The Cushing discussion continues

Many thanks to Shannon Acedo, Department Head of Library and Information Technology at the Harvard-Westlake Upper School, for her thoughtful comments to my blog post Cushing: a new model for libraries. I contacted Shannon and she has generously given me permission to re-post her comments.

Thanks for providing the opportunity to revisit “The Cushing Effect” after things have settled down a bit. Your blogpost has engendered a lively discussion among independent school librarians.

Cushing has moved away from a ‘Collection Maintenance Philosophy’. Personally, I’m a firm believer in the ‘Collection Development Philosophy’, and the primary value of our collection (both print and digital) is that it is carefully crafted to support the curriculum at our school. We weed old materials, purchase new materials (print and digital), and work closely with teachers to make sure we have what our students need. Format is not an issue; content is.

Cushing’s print art books are kept because they are hard to get in digital format; in spite of this perceived value in print materials there is no intent on maintaining that collection or adding to it. This must eventually lead to a gap in resources, as the art world is decidedly not static. If a particular area is not easily duplicated in electronic format, doesn’t that emphasize the need for a complete collection consisting of print AND digital resources?

All the work our students do is to prepare them for their future lives, with an immediate goal of success in college. We need to be aware of the resources at the colleges and universities our students will attend and make sure we prepare them to navigate those resources productively. We also must support our students as they do their work here on campus, and our teachers require a variety of different resources for this purpose. We work hard to make sure it is ALL available.

I do love the information literacy curriculum as presented by Cushing—indeed I’m jealous. We are working on defining our 6-year information literacy program, moving ahead a bit at a time, but I’m inspired by what they are doing at the Fisher-Watkins library.

Conclusions
• The library at Cushing is neither a pariah nor (imho) a powerhouse—it’s a library with its own strengths and weaknesses
• There are aspects of the space and program at Cushing that I can benefit from
• The value of a library collection is based on its content and not on its format; format is important only as it impacts access
• One of our most important roles in the Independent School world is to prepare our students for success in college; to do so we must teach them how to use libraries like the ones they will see in college.

Thanks again for inspiring a lively debate on a very timely topic.

Thank you, Shannon, for your wonderful contribution to this ongoing discussion.

Photo credit:
via Wylio
Amazon Kindle eBook Reader

Cushing: A new model for libraries in the digital age

Two years ago Cushing Academy's  Fisher-Watkins Library was at the center of a firestorm. The radical and sudden decision to throw out their library books  polarized school librarians on everything from their philosophy on reading, to student rights, to process, to the fundamental question of whether a space without books had the right to call itself a library. I recently had the unique and wonderful opportunity to visit Cushing, tour their physical space, learn about the changes, explore their virtual space, and gain a greater understanding of the pedagogy behind their evolution. From pariah to powerhouse, the "bookless library" has a lot to teach us, and offers much to ponder.

“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said headmaster James Tracy. (Mark Wilson for The Boston Globe)

As an early supporter of Cushing I am happy to share my notes, impressions and the big take-away's. Please note that my notes are just that - quick notations. Any errors or misrepresentations are mine alone. I urge those interested in learning more to investigate the Fisher-Watkins portal and email Director Tom Corbett directly. He is a great guy seeking input and would welcome feedback on the site to continue its ongoing development.

Important contact information:

• Cushing Academy
• Fisher-Watkins web portal
• Approximately 450 students, private boarding school
• Facts at a Glance

MISSION
The Fisher-Watkins Library has two main purposes:

1. To promote reading and make sure it survives in a digital environment
2. To promote research and information literacy in the digital age

ARRIVAL -  IMPRESSIONS
Upon entering the Fisher-Watkins Library one is struck by the beauty and elegance of the space. It is an architect designed space, built below grade. Upon entering the original 1865 red brick structure you go down a level. Walking a short distance lit by ground level skylights, you go down again. The path is filled with natural light, lined with student work, class gifts and floor-to-ceiling full color glossy, foam core mounted wall displays of speakers ranging from poet laureate Robert Pinskey to Ishamel Beah.

