For the printed book purist, the mere suggestion of libraries lending eBooks conjures up images of empty shelves, redundant librarians and tumbleweeds drifting across abandoned buildings. However, leaving aside sentimental arguments about the superiority or inferiority of the different formats, the reality is that many libraries now offer a selection of eBooks available for download. Although eBook lending is growing, several questions need to be asked about the future development of this new technology. Most importantly, with so many libraries under significant financial pressure, are eBooks actually worth the investment?
Tag Archives: eBooks
Merry Christmas
Welcome to my 100th post! I got a Kindle for Christmas this year. I wasn’t that bothered about HD, 3G, colour screens and lights and all the other fancy accessories so I just got the standard model with an E Ink screen and bought a leather cover for less than £2 from eBay this morning. I haven’t put any eBooks on it yet but will make sure I get it well stocked very soon…
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French Bookshops

French Books
Here’s one way of preventing Amazon’s hegemony over book sales: in France, book prices are fixed by law so they cost the same amount whether you buy them online, in a chain shop like Fnac or in a small independent bookshop. When I was living in Paris during my year abroad, the stingy student side of me was a bit miffed that it was impossible to get new books at a discount. On the other hand, it means that there are still a lot of independent bookshops which are managing to stay open (about 400 in Paris) and that can only be a good thing. Continue reading
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The Daily Post
After the madness of being Freshly Pressed two weeks ago, my post ‘The Rise of eBooks: evil or essential?‘ has now been featured in the Daily Post! It is quite funny reading an analysis of how I managed to make my post Freshly Press-able without me even realising it at the time. It’s also a nice confidence boost for me as I am far from being an expert at blogging. Continue reading
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