There is even the thought of ebooks being the future for university libraries. Sarah Emily Duff, an NRF postdoctoral research fellow at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, proposes the idea of using ebooks to conduct academic research. In her article, Could ebooks be the future for university libraries?, she talks about her forgetfulness to return borrowed library books. Regarding forgetfulness, Sarah is not alone. At some point in time we may also have been in that boat. And she also thinks the loan period is rather short. This may be a negative, but for the person anxiously waiting to borrow the book, the time may not be short enough. Sarah also indicates the lack of significant works; new trends and new fields in her discipline are not reflected. Are there others who might feel the same way? In addition she highlights the issue of location (country wise) may present short-comings in acquiring the necessary resources to conduct reserch. Such as the required books may not be available, they may be expensive, and online ordering may have other complications. All these issues can be solved with the ebook; it is often less expensive, and arrive immediately. In addition, location will also no longer be an issue. Via the internet, there are no borders; there is global accessibility. New trends and fields will be at your fingertips; it is just a click away. Technology has opened up so many possibilities and each day solutions are being developed to make improvements and overcome obstacles.
This article supports the fact that ebooks have a very bright future. Currently many may not be keen on the idea of reading off the screen, but like Sarah there can be a compromise. Use the ebook for academic purposes, and yet still support the traditional book for pleasure. Another positive aspect, is that more than one screen can be opened up and viewed accordingly. Change also means that there will be trade-offs; so we can do whatever makes us comfortable.
With technology there are a variety of choices to suit our various needs. Here in Canada most universities and colleges are already moving towards ebooks. Such as Sheridan College; many courses are supported with the use and access of ebooks. Sheridan College has an extensive database that allows students to access ebooks. This is a most helpful learning tool and also provides a reduction in textbook fees .Use of Ebooks also means a reduction in printing; saving on the use of paper. It is a benefit for both the provider and the user. Ebooks have created a wave of change in the learning process and academic research. It provides easily accessible contents, anytime and place, on laptops or portable book readers. Many features such as full text searching, changing font size, highlighting of text and citation creation will improve the learning process and make students more efficient.
The traditional book will always be around; however the new trend is ebooks. Currently the majority of learning institutions are already moving in the direction of ebooks. Those who have not will soon also be on a similar path; it is an investment that will be fruits. So yes, ebooks are the future of university libraries.Reference:
Sarah Emily Duff (June, 2012) The Guardian. Retrieved from
Hi Ingrid,
ReplyDeleteI agree with whole post about university libraries becoming online and how our own college is another such example. For some of our courses we access the online database for books, instead of buying them at book store. We don't even have to pay a cent for use of those books.
I found this interesting article called Ebook restrictions leave libraries facing virtual lockout regarding online libraries that addressed the problem of copyright abuses that occur frequently with academic books being available online. To overcome this, libraries have claimed to allow downloading only at premises not from home or better option, automatically deleting books from borrowers' list as soon as period expires. This means they are not available indefinitely. Another concern is from authors' end, since they receive few cents/pennies every time their book is borrowed. But with digital borrowing they get nothing. They are totally being taken off the business in this respect.
Hence online libraries might be good option on one hand, but pose some legal and commercial concerns.
Hi Ingrid
ReplyDeleteExcellent work on how eBooks and when eBooks will be incorporated into our libraries systems. Like you I do feel that many players have doubts of bringing this medium of literature delivery into the higher educational system, however with the digital age one would assume that it is bound to happen. I also found an article which Public libraries are now becoming the Netflex of books . The article is speaks loud to the changes required in the public library system as quoted,
“Public libraries need to wake up to the fact that they have been the Netflix of print books for decades. They also need to realize that they need to become the Netflix of ebooks if they want to stay as important to society as they currently are.”
The article indicates that Amazon was able to start and empire which grew and now implies more subscribers that any library system put together. The change has come and the library is no longer a place to gather a physical book, yet it is a electronic space to indulge yourself in net books which are accessible anywhere you live.
References;
Published in Public Libraries (February 2, 2012), Retrieved from: http://www.publiclibraries.com/blog/public-libraries-are-the-netflix-of-print-books/