Bear Flag Republic Radio Weblog

< 6:31:51 PM        >

David Mattison asked for my thoughts on ebooks and libraries, which prompted me to write the following mini-rant:

eBooks aren't important to libraries right now, but they will be. Digital files of all kinds will be an important part of our circulation, cataloging, indexing, and preservation future, so while there isn't much libraries can do about ebooks right now, there is a foundation we need to start laying today.

The biggest obstacle to the implementation of ebooks in any type of library is that we play virtually no part in the creation, publication, or dissemination cycle so we are completely dependent on vendors, publishers, organizations, and authors to provide us with digital content. We can't force publishers to release their latest titles as ebooks,  we can't implement more appropriate pricing, we can't settle vendors on an open format standard, we can't circulate their titles without the necessary software, and we can't change publisher OR consumer attitudes' overnight. So for all intents and purposes, ebooks simply aren't ready for consumption but even if they were, libraries aren't ready to help consumers consume them.

So if the above is a laundry list of things we can't do to move ebooks forward, what can we do? We can talk to ILS vendors so that our catalogs are ready to circulate ebooks when the time comes. Imagine the light bulbs that might illuminate over publishers' heads if every library that had an interest in circulating ebooks (either text-based or audio-based) signed a petition calling for the adoption of an open ebook standard (I stress might, but we need to start aggregating our voices and this is one way to do it). If even half of the public libraries in the country bought one copy of one ebook as a show of force, that title would shoot to the top of the ebook bestseller lists, generate buzz, and spur consumer sales from the publicity.

We need to contact publishers ourselves and ask why they're not moving forward and offer our help and advice. We need to jumpstart discussions with hardware and software manufacturers to rectify usability problems now, before ebooks blow yet another chance at becoming a full-fledged market. We need to survey our users (especially audiences well-suited to the benefits of ebooks) and become a conduit between them and the ebook industry.

We need to insert ourselves into the debate and the cycle now, because look what a horrible mess this has all become without us.

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Hewlett Packard has no honor.   [Scripting News]
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