Descending down to the library is a light filled experience. Bow shaped, it looks out onto a grass semi-circle lawn with treetops in the distance. It may be below grade, but on the cold and overcast New England day we visited (12.3.10) it was filled with light. Students are scattered throughout studying by themselves or in small groups. There are a few teachers working independently or conferencing with students. The vibe is relaxed and scholarly. And there are some books.

My visit to Cushing Academy was coordinated by our wonderful local educational collaborative of 22 Boston area schools, EDCO.  Fisher-Watkins librarians greeted us and we were ushered to the cafe where we were treated to our choice of coffees and teas. It is professionally and cheerfully staffed, and well stocked with muffins, yogurts and other tidy snacks.

 I was immediately struck by the diverse areas and seating arrangements. Great chairs with swivel desktops, study carrels with sea glass green dividers, silent study areas, group study areas, and at each end of the library are two open classroom areas with touch screen white boards.

I saw students working in collaborative groups, studying individually, and students meeting with teachers. The vibe was relaxed, focused and scholarly. It wasn't quiet, but it the noise didn't distract from the academic feel. The space was filled with student art and three flat screen displays; one with student news, one with student productions, and one with CNN. Very cool.

In this photo you can see down one half of the library. What is now open space dotted with diverse seating and group work areas was formerly low book stacks. The circulation desk was moved from what was once the cafe area and is now open and centrally located in the library. This shift has made the library staff is much more accessible.

There is a designated silent study area, but for those students who want to sit in the main space Fisher-Watkins has 10 Bose noise canceling headsets.  These are very popular and are always checked out during evening hours.

The Faculty Lounge is located at one end of the library and is very popular with staff. Free coffee from cafe staff keep teachers coming to socialize, meet with students, and moving through the space, creating opportunities to talk with the librarians.

There is a wonderful energy to the space.

COLLECTION

Fisher-Watkins did not throw out all their books. What they kept and why:

• Art books because they are not as readily available in digital format. They will not be purchasing additional art books in future.
• Donated nonfiction books because they represent an investment by the Cushing community. The nonfiction collection and reference collections are interfiled. No future print purchases are planned.
• Fiction, YA fiction and short story collections were deeply weeded and the remaining high interest titles were kept. There will be no future purchase or collection development. It is now an on demand collection.

The Kindles
Collection development is based on a patron request model. An ebook is  purchased because someone wants to read it. New titles are promoted via a digital display in the library and on the library website.

The Kindles are cataloged and checked out to students who can keep them for as long as they want.  Of their 99 Kindles, 85 were checked out on the day of our visit. At this time they don't keep track of which title is on which Kindle. Each purchased title comes with six licenses. Once six copies have been loaded onto six different Kindles the license has been fully allocated. If there is a seventh request for a title they buy an additional copy, which translates as six additional licenses.

Amazon Kindle titles are cataloged using print Marc records and edited to reflect it is an e version.

When they started two years ago the process was very confusing but now works well for staff and students.

A few Kindles (maybe five) have come back with damaged screens but were covered by warranty.
Faculty and curriculum planning has increased but like all school libraries it continues to be an area  they would like to see grow. Stats indicate database usage is up. Space is used more by students than before.

Other factoids:

Building DVD collection for curriculum as well as personal enjoyment.

Kept print magazines for a browsing collection.

Nonfiction collection is purely donated books. About 5000 books left are left in the print collection, 2000 nonfiction. Makes it a funny, eclectic print collection.

Reference is purely digital database and e-reference. Paper reference has been inter-shelved an is allowed to circulate.

CURRICULUM

In addition to regular information literacy classes taught to support research activities, Connections is a required class for all freshmen and new students. It is a year long course that covers life and study skills, and Tom Corbett takes a semester which serves as library orientation. Students are trained in a core list of tech tools all students and teachers are expected to use, digital tools, information skills, ethics of social media, copyright. Tom teaches digital literacy skills, gets their computers set up correctly and teaches them to navigate digital information environment of school.

