Lending Kindle books via Amazon.com

As I prepared for winter holiday trips this past December, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Overdrive had finally updated their app for the iphone and ipod touch, allowing some library books to be downloaded directly through the app. Previously, it was only possible to download audio books either through a computer and uploaded to an iphone or ipod or through a 12 step process using Overdrive’s app, designed to infuriate those accustomed to downloads at the click of a button–i.e. me.  Right now, only EPub books are available for download.  There is a work-around, using Blue Reader to download PDF books, but these PDF books include print that is too small for an iphone or touch. They might be feasible on an iPad, but as I don’t currently own one, I haven’t had a chance to test it out.  The ipod/phone Overdrive app is not without its hiccups.  For example, when I tried to download two books it let me download one, then I had to close down the app to go back to the browser to download the other.  But it is a vast improvement over the previous downloading process. Now if only they could expand their e-book selection….

**Link: An overview of the devices that are currently Overdrive e-book compatible.**

Photo by Kandinski

On the day after the big ipad release what the world doesn’t need now is another post about current e-book trends and what the ipad will do to revolutionize the medium.  But I’m still going to do it.  Why?  Back in July, I gave a big “thanks, but no thanks” to e-books.  While I continue to be concerned over the longevity of e-books and their accessibility by libraries, I have since been swept up in the “sliced bread” euphoria surrounding e-books.

What made this happen?  I traveled.  I traveled for a few weeks, outside of the country, and to places without immediate access to an English language bookstore.  While I don’t own a Kindle or any other e-reader, I do own an iPod touch and downloaded both the Kindle app and the Stanza app prior to departing.  I also downloaded a couple of books for something to do on the plane or during downtime on my journey.  Two 12 hour flights later (plus a 10 hour layover) quickly depleted my downloads (not to mention my battery–but that is another story).  Luckily, with the discovery of the hotel’s wi-fi, I was able to connect to the Kindle store and download a few more books to satisfy my appetite for reading on the rest of my journey.  While the small screen and constant flipping of pages was not ideal, once lost in a book, I barely noticed.

Photo by Wesley Freyer

But that was just the beginning.  On the return trip, I stopped in London for a few days.  Never having been there before, I bought a few travel books to get myself acquainted with it’s sights and neighborhoods.  I had planned on bringing 3 or 4 travel books, but they wouldn’t all fit in my small backpack.  I noticed previously that Lonely Planet had some travel apps for various cities and countries so I looked for one on London.  The content was the same as what was in my book only I was able to fit it all in the palm of my hand.  While the app was most powerful with an internet connection (for searches or geolocation info), I was using an ipod touch, often without wireless.  Luckily, knowing that many travelers would not be using data roaming while on vacation overseas, the app was also set up to work offline.  I could therefore access city maps and suggested restaurants, museums and pubs all while offline.

Rethinking the design of books on electronic devices

The thought of books as apps has made a lot of people excited.  E-books, on devices such as the ipad, will be changing.  It is unlikely that they will remain static entities, filled only with simple text on readable ink.  There has been talk that they will become the new DVD, with multimedia extras for readers to explore at their leisure. Choose Your Own Adventure has been referenced many times already by those speaking of this future for e-books.  Yet, while the thought of endless possibilities are enticing, the plethora of choices could also be overwhelming to some people.

Photo by Juhansonin

The European design group, Bonnier, put out a video back in January illustrating the possible interactive future of magazine publishing on e-reader devices.  They illustrate how magazines of the near future could allow readers to manipulate text and photo content as well as access multimedia content.  This is just one version of how the overall design of magazines could be manipulated to address the new possibilities of e-readers such as the iPad.  American Libraries also recently posted videos from a couple of different magazines (Wired, Sports Illustrated, and VIVmag) showing how their content will work on the iPad.  Things are about to get interesting.

But it isn’t only magazines that will be changing their function and design to match this new technology.  Books are also likely to change, and perhaps they should.  Craig Mod put out a recent article that got a lot of press titled, “Books in the Age of the iPad“.  While many readers were upset with Craig’s desire to move past the bound and printed book, his article resonated with many others because of his premise that books in the age of the iPad should morph to fit the container of the device.  Because the container is so versatile, book layout and composition can be much more flexible than it could be on the printed page or on devices like the Kindle.  We no longer have to pretend that books on e-reader devices are like printed books and can move past page flips and other devices meant to simulate the bound book experience.

