Los Angeles closes libraries 2 days a week

I just read this long but well-written article: "City of Airheads: Villaraigosa Dismantles L.A.'s Vaunted Library System." Some of its points ...

• The citizens most impacted by reduction of library services are the poor and middle class, many of whom can't afford their own computers and/or Internet access;
  
• Libraries are 'safe places to be' in areas where the streets--anyplace but inside your own home (and, sadly, even there for some)--are dangerous;
• Libraries are important 'levelers,' providing equal educational opportunity for students who need safe places to work on homework and access to 'Net-equipped computers to do the same.

It's interesting to note that the article doesn't mention the benefit of citizens who can't afford to buy their own books to read being able to borrow them from and use them in the public library. Although this is surely the case--and a significant benefit for a number of library users--evidently this writer doesn't think it's worth pointing out here. Why? Because it's just too obvious to be worth the effort?

Perhaps. But I believe it's because the value of public libraries as institutions that give free access to up-to-date, diverse, well-organized collections of books and other printed materials (and personal, one-to-one assistance in finding same) is much less important than it used to be. That importance is continuing to wane, even while libraries' importance for the other reasons the article points out increases--especially during recession. Yes, the retail print industry is still doing well, but increasingly its sales are for ebooks. (In July '10, Wired reported that Amazon is now selling more ebooks for its Kindle than it is hardcovers, though we must remember booksellers' customers are those who can afford to buy their own books (and/or ereaders).

What do people use books for? Basically, research (education or personal-need) and pleasure reading. Having worked as a high school Teacher Librarian for the last twenty years (and as recently as 2010), I can tell you that--with the exception of some academics at universities--virtually no one uses print collections for research anymore; today's high school students (tomorrow's college and or workers) certainly don't. While I suspect the poorer segment of our society tends to read for pleasure less than the wealthier, the former is far more dependent on public library access for pleasure reading. Why doesn't the article point this out? My guess is because it's just not that important: free access to pleasure reading--especially for the poorer segments of our society--is not a priority.

All of which points to what I see as the future of public libraries--and school libraries, if they survive. Libraries will evolve to supervised spaces which house ('Net-connected, of course) large numbers of no-pay-to-use computers (and/or portable devices) and provide access to not only the "free Web" but library-subscribed databases of pay-access-only periodicals, etc. (That access--paid for by the library but free to authenticated patrons--will continue to be extended to patrons using their own computers anyplace in the world.) Libraries will no longer house collections of physical books; instead they will purchase and manage access to ebooks, available to all patrons on a limited-time-use ("checkout") basis through download to not only a computer but also portable ereaders of all stripes (both those focused primarily on reading text, like today's Kindle, or more multipurpose like today's iPad... though the distinction may disappear). The only circulation of physical objects I imagine to be the checkout and checkin of portable ereaders--or perhaps full-on portable computers--with library-paid 'Net access, maybe for in-library use only or possibly to take home for a few weeks.

What happens to the current prodigious book collections of our public libraries? Some--especially popular fiction of low historical research value and nonfiction rapidly aging to irrelevance--will be sold off to private collectors. Others may go to academic libraries. The rest will be either be housed in "archives"--essentially organized warehouses with small reading areas, still perhaps available by special arrangement to the occasional scholarly public individual who wishes to go there to use them (no checkout allowed) or discarded: covers stripped and paper recycled (currently the fate of most public-school outdated textbooks).

Inevitably, this prediction of the future will turn out to be anywhere from slightly to completely wrong. But, as is becoming a sort of tag-line for me it seems, no matter what happens, "It's gonna be interesting."

Ebooks: finally gaining traction? Whither libraries?

I've been waiting years for the hardware to get good enough and the ebook format wars to settle down for ebooks to start to really get traction... and I think it's finally beginning to happen. Even some "dead tree edition" book lovers are liking the convenience and portability of the Kindle, nook, iPad, etc.--though they're not about to forsake physical books anytime soon either (like in their lifetimes). On a recent cruise where, at 57 and 60-something my wife and I were the youngsters, I saw a number of Kindles and even an iPad (it had only been available for about a week before departure) in use. I myself have been reading a lot of books lately on my iPod touch (just finished Moby Dick--I'd never read it and figured I ought to). Yes, I prefer more on a page at once but tapping the screen to quickly turn a page, being able to read with one hand in bed in the dark, and toting my "book" around in so small and light a package are all welcome advantages.

