I went to the Alexandria Public Library yesterday while my favorite Shell Service Station labored on my 1988 Honda.
Among other items, I checked out a p-copy of Saving Graces by a former Alexandria resident, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
Just as ancient as the 1988 Honda
Unfortunately, along the way, I was reminded how the library in one respect is as ancient as my car.
In this supposedly modern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., the public library still doesn’t carry e-books with text except for a horrid NetLibrary arrangement through which you apparently can only view e-books rather than download them.
Otherwise all you can get are Overdrive’s audio books.
That’s the impression the library’s Web site gave, and that’s the news I got in person from the circulation desk at the main branch. In fact, the young staffer at the desk didn’t even know of the NetLibrary database. He even had trouble grasping the difference between audio books and text digital books.
Not anti-audio book
Mind you, I’ve got no problem with audio books for commuters and people with special needs. And frankly, I’m aware that e-books take more of a selling job than audio books do since audio books can be used by multitasking commuters and joggers.
Still, my experience yesterday shows what happens when a library more or less just fixates on the most fashionable technology. Imagine all the students the library could be helping with introductions to the wonders of e-books—both commercial loaners and the public domain variety that the students can keep. The Alexandria library does have literacy and Great Books programs; now just consider how keepable files of classics could fit in. NetLibrary’s public domain books, not being downloadable in Alexandria’s case, are impossible on PDAs, the cheapest way to enjoy e-books without having to sit hour after hour at a desktop.
Looking ahead
Alexandria, I fear, may well be the kind of place to OD on Second Life-style virtual realty once it’s further along. This trendy city just might start downplaying actual books in the distant future. I find it telling that the most prominently featured collection of p-books is the large-print variety for the aging, who, by the way, could especially benefit from the large “type” that e-books can make possible.
Once again, I can see roles for SL and audio books alike. But let’s not sacrifice literacy to technology.