There are also regular library orientation classes in the open classrooms at either end of the library.

VIRTUAL LIBRARY

Digital services are the main front door for delivering support to students where they need, it when they need it, where they live. There is an embedded Illuminate widget on each page for students to text a request for help, questions, whatever. All staff members receive a notification when a student is requesting support and will reply up until 10pm. Sometimes later if a staff member is online when a question is posted.

The school's nonfiction collection is fundamentally entirely online. In addition to databases and ebook purchases from Gale, academic content is purchased through eBook Library (eBL), an Australian group working almost exclusively at the university level - until now. Cushing is their first high school account in the United States. eBL allows the patron to either "buy" a book which provides the patron with access for an entire year, or check it out as a loan. Books can be previewed for five minutes and then the school account will be charged. The cost for borrowing is 1% of the retail price. There is an initial fee to set up the platform. This is new for Fisher-Watkins and they are still in the process of publicizing it with teachers.

This is another example of a patron request collection model. With eBL students have access to over 150,000 high quality university press titles. Resources are paid for as they are used. Purchasing is not just in case, but as needed. There are no costs associated with processing, shelving or, eventually, with weeding. Libraries need to look more closely at this model.

This is the core of the Fisher-Watkins philosophy. The library is not the place students and faculty go to get material. It is the place they go to learn how to effectively search digital resources to find what they need, and it is an environment designed for studious inquiry and work. An example of this philosophy can be seen in a screen shot from their Kindle page. Students are guided to Amazon, the biggest print and digital book vendor in the world, as their personal library.

The Web Site

The philosophy of the website is really important.

The Fisher-Watkins website was created using Drupal, an open source content management platform. This web interface merges the catalog and databases using a federated search called Deep Web Technologies. They dropped their ILS (integrated library system) catalog!

Why? OPACS are transaction focused. Fisher-Watkins decided they needed a new approach that was not focused on managing inventory. Their platform is designed to focus on patron support. They have moved away from a collection maintenance philosophy. The catalog is viewed as a starting point to launching the student on a quest to find what is needed.

A little more on DeepWeb. This federated search engine was developed and is used  by Stanford University, and they have picked up a number of additional "big users." This is their first high school project. It pulls results from all the databases and digital resources, evaluates them and displays returns based on a ranking algorithm. A sidebar provides metadata for a richer search experience that helps develop skills in evaluating returns.  This is a very Google-like search experience.

The Fisher-Watkins Drupal platform is totally customized and the goal is to make the template available to other libraries. It is still being developed.

The Catalog
Catalogers would have a heart attack over the thinness of the records. No tracings! Basic genre tags. The "catalog" supports students in exploring their wants/needs, and purchasing it on the spot. The library is a gateway to global digital content, paid for by the school.

The Budget

1. Approximately  $50,000 for materials, $20-30 for databases and ebooks. 
2. Former book budget was rolled into digital content, got a small bump for additional ebook purchases. 
3. Kindles purchased with capital funds, not budget. 
4. $30-35,000 now for digital content. 

DISCUSSION
After our tour our group shared a wonderful lunch, and a fascinating and far reaching discussion.

One question was "If you had to do it over again what would you not do?" Tom said it would have been helpful to clarify how they were organizing reading and maybe minimize the initial bad press. However it really got the conversation going. Also, he wouldn't have gone so thoroughly digital all at once, and maybe would have rolled it out more slowly.

Devices
Tom Likes the iPad with Kindle app. It can be distracting having everything available, but this is what we have to teach our students.

My time at the Fisher-Watkins Library was one of the most powerful professional development experiences of my career. As a private school Cushing has more latitude than is possible in the public school sector. What they are exploring is print information evolving in a digital world of what seems like ubiquitous access. They are providing curated access to digital content for academic inquiry and personal reading. They are scaffolding students in developing the critical thinking and technology skills necessary to navigate this environment. They are changing the fundamental model of school libraries.