For research, in general, printed books are pretty much over. The search capability and ease of access from multiple locations afforded by digital information is just too great for "bound books" to compete. Although there will always be some significant number of esoteric/obscure/old books which won't be digitized (despite Google's admirable best efforts) and which scholars needing them will have to go after in print, most "library"-type research is already done online and that trend will continue to grow.

Personal/pleasure reading? It will be interesting to see. I know plenty of "old people" (in which group I include myself) who love owning books as unique and very special objects and who swear they'll never prefer reading on a screen--no matter how good it is--to the "look, feel, and smell" of a "real" book. These are often people who keep their own collections and reread favorite books regularly (this does not include me). For today's teens and twenty-somethings, I don't think all of this matters as much. For them I think portability, availability, and ease of access will trump the collector's zeal.

One of the biggest obstacles for ebooks has been the twin issues of color/graphics and page (screen) size; this is where I think Apple has nailed it with the iPad. It seems an excellent compromise between screen size and portability, has very good color and resolution (and the horsepower to handle it all with snappy response) and presents a large enough viewing area to make reading newspapers/magazines and highly-formatted text with inline photos/illustrations (even videos with sound) reasonably satisfying. For just text my iPod touch is good enough for me, but for browsing the Web or reading a magazine, forget it: way too much scrolling-and-pinching.

I do think that being able to download ebooks to your device so you can access them without a wireless connection is important for pleasure reading. When WiMax (Sprint's "4G" or whoever else might supercede them in the market) is sufficiently built-out so it's ubiquitous and cheap, then this requirement will fall away, but especially in this economy it may be years before we're there. Wi-Fi in its current state is way too rare (available/open connections), and the wireless carriers' "3G" data connections are too slow and expensive... especially when usage soars (this may be one of the problems plaguing AT&T in the San Francisco area: so many people bought iPhones and loved on-the-go Web browsing, etc. that their infrastructure just couldn't keep up).

For research this isn't much of an issue. In fact, since for research we want to search and access large amounts of disparate information quickly (such as a library's collection--or multiple libraries' collections), nonfiction information of potential research value is better used online. This is why I think libraries--especially academic libraries--will continue to transform from collections of physical materials to online digital collections available to patrons. Take a look at Stanford Ushers in the Age of Bookless Libraries. Heck, if absolutely everything in all of Standford's libraries' collection' were available online (well safeguarded and backed up, of course) to Standford students and faculty, there'd be no compelling reason to keep any of it. Think of the money they'd save in staffing alone. (So are librarians no longer worth their salaries in an all-digital age? That's a whole other topic...)

Public libraries are different, as they give information access--for both pleasure and research--to everyone, regardless of income or socioeconomic level. My local public librarians tell me usage has gone up considerably since the recession hit... and not just people checking out books but people using the 24 library computers as well (no surprise there). If things go as I think they might, I can see public libraries eventually morphing into essentially no-charge "Internet cafes" (well, you will have to pay for coffee and snacks) used primarily by those who can't afford their own hardware or online access subscription fees (or have just had their own device stolen)... and without a physical book in sight.

Never gonna happen? Imagine this: In 3rd grade you're given an iPad-like device to use for accessing, interacting with, and creating information in school. All your "textbooks" (if such large, specially-designed info. packets are even still used) and all "library books" are accessed through this device ("check out" a library book and when it's due that copy is instantly available to another student/faculty member and no longer to you... no overdue or lost book fines ever--in fact, no lost books!) Middle school, high school, and college: ditto (though in college of course you still have to pay for the "textbooks"--some things will probably never change). By the time you're through with school and out on your own, how much do you think you'll care about going after a physical, "dead tree edition" of that new (or even not-so-new) book you've heard about and want to read? And then what are you going to do with the thing when you're done reading it? What are you, one of those weird old people who holes up in a house full of cats and dusty bookshelves lining every wall?

