Last Friday, I attended a workshop on electronic books and the challenges and opportunities they present for libraries.   Let me make clear that the topic wasn’t about the challenges and opportunities that e-books might present, when and if they ever catch on.  No, the presenters were very clear that the e-book’s place is here and its time is now. 

This did not come as a complete surprise to me, because I do read the news.  But I am one of the few people on the planet who has not even considered window shopping for an e-reading device, let alone buying one.  So Friday’s workshop really was quite a bullet train ride to Tomorrowland for me.  For the first time it dawned on me that the day might come – and maybe sooner than later- when I find myself cozying up for a good read using a plastic gadget.

This is a harsh reality in a way, because I am not just an avid reader – I love books.  I love the way they look, smell, and feel.   I took some comfort in the words of one presenter who said that print books aren’t going to vanish overnight, but he also predicted that, in time, they will.  So, I listened carefully, took some notes and even tried to made friends with some of the e-reading devices that were made available during the “hands- on” part of the workshop.  

E-books and e-readers are something that all libraries will be talking and thinking about a lot in the coming months, because the world of reading is rapidly changing, and that means we will change with it so that we continue to strengthen our communities with resources for literacy and lifelong learning. 

If this is a topic that you’d like to learn more about, here’s an interesting article from Digital Book World.comwhich contains some of the same information cited at last week’s workshop, and which has links to even more information on this topic.  Eventually, I’ll wrap my head around this new reality, but in the meantime, I’ll probably be stockpiling a good assortment of hardcovers.