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Book Lending

I think that this is an exciting time in the area books, yes there can be contention, but it is exciting none the less. On one hand we have Harper Collins restricting the number of times a book can be loaned, bringing  up the question of who owns the ebook file. On the other had we have organizations like eBook Fling, which is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a library. There has always before been book sharing. I would read something and then lend it to a friend to read, or a student (and hope that I would get it back), and in the last condo that I lived at there was a small lending collection in the club house that anyone could take and give back to. Technology though has drastically improved the situation in many respects. Initially one of the complaints/issues with DRM and ebooks was the inability to share, now that that has been fixed, we are in essence seeing people create libraries all over the place, the technology has dropped the overall price to the extent that you don't have to be a Carnegie anymore, just someone with a book that they want to share with others - sounds like a library to me. This does not mean I want to see libraries close, no I just see the concept expanding much the same way that schools have expanded to include online and still have homeschool. Now we also have small geo-centered libraries in apts and condos, community public libraries and now shared libraries online. 


Kindle, Nook lending site, eBook Fling, goes live
CNET (blog)
by David Carnoy eBook Fling allows both Kindle and Nook users to lend e-books. Membership is free. In the past month or so, a couple of e-book-lending sites, Lendle and BookLending, opened for business. Those sites cater to Kindle users, ...


ALA President Criticizes HarperCollins Ebook Lending Policy
Library Journal
By Michael Kelley Mar 15, 2011 The president of the American Library Association (ALA) said in a statement on Monday HarperCollins's decision to restrict library ebook lending was a "grave concern" that threatened libraries' ability to provide access ...
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