As I continue to evaluate our curriculum, our collection, our service model and our web presence the lessons I learned at Fisher-Watkins will guide me.

My sincere thanks to Director Tom Corbett, Head Librarian Liz Vezina, and library staff members
Karen Lemieux, Susan Larkin and Jill Henry. The fortitude of the staff during a time of radical change must be commended. A personal thank you for your warm hospitality and the thoughtful time you took with our group.

Stale bread

After a month long hiatus from blogging I was feeling really out of it. I was tagging things in my RSS feed to potentially blog about later. Things that made my think, new information, practices I might want to try - but I wasn't making time for the next step of synthesizing my thoughts in a blog post.


It wasn't a good feeling.

And October was such a great month for new information! eBooks Libraries at the Tipping Point, the virtual summit hosted by SLJ and Library Journal on September 29, 2010, was a flood of challenging and inspiring blogs, tweets and Facebook posts. I was tagging things but not deeply focusing on them and working to make connections. Now, when I revist links I feel as if some of the spark has dissipated. Not from the conference and the great information, but from me and my process. By waiting so long my initial excitement turned a little stale. It is as if that by not participating, I dropped out of the conversation.

October also saw the Massachusetts School Library Association and MassCue educational technology conferences in Massachusetts. Even more good stuff!

So I am walking away from things I tagged to think about later. Tired of stale bread. Ready for a fresh loaf.

Day 4 NaNoWriMo
(Not writing a novel. Using this as a prompt to blog daily for a month.)

Photo credit:

Flickr Creative Commons
Stale Bread
By Faith Durand

The Future of the Book

I can tell you the precise moment when I fell in love with reading, and with books. When my Mom read Are you my mother? by P.D. Eastman to me for the first time, she read the line "You are not my mother! You are a SNORT!", but she said "snort" more like "shhhhnort!" I almost fell off my single Sears bed with the sensible coverlet and hospital corners, in peals of giggles.

Since I learned to read my nose has been firmly stuck in a book. Yet I am not worried about the future of "the book." Paper has served us well for quite a long time, and isn't going to disappear anytime soon.

The "future" of the book is what excites me. The possibilities of engaging with the written word, the transformed thought, the flight of imagination, in new ways.

As I talk with our students it is clear that, while they are digital natives, many are still firmly in the camp of the traditional book. Almost uniformly they state they would prefer digital alternatives to text books, but for personal reading, many still want the book in hand. One student talked about the privacy of disappearing into a narrative on the written page, which is a sentiment I have heard from colleagues. And yet this student had never experienced an e-reader, so his opinion is uninformed.

This is one of the reasons we will be grant writing for a variety of digital readers in the next month. I sure hope we are awarded because I look forward to sharing our process. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, I found this in my neglected RSS feed. Worth the 4+ minutes. Especially the section when they refer to authority and information. But that is a different kettle of fish entirely!



The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.

The Guy

Don't kid yourself. School libraries are businesses. We have budgets, we are accountable to our school administrators, we have curriculum standards and benchmarks, and most important of all, we have customers. Without the kids we have no business. If we do anything less than make ourselves indispensable, we are on the cut list and our programs are lost. It is really the students who lose.

So what does a global business marketing guru have to do with school libraries?

Everything.

• Delivering relevant product (our 21st century curriculum)
• Shipping every day (student and faculty service with a SMILE!)
• Innovation (staying cutting edge)
• Dominating our niche (being the go-to person for information technologies)
• Visionary (inspiring and leading change)
• Product (preparing our students for productive lives in the information economy)

Godin has just released his latest book as a vook. For $4.99 you not only get to hear from an exceptionally smart man, but also experience the quickly approaching environment of the hybrid book. This is an example of what our collections will soon be accommodating.

How do we catalog this? Curate this? Manage this? I sure as heck don't know, but I'll be scrambling to find out in order to be ready.

So, go on, take a look at the Vook...

