http://tametheweb.com/2010/02/01/thomas-brevik-on-ipad/ Libraries, Technology and People by Michael Stephens Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:29:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://tametheweb.com/2010/02/01/thomas-brevik-on-ipad/comment-page-1/#comment-13171 Keith Webster Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:13:22 +0000 http://tametheweb.com/?p=5922#comment-13171 I agree with much of this - and have argued for some time that it will take a "killer device" fully to trigger large scale demand for e-books. The development of a special library app may be a way froward for us all when that demand shift eventuates, but I wonder how that will help us resolve licensing issues. Most large academic libraries will already have vast quantities of e-books, with several hundreds of thousands of titles, either from aggregator services such as Net Library or through publisher bundles such as Springer's e-book service. No matter how deft we might be in developing apps that make these easy to read on iPads, Kindles or other devices, that will not circumvent the restrictions on downloading and other DRM obstacles. We need to see robust leadership from the library profession to appeal to, argue with, and advocate for more permissive approaches from rights owners. That will, I fear, be a much bigger challenge than working with the technology! I agree with much of this – and have argued for some time that it will take a “killer device” fully to trigger large scale demand for e-books. The development of a special library app may be a way froward for us all when that demand shift eventuates, but I wonder how that will help us resolve licensing issues. Most large academic libraries will already have vast quantities of e-books, with several hundreds of thousands of titles, either from aggregator services such as Net Library or through publisher bundles such as Springer’s e-book service. No matter how deft we might be in developing apps that make these easy to read on iPads, Kindles or other devices, that will not circumvent the restrictions on downloading and other DRM obstacles. We need to see robust leadership from the library profession to appeal to, argue with, and advocate for more permissive approaches from rights owners. That will, I fear, be a much bigger challenge than working with the technology!

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