Hello, Dalai!

[bebopbalogna]

I'm not going to take an electronic reader on a camping trip.  

(in my best marty mcfly)

maybe you're not ready for that yet. but your kids are gonna love it.

[Tripp]

remember that new print medium you were looking for..?

[Sabamah]

there's been much talk of shifting the focus of the central library (where i work) to more of an "information center", rather than a "place with books". basically, ditto what was said on the last page. we would increase our customer base exponentially by adding an extra floor of computers and a fedex/kinkos type area. sadly, now most people just come here to check their facebook.

[bebopbalogna]

remember that new print medium you were looking for..?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DxqQxJt_LQI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DxqQxJt_LQI</a>

[bebopbalogna]

there's been much talk of shifting the focus of the central library (where i work) to more of an "information center", rather than a "place with books". basically, ditto what was said on the last page. we would increase our customer base exponentially by adding an extra floor of computers and a fedex/kinkos type area. sadly, now most people just come here to check their facebook.

most of the 'braries round here go by "media center" these days.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

remember that new print medium you were looking for..?

"Alfred A?  It's your cousin Marvin---Marvin Knopf."

[bebopbalogna]

remember that new print medium you were looking for..?

"Alfred A?  It's your cousin Marvin---Marvin Knopf."

alfred a. knopf, huh.  that was totally random..

random HOUSE

[Bizarro]

I don't think the problem is lack of access to books.  I think the problem is lack of interest in books.  Most kids are too busy being amused by all kinds of image based media to care about the written word.  We're becoming a civilization of dumbasses not because we don't have access to books, but because we are amusing ourselves to death with our TVs, internets, game consoles and shit.  I think that's one of the reasons, along with media consolidation and the ubiquitousness of infotainment, why journalists are losing their jobs. 

Anyway... I don't mind electronic texts, just as I don't mind mp3s.  But I think we have to keep using e-readers and paper books.  See, I like paper: it's simple, tough and you can pretty much carry it anywhere.  I'm not going to take an electronic reader on a camping trip.  

Don't underestimate the problem presented by lack of access. My high school library was the size of a large living room and was overloaded with sports biographies, Stephen King paperbacks, and sets of World Book encyclopedias. Constrained by a tight budget and unsure how to get kids into reading, they blew most of their meager budget on magazines and pulp. You ended up with a wide variety of shiny quickie bios of Michael Jordan and all of the latest issues of Rolling Stone and People, but heaven help you if you wanted to read Kurt Vonnegut for class.

And do you know how many of my teacher friends have told me they couldn't teach this book or that one because kids weren't going to be able to find it in stores? Amazon and the like helps with that some, but then you end up with ten different editions. Or how about the teachers who get to buy new textbooks for the class once every five to ten years? And in that time, countries on the map don't exist anymore, alliances studied have dissolved, scientific breakthroughs alluded to have been documented in detail.

And finally, keep in mind that e-readers may yet offer resources printed books could never have. How about editions of Shakespeare where the kids can look up words and phrases they don't understand with a single click, hyperlink style, instead of slogging through footnotes? Or a bio on FDR that comes complete with clickable, playable fireside chats? Even on some of the e-readers coming out in the next year or so, kids can make their own notes for export to outlines for reports, etc. They can do full-text searches. How about if a kid likes something Mark Twain writes and he posts it to his blog wirelessly? The possibilities are endless.

People tend to compare books to e-books in terms of which one provides a more relaxing, romantic experience for reading your favorite novel. But when kids are reading for research, for education, e-books can be much more dynamic and practical.

[Doctor Rock]

I'm not going to take an electronic reader on a camping trip.  

(in my best marty mcfly)

maybe you're not ready for that yet. but your kids are gonna love it.

Maybe one day there will be an electronic reader as tough and durable as a paper book that doesn't need to be recharged for at least a couple of weeks.  I'll take that on a camping trip.

[Bizarro]

Tough still seems to be a goal, but as for battery life, 8 of the top 10 e-readers (according to this site, anyway) have a battery life of two weeks or more. It's the advantage of only rendering in B&W.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

On future camping trips people will make s'mores out of electronic chocolate and digital marshmallows.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

We'll all download songs around the campfire.

[Doctor Rock]

I don't think the problem is lack of access to books.  I think the problem is lack of interest in books.  Most kids are too busy being amused by all kinds of image based media to care about the written word.  We're becoming a civilization of dumbasses not because we don't have access to books, but because we are amusing ourselves to death with our TVs, internets, game consoles and shit.  I think that's one of the reasons, along with media consolidation and the ubiquitousness of infotainment, why journalists are losing their jobs. 

Anyway... I don't mind electronic texts, just as I don't mind mp3s.  But I think we have to keep using e-readers and paper books.  See, I like paper: it's simple, tough and you can pretty much carry it anywhere.  I'm not going to take an electronic reader on a camping trip.  

Don't underestimate the problem presented by lack of access. My high school library was the size of a large living room and was overloaded with sports biographies, Stephen King paperbacks, and sets of World Book encyclopedias. Constrained by a tight budget and unsure how to get kids into reading, they blew most of their meager budget on magazines and pulp. You ended up with a wide variety of shiny quickie bios of Michael Jordan and all of the latest issues of Rolling Stone and People, but heaven help you if you wanted to read Kurt Vonnegut for class.

And do you know how many of my teacher friends have told me they couldn't teach this book or that one because kids weren't going to be able to find it in stores? Amazon and the like helps with that some, but then you end up with ten different editions. Or how about the teachers who get to buy new textbooks for the class once every five to ten years? And in that time, countries on the map don't exist anymore, alliances studied have dissolved, scientific breakthroughs alluded to have been documented in detail.

Well, maybe immediate access to books is a problem, but in North America, over 80% of the population lives in cities and suburbs.  My stepdaughter's school library is pathetic, but she has access to both municipal and provincial libraries, and there are numerous bookshops close by.  I don't know how Montreal compares to other North American cities regarding access to books, so I won't generalize.

Anyway... She reads quite a lot, in part because we preach by example.  The fact that we only have one TV, no cable and that there are numerous books in the house probably also helps.  As far as I know, most of her school friends either don't read, or read Twilight and Harry Potter type stuff.

[Bizarro]

On future camping trips people will make s'mores out of electronic chocolate and digital marshmallows.

Or some clever soul will perfect teleportation and be able to send marshmallows and graham crackers directly to your campsite for a lower price than they sell in stores, but many people will insist on paying the higher cost to do it the old way, carefully loading up their backpacks and carrying their own, mumbling all the while about "the feel of the cellophane" and the "smell of the cardboard glue."

[Moetown]

I wish I could choose to do something artistic, but I realized a little while back that I'm a sucky writer, I can't draw or paint, and I can't sing or play any instrument worth a damn. Pretty much a lousy excuse for a human, except occasionally I say something that a few people think is kinda funny. Oh, and if you ever need an enabler, I'm definitely your guy.