5 ms·
They will borrow ebooks from the library on free readers. The cost of readers is likely to fall far enough, and their use be ubiquitous enough (think: schools),
by Hyena 15y ago
They will borrow ebooks from the library on free readers. The cost of readers is likely to fall far enough, and their use be ubiquitous enough (think: schools), that providing readers will be a fairly low cost gap-filling operation. It might even be cheaper than the public libraries themselves.
- wccrawford 15y agoBecause libraries are absolutely brimming with ebook readers. Yes, this is a copy of your comment to someone else, but yours instead. You looked to the future for yours, but not theirs.
- Hyena 15y agoI'll acknowledge that I was quick and snide. However, I do not think the future of libraries is to become banks of computers. That would make little sense considering that the alternative would be cheaper and provide better service.
- wccrawford 15y agoThe price of ebook readers is coming down all the time because the price of computers is. It's perfectly reasonable to think that one day ebook readers will be as cheap as (new) books are today. But long before that, it'd be cheaper for a 'library' (if they're still called that) to have 1000 ebook readers to loan out than 10,000 books. And it'd take a lot less space, too. But I'm guessing once they're that cheap, people will just own them as a matter of course. You can already buy devices for $100 that read ebooks perfectly fine. Thinking they'll come down to $25 isn't that wishful. And at that point, will libraries physically exist any more? Or will they be just an internet presence? Maybe we'll have spots around town that offer wireless internet access for free, to make sure everyone has it... Or maybe it really will become a commodity, and everyone will have full access to wireless throughout the city.
- Hyena 15y agoI don't know that that's the major source of price reduction. My impression was that the price of readers was falling because the price of peripheral equipment--displays and network chips--was falling. The price of small computer has presumably been low for almost two decades now, if game cartidges were any indicator.