E-Book Lending at Libraries

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Vocabulary

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1. likely /ˈlaɪkli/ (a.) probable or expected ◇～ (to do sth) Tickets are likely to be expensive.
2. publisher /ˈpʌblɪʃə(r)/ (n.) a person or company that prepares and prints books, magazines, newspapers or electronic products and makes them available to the public
3. occur/əˈkᴈː(r)/ (v.) (formal) to happen
4. available /əˈveɪləbl/ (a.) (of things) that you can get, buy or findy
5. point out (to sb) | ˌpoint sth↔ˈout (to sb), to mention sth in order to give sb information about it or make them notice it:

 

Article

E-Book Lending at Libraries

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(1) Kindle is an e-book reader. Amazon.com has launched a Kindle library-lending service in the United States. Millions of users can now borrow Kindle books from their local public library. 

(2) Experts say this is likely to reopen a debate between publishers and libraries over e-book lending. 

(3) Bill Rosenblatt is president of Giant Steps Media Technology Strategies, a consulting company. 

(4) “Publishers and libraries are enemies that occur in nature like snakes and mongese [mongooses]. Libraries would like to be able to make books available to everyone, all the time, with no limitations. And publishers, of course, would like to sell more books to the public.” 

(5) Mr. Rosenblatt says the debate in the United States centers on the law of first sale. This means that once you buy a media product such as a book or a CD or a DVD, you can do whatever you want with it. You can read it, you can resell it, or you can even destroy it! 

(6) This law allows libraries to lend books over and over again without having to pay publishers each time. But Bill Rosenblatt points out that this law does not include digital products. Technology can make e-books unreadable when they reach a certain time or user limit. 

(7) He says the debate over e-book lending will likely end up in court. 

 

Discussion

*Let's talk about the article base on the questions below

1. Have you ever read a digital book? If so, what is the title of the first digital book you read?
2. Which one do you prefer, reading a digital book or reading paperback?
3. What do you think will become of books and libraries 100 years later?