That’s the title of a long and very interesting article by librarian Meredith Farkas (pictured above) on her Information Wants To Be Free blog. Here’s a bit of the beginning. I suggest you read the whole thing:
… Unfortunately, the way most people are using eBooks at this point completely bypasses the library, and this is what publishers and ebook manufacturers seem to want. Why wouldn’t they?
And the options that libraries now have for ebooks (in terms of content, interface, interoperability, etc.) are, by and large, piss-poor. I am deeply concerned about the fact that many libraries are increasing their collections of ebooks to the point where a huge chunk of their collection development purchases are ebooks. They provide a compelling model. In many cases, multiple students can read the same book at once. The books take less time and effort in terms of processing and take up no physical space at all. But the negatives, the uncertainties of where the ebook market is headed, and the current restrictions most ebook vendors have placed on their products often outweigh the benefits. That doesn’t mean we can bury our heads in the sand and ignore this huge trend, but I also agree strongly with Eli Neiburger at the Library Journal eBook Summit that libraries are screwed (watch his presentation from the Summit here and here).
This post is basically a stream of consciousness outline of some of the concerns that have been swirling around in my head regarding eBooks. I am far from an ebook expert. I don’t read contracts from vendors and I don’t know the ins and outs of the ebook market, DRM, first sale doctrine, etc. I’m just someone in charge of collection development for our largest School who realizes how little most librarians know about what we’re getting into with ebooks (me included) and who is really concerned about where things are going. …
Despite living in a high-gadget-occurrence neighborhood, the local libraries are quite busy; with a strolling green outdoor seating area and playground, families view the libraries as not only a place to get books but a place to spend an entire afternoon: get hardback books that you’d never spring to buy at the store, sit out on the green under the shade of a tree and watch the kids play and run while enjoying the physical qualities of good old fashioned books that eBooks simply don’t possess. Despite my enjoyment of paper books they have become a novelty already, and yet they have not disappeared from our list of preferred things to do. Indeed all that is needed to enjoy the library is a bit of gasoline and time, and the kids have a great time.