (one town over) and she turned that around... Even building a children's wing without one added tax dollar back in the late 1990's. It is really amazing what you can do in gov't if you just get rid of the old thinking and dead weight. This doesn't mean that people or the higher ups in the organization have to make big salaries either. Nobody in the organization does... You don't see the extravagant higher 5 and 6 figure salaries you do as with the school districts and their administrative staffs... Everybody is on par from a page on up to do the best job possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 At least here in CA as long as we continue to have homeless people we'll have a need for libraries. On a serious note I love the library and I agree with LA that every time I go in it is full of people, lot's of parents with kids which is a good thing. However the busiest area is the computer rooms. I was out of work for almost a year a number of years back and I'd just go to the library walk the aisles and pull a book off the thelf and start reading. If I got several pages through and liked where it was headed I checked it out. Good, cheap (free!) entertainment. And there is something about the smell of a library that takes me back to when I was a kid...and no, that's not a remark about the homeless people. And I just can't read anything too long online. If we go to computers as the only way to read books we'll all be blind by the time we're 40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 It is really amazing what you can do in gov't if you just get rid of the old thinking and dead weight. It's not even just the government -- it's corporations as well. Good story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 If we go to computers as the only way to read books we'll all be blind by the time we're 40. Everybody keeps making these comments in this thread, but they really need to look at the new technology. It's not looking at a computer screen to read a book anymore; with the right device, it looks like real ink/paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Plus libraries have cds, dvds, computers and free internet. Books will always be around ... I'm a techno-geek, but would still rather read a paperback than read it on a screen. Libraries will survive though, because libraries are more about the information exchange, not the medium ... they'll evolve and adapt. Video games too... Pisses off the stores though. Then there is the in-library programming... Something is usually happening in adult services or children's service all the time. They have had speakers come from places like NASA and what not... One speaker just gave a fascinating program this Saturday about all the "junk" that is in orbit around the earth. Of course programs wouldn't be as great if the the speaker couldn't take in the technological capabilites the library building has to offer. Then there is all the community service and outreach programs that aid the community. Quite amazing what people can do when they put community before dollar signs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Everybody keeps making these comments in this thread, but they really need to look at the new technology. It's not looking at a computer screen to read a book anymore; with the right device, it looks like real ink/paper. Why should I buy a device to read something when I already have the device. My eyes and a library. "Gee hon, we just got our credit card statement and we're still going in debt and I can't quite figure it out." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 At least here in CA as long as we continue to have homeless people we'll have a need for libraries. On a serious note I love the library and I agree with LA that every time I go in it is full of people, lot's of parents with kids which is a good thing. However the busiest area is the computer rooms. I was out of work for almost a year a number of years back and I'd just go to the library walk the aisles and pull a book off the thelf and start reading. If I got several pages through and liked where it was headed I checked it out. Good, cheap (free!) entertainment. And there is something about the smell of a library that takes me back to when I was a kid...and no, that's not a remark about the homeless people. And I just can't read anything too long online. If we go to computers as the only way to read books we'll all be blind by the time we're 40. "The Smell" I actually met my wife working at the BECPL (downtown BFLO)... She was my boss! She used to tell some hoots of a story! One was how one kid being interviewed for a job wanted to work at the library because it "was clean." Actually libraries are very dirty... Especially the BECPL... Where the stacks are actually located between the floors of the building in downtown BFLO... That is where he would be working as a page. Also, she first started in the music department back in the 1980's... She would "spin" vinyl records for people and the homeless... Patrons would wear headphones and it would be connected to central turntables where my she would play them for the patron... The director of the department would make sure all the homeless men would come in well dressed and they had to wear ties and what not... Even made them make "appointments." My wife remembers one man, he would come in for his appointment all decked out in a suit and tie from GoodWill... He would request the theme to SuperFly! Eventually he would get all worked up and start dancing... then when the album needed to be flipped he would stand up and snap his fingers... It would drive the director nuts if my wife didn't enforce decorum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Why should I buy a device to read something when I already have the device. My eyes and a library. "Gee hon, we just got our credit card statement and we're still going in debt and I can't quite figure it out." You're changing your argument though -- you said: If we go to computers as the only way to read books we'll all be blind by the time we're 40. If you don't want to buy a device like the Kindle because of the cost, that's an entirely different arguement -- but one that won't hold weight a few years down the road when the cost of the technology drops to mass consumption levels. I'm simply challenging statements like yours (and others) who say that reading off of a monitor sucks -- it does, and that's why there's the eInk technology available which looks very similar to actual print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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