A book is a book is a book?

But, should we still be calling these things books?  The CEO of Peguin Books, John Makinson, recently revealed a number of e-books the company plans to release in conjunction with the new ipad release. Among the books shown were a children’s book with an interactive coloring book, a human anatomy book where the reader could zoom in for more information on a particular part of the body or an organ, a teen-age vampire book with the ability to join a chat room as you read, an interactive travel guide, and a star finder book that uses GPS to point out constellations in the night sky.

There are many who view these new multimedia enhanced books as simply a extension of a website or modified television. The Penguin demonstration, in particular, upset many true book lovers.  If a book is allowed to be an app such as the ones shown by Penguin, asks Dan Nosowitz of Fast Company, will that devalue what we currently know as the book?  How much text does an item need to constitute a book, a Kindle lover asks? Will reading suffer with the addition of all of these bells and whistles? These are some questions we need to ask ourselves before we allow the lines to become too blurred.

What does any of this mean for libraries?

While this future looks great for producers and (some) consumers, it does not look so great for libraries.  Book as apps are not so easily borrowed.  As it is now, only certain devices will upload e-books checked out from a library.  While I recently enjoyed Julia Child’s “My Life in France” on my iPod via Overdrive’s audiobook downloads, I would have loved to be able to read it on my iPod instead.

Lack of format consistency among e-book distributors makes reading difficult for all of us without the right reader.  Changing technology could mean that books downloaded now in one format will not be accessible in the future.  While many have been pushing for standard formats for e-books, change is not likely unless failing to do so affects publisher bottom lines.

Publishers have not been shy in expressing their desire to change the payment structure between themselves and libraries.  Eric Hellman documented a talk by Macmillan’s CEO, John Sargent, where Sargent indicated that his company would prefer to move towards a pay-per-use model as opposed to the pay-per-product model that currently exists for books.  His reasoning was that e-books would not suffer the same wear and tear (and thus replacement) as print books and the lack of inconvenience of traveling to a library would mean books would be downloaded at a higher rate.

While all of the recent developments in e-books have finally got me excited, the lack of consideration for libraries by publishers continues to make me concerned.  All parties are standing their ground to gain the best advantage in the days to come (Amazon vs. Macmillan?)  It is clear to me that if libraries don’t begin to define e-books and the library’s place in the e-book world, someone else will do it for them.

I certainly understand the desire by some school systems to substitute e-readers for textbooks. The devices can hold multiple books, some offer the ability to search within a book, etc. But how much money will they really save? Children batter and bruise textbooks daily–can the e-readers stand up to this abuse? It seems the cost to replace broken devices could override any cost benefits that come with replacing textbooks. Finally, if students are not accessing these textbooks via e-reader, but rather via the Internet, what about children that do have ready access to a computer? Isn’t this hurting lower-income students? Some school systems that use e-books have the teacher project the e-book on the screen during class. The teacher then prints handouts for children to take home with them. Is this saving money? Is that really being environmentally friendly?

But aside from the school issue, the biggest problem I have with e-books is the fact that their content is licensed. The problem with this was exemplified last week when the book, 1984, was simply, quickly, and easily deleted from the world’s Kindles. Apparently, the copies of 1984 being sold on Amazon were unauthorized and violated US copyright law (though the book is in the public domain in Canada and some other nations). Amazon did refund each of its customers for the purchase, but seemed to leave most customers feeling somewhat violated. Yet another reason to not stock my digital bookshelf with e-books.  Although I am not usually a proponent of treating digital items the same way as physical items, when it comes to licensing, I feel that both libraries and the public are at risk of loosing some of the rights previously given to us by the first sale doctrine. Libraries, of course, have been dealing with this for a long time. The general public seems to be just waking up to the notion.

As you can see, my thoughts are still quite muddy concerning e-books. While the rest of the world is shouting that the time of the e-book is now, I prefer to wait awhile.