E-Books

I wish the library had…
• E-book readers
• Access to thousands of digital copies [we assume you mean free access?]
• E-book loaning policy with digital expiration dates


We like e-book readers, too—and we have been looking into this idea. It turns out that it is more complicated an endeavor than we thought at the outset. One of the biggest problems is that there is no standardization among e-book readers and e-book formats, and there are dozens of makes and models of readers, as well as numerous formats for e-books. This means that certain e-books will be compatible with only certain readers.
Another issue is the availability of “thousands of titles”. Because of the various copyright and legal issues associated with e-books in libraries, we can only acquire them by subscription through an e-book provider. There are limitations regarding the number of library patrons who can access a title at any one time, limits on how long the patron would have access to a particular book, as well as limitations regarding what titles are even available through a particular e-book service. These are just some of the reasons we have not yet made the plunge into acquiring e-readers.
HOWEVER, until we’re ready to take the plunge, you do have access to several thousand e-books through our library that you can read on a library computer or your computer. They can be found on the library’s web page by clicking on “find books”, and then the netLibrary, Humanities E-books, or Reference Books tabs. You can also borrow e-books on-line with your borrower’s card through your public library or New York Public Library. http://www.nypl.org/help/library-card
Furthermore, http://gutenberg.org has thousands of free, out-of-copyright books available for download onto your computer, iPod, or smart phone.