For the most part, I think the major publishing houses are still clueless about adapting to the ebook revolution. I recently posted something on another forum that I bevieve is somewhat relevant to this discussion, in part commenting:
Thanks to the Good eReader blog, I saw this article this morning: http://goodereader.com/blog/digital-...ebook-terminal
The San Antonio airport has installed two kiosks which allow travelers obtain a free 24 hour membership and borrow up to three ebooks from the San Antonio Public Library for a seven day period, whether or not they are existing library members. The kiosks also serve as rapid charging stations. It's powered by Overdrive which should mean that it will work with a wide variety of devices, including smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc. I don't know if it will work with e-ink Kindles. San Antonio International is a fairly small Class C airport but if the idea catches on perhaps we'll see larger airport and libraries give something similar a try.
As a huge proponent of ebooks, this is the sort of innovative, forward thinking program I love to see and I hope the idea will foster further innovation. For example, what if Amazon, Scribd or Oyster did something similar in large airports such as JFK, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.?
Even more intriguing is the possibility that perhaps one or more of the Big Five publishers might see this as a way to promote their books. It's no secret that most of them haven't adjusted very well to the ebook revolution and are still struggling with how to market and promote ebooks without relying entirely on third party vendors such as Amazon. Perhaps their contracts with distributors might restrict their ability to do so but I've noticed that several publishers have begun selling ebooks through their own websites. Of course, some of the smaller publishers such as Baen Books have always done so but this is a new experiment for larger publishers who've always relied on third party distributors and retailers.
I see interesting possibilities here if major publishers start thinking towards the future and looking for ways to adapt to the new realities of book publishing, marketing and sales. It's hard for me to imagine a more "captive audience" than travelers spending hours on end in airports and aircraft and looking for ways to entertain themselves while they wait.