Follett Library Books--the 800-lb. gorilla of the school library book vendor world--has over 51,000 titles available in ebook format for libraries to purchase and add to their collections. They work much as described above--except that, for now at least, you can only read them on the computer to which you downloaded them, not your portable "ERD" (ebook reading device... my own term). If the iPad, Kindle, nook, etc. really gain market dominance--or if they'll all agree to play nice and support a single downloading protocol and ecosystem that library book vendors like Follett can become a part of, that restriction may no longer apply.

The San Diego Unified School District, 7th(?) largest urban school district in the country, has embarked upon a 5-year plan ("i-21") to provide netbooks to every student in grades three through twelve that they take home with them (important), along with campuswide broadband wireless at every campus.

The road ahead is full of IEDs which could blow up my little ebook vision. But never gonna happen? Maybe. At any rate, it's gonna be interesting.

SLL 2.0--Week 3, Thing 7--Ebooks

I could write a lot about this--in fact, I already did: a multi-page posting to an online forum for a small group of tech-interested San Diego County teachers working together to come up with new ideas for how to leverage technology to improve education. This was way back in February of 2002. However, even at the time I realized I didn't want to lose it, so I captured it all to a Word document I titled "Hardware Matters", PDF'd it, and posted it on my little "Shared Professional Resources" Web site where it still lives today. There also is the PowerPoint I used when I presented on ebooks to CSLA ('04 and '05) and CUE ('06).

What I find interesting is that most of the arguments I was making for the adoption of ebooks in 2002 still are valid, and here almost six years later I still believe one of the biggest things holding it up is the hardware. Reading a book on a computer--even a modern "ultraportable" notebook or tablet computer--just isn't going to cut it for most of us used to bound-paper books: the device is still too expensive, too fragile, too short-lived (battery), and the display is far too hard to read under several lighting conditions. To replace bound-paper books, an ebook reading device (ERD) must be as portable, robust, and easy on the eyes (in all lighting conditions); it can't require a computer to get new books on it; it's got to display color graphics (including photos) virtually as well as print; it's got to allow easy markup of your copy (highlighting/underlining and adding your own notes anywhere in its text); and it's got to cost less than about $200.

Since my last ebooks presentation a little less than two years ago, the Amazon Kindle has emerged to trump the Sony Reader as the best ebook reading device (ERD) to date, but IMHO it's still not there yet.

Both the Kindle and the Reader use essentially the same E-Ink screen, which for monochrome (OK, 4- or 8-grayscale) text is a huge improvement over the LCD screens computers use: several reviewers have reported the contrast and sharpness are very close to that of print on paper. The screen also barely sips power--and that only when the display changes (i.e. when you "turn the page" or are making annotations, etc.)--since it is not backlit but reflective, just like a printed page (sorry, bedtime reading is still going to require that lamp on the bedstand!) These devices go for days of typical use without needing recharging (the Kindle recharges in two hours). And the resolution (pixels per inch) is actually sharper than that of a typical LCD computer screen; one report on the Reader said you can magnify"zoom" the text 200% before resolution begins to degrade.

The Kindle adds a hardware QWERTY keypad (real key buttons instead of virtual key spaces outlined on a touchscreen), speed (the Reader was reported to update its screen so slowly that one reviewer said he could "type" several letters before any showed up), and a huge collection of available book titles (90,000 and counting), most available for about $10 each. But most important of all, unlike the Reader which had to be synced with a computer to upload purchased ebooks to it, you don't need a computer (or a cell phone) to get books on your Kindle. Using Sprint's EDGE cellular data network, the Kindle wirelessly connects directly to Amazon's servers. Using just your Kindle, you can browse all 90,000+ titles, purchase one online, and have it on your Kindle in less than a minute. A limited number of magazines and newspapers are available as well: if you subscribe to, say, The New York Times ($14.00/mo.), as soon as the next issue becomes available, it will automatically be downloaded to your Kindle. Ditto for about 250 of the most popular blogs on the Web. (If you're not somewhere within Sprint's EDGE coverage but have access to an Internet-connected computer, you can download an issue/blog--or book--to the computer and sync it to the Kindle via USB. And to save power so you only need to recharge your Kindle about once a week instead of every other day, you have the option of turning the wireless connection off.)

