intrepidheroine:

Circulating e-books will be a key part of the library’s mission. And it’s not just about Kindles and Nooks, because those devices are ephemeral. It is the digital file that is important. What we do not want is a situation where publishers regard the library as the place for people who wouldn’t be buying e-books anyway. Some people already are asking why they need the library, because they have their Kindles. And the answer is that the library is about more than just getting information. The danger here is that the library becomes the poor folks library, because the middle class can just pay for all the materials they want on, for example, their Kindles. If that happens, then you have the ins and the outs. You create two classes for information access. And that breaks apart the community.

Terry Plum, assistant dean of technology at the Simmons Graduate School of Library Science

Ever since the Great E-Book Debate started, I’ve been calling this a class issue as much as an accessibility issue.

I have a problem with the idea that licensing trumps everything, including copyright. I have even more problems with the idea that withholding digital access could further the already gaping class divide.

Suddenly, we have the people who can afford to buy information and the people who can’t. Right now, that information is in the form of popular fiction, but how far does the rabbit hole go?

Super interesting conversation about e-books!