I love Facebook. It is a cool way to get connected with old friends and acquaintances. It's also a great way to find links to topics you might not otherwise see. My former classmate Ann Heys-Caffrey posts a lot of neat articles. For example, she posted this article by Time on the concept a bookless library and this one about the future of e-readers from NPR.
For me, I am able to separate the idea of a library with no books, and a book in e-reader form. The idea of a library in electronic form, doesn't seem that crazy. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of a library is a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale. This doesn't speak to the physical manifestation of the materials. An electronic library seems akin to listening to music that is record to CD or MP3 versus live music. There's something to be said for experiencing music live, but one can certainly glean a great amount of satisfaction and emotional response from recorded music. It feels like it can be the same thing for books, you can still absorb information from an electronic format, like you can from a hard or soft cover book. It's also easier to sort through information electronically with search terms and key words to get right to the information you are trying to find.
That being said, the idea of living in a world without real physical books is so disappointing to me. I can't imagine growing up without experiencing the comfort of a physical book. The feel, smell, weight and even the font of a book in one's hands is not replaced by internet reading or a Kindle. The experience is more tactile and feels more real. The book feels almost like a friend you can take from place to place, without the need for a power cord. And that sense of accomplishment when you turn the final page can be so exhilarating. In reading a physical book, I generally savor the words. I find I'm much more likely to skim when I read something electronically. Electronic formats feel more like work, since I do emails all day long. For me, it's not very relaxing to stare into a glowing screen (or a Kindle screen) to absorb my Barbara Kingsolver. Also I learn better with the physical act of highlighting passages in text books, or editing a hard copy of an article for Junior League.
I know e-readers may be the future in terms of textbooks, research materials and even novels. But I for one will continue to buy physical books when reading for pleasure. The experience of a physical book cannot compare to the packaged consumerized version delivered electronically.
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