Another important feature is that all your purchased books (and, I assume, magazine/newspaper issues) are archived for you on Amazon's servers... including any markup/annotations you've made to them (Can you annotate Kindle periodicals? Not sure...) This means if you lose/break your Kindle, you haven't lost your purchased library of books: when you replace it, you just download them to the new Kindle--complete with your annotations. And if you run out of storage space (the Kindle holds about 200 average-sized books in built-in memory, and has an SD card slot so you can add gigabytes more if you choose), you can delete some books to make room for new ones knowing they're retrievable later at no charge from your Amazon archive.

What's missing... 1) Affordable price, and 2) Color. Although color isn't necessary for the majority of fiction and nonfiction books most avid adult readers read, it is necessary for etextbooks (and digital versions of magazines and newspapers--ezines and enewspapers?). Until we switch to etextbooks, children won't grow accustomed to reading "books" on ERDs, and the mainstream adult transition from bound paper to digital books will not occur.

When something equal to (and no doubt better than) the Kindle comes along with 256-color graphics at as high a resolution as the text--and for $200--stand back. One reviewer, Steve Gibson, wrote, "Amazon's entry into the eBook market is a BIG deal -- it forever changes the game." Compared to the ERDs that have come before, that may be true... but when good color graphics at $200 are added to the equation, then I'm convinced we'll see a massive shift away from "dead tree edition" to digital books. It's going to take awhile yet (color like this will not be as easy as it may sound), but it's coming.

SLL 2.0--Week 3, Thing 7--Blogging

"Create a blog post about anything technology-related that interests you this week." Hmm. This could take days... And we're also asked to post a Comment on someone else's blog; more days...

Part of my problem is that I have many thoughts about so much I encounter and have a penchant, once I start writing, to just go on and on (in case you hadn't noticed). The other "problem" is that the Web--just the blogosphere of SLL 2.0-ers--is a rabbit hole into which one can dive endlessly.

Case in point: I decided to read some posts from one of the most frequent Commenters to my own post, "becca." Clicking on the link that is her name on her posts tells me her Profile is not available (and urges me to make my own Profile public, which I have). On the SLL 2.0 "Web" (blog) site, "becca's path" is listed so on a guess I click on that and am taken to the "Becca's path" blog which is clearly an early SLL 2.0-er's own blog of her own SLL 2.0 journey ("Becca"... must be a her, eh?) There she says she's, "Elatedly living and working in Berkeley..." Anyway, there's also a link there to another blog of hers, "Caminante" ("traveler" in Spanish), where she tells "Berkely folks" (of which I'm not one) to go, "For more updated links to active Berkeley blogs." So I jumped over there, browsed her posts a bit, and found one that struck me fancy: "Time: the never-ending story," (now that I can relate to!) I posted a Comment to that post. Still curious, though, I logged into the CSLA Membership Directory and looked for the "Rebecca"s, of which there turned out to be ten. I found one who was CSLA Southern Section Past President and "Professional" (at this point I doubt there are as many "Paraprofessionals" this far along with SLL 2.0), so I took a wild guess and emailed her. Will she turn out to be the "mystery Becca" who's been so diligent in Commenting on my own blog posts? We'll see!...

Not one to well enough alone and move along, I couldn't resist going to find the blog of my amazing colleague Thomas Kaun. A hugely tech- and library-savvy TL (teacher librarian), I know he and I share an interest in ebooks, so I thought I'd see if he has posted any thoughts about them. I don't remember now how I tracked it down, but I did manage to discover what turns out to be just one of his three blogs: Continuing Education! There he has a great "search this blog" tool (which I hope someday to discover how to add to my own here), so I searched "ebooks" and *Bingo*--sure enough: "A Book Is a Book Is a Book?" which he posted 8/17/07. But his post is about a "Fascinating discussion on See Also about the definition of 'book'", so of course I had to follow his link to this discussion, then read it (a post and all its 19 followon comments), then Google "FRBR" to find out what the heck that was to which some of the discussion referred (in case you're curious: "Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records"). (See what I mean about the rabbit hole? Reminds me of line from song from some rock band: "One thing leads to another...")

Once I'd digested that post and its 19 comments, then I posted a comment to Tom's on posting... and had to stop myself before going on for pages about ebooks. But I did say in that comment I'd post something else about them here, so that will be my next blog entry. Then I'll have well and truly finished all the Things for Week 3--and be a week behind my own schedule already!