Thread: Library books
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Old 04-04-2010, 12:12 AM   #29
Rich_D
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SensualPoet View Post
With respect, you entirely missed my point. Andrew Carnegie was responsible for the building of over 3500 libraries around the world by 1919 -- nearly 1700 in the US, 125 in Canada, 660 in Britain and Ireland, and others elsewhere. The first was in his beloved hometown in Scotland. He believed in local communities directly participating in projects, ongoing funding and that information (lending/access) would be free.

E-book lending opens a new category of access and re-enfranchises, potentially, a new generation of borrowers who are electronically engaged and not likely to need, or seek out, paper. It just seems to me libraries today could do a significantly better job in this area, at relatively little cost and by pooling resources of regional library facilities.
I understood your point, I just wasn't commenting on that portion of it.

Currently Carnegie Libraries in Pittsburgh are in the midst of closing 4 branches due to budgetary issues. Licensing for e-books is, I imagine, pretty low on the list of priorities.

I also think that it wouldn't be money well spent. Let's face it, e-readers are luxury items and currently libraries are most important to the poorer communities. In some cases the only place kids can use a computer or read a book, other than at school, is the library. If the library has to choose between an e-book and a p-book, they need to go with the p-book because that will be the greater benefit to the most people and that is more in line with Carnegie's vision.
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