New Mexico Landscape

New Mexico Landscape
Georgia O'Keeffe Landscape

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Thing 16: E-Books

I was familiar with many of these because I work at the reference desk, but I was not familiar with all of them.

PsychBooks had a lot to offer; I searched "dream interpretations" initially and did not get any results, but when I searched "dreams," there were a LOT of books to choose from.

I am not sure if e-books are the wave of the future but there is definitely a place for them in our society.  As they continue to improve them, those who prefer to hold a book in their hands may come around.  I think inevitably it will be the young children who grow up with e-books who will be the ones to consume them the way many of today's adults do with printed books.  There are so many problems with e-books with regard to copyright that it may take a while for all aspects of it to be legally correct.

Our students do not seem to be familiar with e-books, but when I show them how to access and use them, they are impressed.  Some seem skeptical until you show them how you can search for a word that they are looking for, and they see how easy it is to use.  If textbooks move more toward e-books, they will have no choice but to become familiar with them.  They may also appreciate the lower price of textbook e-books.

I do not own any type of e-reader; I have seen one demonstrated briefly at Barnes & Noble, but have never used one myself.  The idea does not appeal to me, but if I were a commuter on public transportation it might be a different option than carrying just one book or magazine.

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