http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2011/01/18/ebooks-and-libraries-a-stream-of-concerns/
This is a rather long blog about public libraries and ebooks, but well-worth reading. If you have a Kindle, Nook, etc. or if you are considering adding ebooks to your church library at some point for your patrons, Meredith has done some very insightful thinking about the possible "unintended consequences" for libraries.
By the way, ILL is library lingo for "Inter Library Loan" - the practice of libraries borrowing from other libraries for patrons.
Comments
Joanne, there certainly was quite a bit of information in that post even though it was dealing mostly with public and professional libraries and those who use them. Church libraries are a whole different ballgame as I see it!
Our budgets are limited and we must spend wisely for the entire group. Consider the children--the need to hold, to see, and read or have read to them many books at a very, very early age. Where do ebooks leave them? Personally, I like to turn the pages! Can you imagine how the appearance of a library would change with many ebooks--which might be making a difference in the arena of public libraries. Church libraries do lots of promotion--how do you display ebooks? It may be a way of the future for church libraries, but personally, we're going to stick to our books, CDs and DVDs. Most of our people find what they want by browsing. It can be an adventure well worthwhile! Besides, we are different from other libraries and so are our collections. I'm
sure some of our church libraries will want to carry ebooks and the demand will be according to our congregations. And it will work for them! I'm certainly not afraid of technology--I've got my PC, laptop, GPS, cell phone, iPad, etc. and who knows, I might change my mind on my current thinking!