What does the iPad mean for libraries?

drummersteve

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Jan 27, 2010
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Hi,

This is my first post on the forum.

There has been much talk about what the iPad will mean to book publishers, as there seems to be a growing trend towards the future of books being digital with the iPad's iBook app and other devices such as Amazons latest e-book reader.

I'm currently studying at university, having just visited my University library for a book, what do you think such a device will mean to libraries? I'm not an avid library-goer, but it has to be one of the most important parts of the University system for all disciplines. Will the library soon cease to exist in light of this new media?

Or, do you think there could be some form of book 'rental' system similar to the iTunes movie rental? Could this work? Or would this idea undermine the whole idea behind e-books and the purchasing of them? If so, where does this leave libraries in the future?

What does everyone think?
 

lungho

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Jun 20, 2009
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What ever the case, you can expect your tuition and/or student fees to rise. Even if Apple donated them, the school would have to come up with the money to support and maintain such a device.

If this thing was more durable, I could possibly see universities "renting" these things out. If any university does get this device, I'd expect to see them anchored to tables if anything. As of now, I think libraries will be in existence along with books for a very long time.
 

drummersteve

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I'm not so much referring to the Libraries, or the Universities getting the devices themselves. If the students were to own them (or anyone who is the member of a library), however, do you think the library may provide a means of downloading them to your iPad/any tablet device?

Obviously this would be difficult, as apple would presumably want some sort of financial gain from this, and as renting books from libraries is in general free (although local libraries may have a membership fee, University Libraries are funded through tuition fee's).

Alternatively, Apple could set up deals with publishers (similar to what they have now) whereby they create their own digital library. Perhaps users then pay a subscription fee (like you may if u were the member of a library) and then you can rent an unlimited amount of books. Then similarly to how current university institutions subscribe to Journals to enable free unlimited access for students, they could apply a similar approach with Apple?

Hmm...
 

Krypto74

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I don't think it will make a dent. Kindle and it's ilk are doing little to make a dent now. My university recently ran a piece about these digital readers, and although neat, there is nothing that replaces a book and being able to crack it open and start highlighting. I actually considered getting a kindle this year after hearing another student brag about how much he saved on his books last year, but after having tested out a competing device, it made me realize how much regular books are really ideal for university study.
 

drummersteve

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I couldn't agree more with you Krypto74. The ability to highlight in books as you go along is pretty big. But with some thinking, the exact same thing could potentially be implemented into the iPad. Imagine renting an e-book, and being able to freely highlight passages of text, copy them to some form of clipboard which automatically makes a reference based on which ever reference format you use. Furthermore, instead of simple text selection, you could literally highlight the passage with your finger as if you were painting in an app like Brushes to visually highlight like on a standard book (obviously a lot easier on the iPad than on a Kindle).

Maybe it wouldn't work, but if this sort of idea implemented well could potentially be as easy as taking a highlighter to a book, and potentially way more productive with the advantage of the electronic medium.

Slight tangent, but it's a nice idea =). I know it appeals to me! Maybe I'll go learn how to program and make the app myself haha.
 

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