Unleashing the SUPER Ideavirus

"In a world where an Internet video of a piano playing cat can get more public attention that a multi-million dollar television advertising spot, how do marketers, business or anyone who has an idea they want to spread get the right attention? Seth Godin might not have a quick fix or a miracle solution, but his Unleashing the SUPER Ideavirus Vook will bring you completely up to speed on the tactics you need to survive and thrive in today's fast paced information economy."

For a little more Seth, check out his recent TED Talk.

(Source:  Seth Godin: This is broken | Video on TED.com)

Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

My little secret

I have a little secret. Sort of a cross between a compulsion and an addiction. I don't talk about it too often because I have it pretty well under control. I'm not ashamed or anything. There are millions of people who understand and share my problem. In fact, most of the people in my profession fall somewhere on the spectrum. I am a life-long obsessive compulsive reader. This used to manifest itself as book hoarding but has evolved with recent advances in technology.

There is one restriction to my reading. I only read for free. Working in a high school library and being a regular patron of our public library system means I don't have to buy books. There might be a bit of a wait for popular titles, but with so much choice there is always something great to read.

The digital options are even more liberating. Through GoodReads it is possible to download new titles being promoted to give exposure to new authors, as well as classics. When J.D. Salinger died I downloaded a pdf of Catcher in the Rye and had the joy of reacquainting myself with Holden Caulfield. (I learned that I didn't love reading off Adobe Editions. Reading for extended periods off a laptop just wasn't comfortable.)

Through my beloved Kindle I read classics in the public domain and also peruse Amazon's Kindle Promos on a fairly regular basis. This has been a good way to infuse contemporary titles and new authors into my Kindle list.

Since I got my iPad I have learned how to synch my Kindle and transfer titles between devices. Just before school let out a graduating senior asked me to sign her yearbook. As I wrote something pithy we talked about her passion for English literature and I shared some of my favorites. That night I got a hankering for Howard's End and bounced it over to the iPad. The awesome thing about reading on the iPad is you don't have to turn on a light at night. Both devices are a joy for this reader.

Through LibraryThing where I am signed up as a reviewer (and often get free books - paper and digital), I got an invitation to join NetGalley.

"NetGalley delivers digital galleys and promotional materials to professional readers and helps promote new and upcoming titles. Using NetGalley, publishers can build communities, invite contacts to view galleys and promotional materials, and track who has viewed their titles.

Professional readers--reviewers, media, journalists, bloggers, librarians, booksellers and educators--can join and use NetGalley at no cost. Register Now to get started."

Creating an account and synching it to my Kindle was a little fiddly, but mostly because I rushed and didn't follow the instructions as carefully as I should have. However, the customer support was fast, helpful and personal. I really like this company. And I like the four new YA galleys that appeared in my Kindle list this morning.

Aside from the fact that I have a lot of reading fetishes (don't even get me started on bookmarks!) I manage to read widely, and for free. As a public school librarian I mean it when I tell students and parents that they should never have to purchase a book for education. I'll track it down somewhere, in some format. I may have to fight the compulsion to read it first before handing it over, but let's keep that between ourselves.

Photo credit:

Flickr Creative Commons

Shh. I have a secret.

Uploaded on December 10, 2009
by e m ♥ i l y

Is a phonebook a book?

The Japanese push the boundaries of digital appliances, particularly in cell phone based reading. In fact, cell phone books are the biggest growth area for publishing in Japan. It is estimated that 86% of Japanese teens read cell phone novels.

From the Mobile Art Lab in Japan comes a new twist on digital reading. The youngest children get this concept and turn the "page" with the same muscle memory used with paper. What an engaging way to read! Is it less valuable because it is digital? I don't think so.

We need to be studying the literacies associated with digital reading and preparing our libraries and faculties. Our collections need ebooks and digital readers to understand and gain experience working with and understanding what it means to truly read digitally. And we need to do it with an open mind.

I'd like to put in a plug for Libraries and Transliteracy, a blog I find very useful in clarifying my views and learning more about the topic of evolving literacies. 

"This blog is a group effort to share information about the all literacies (digital literacy, media literacy, information literacy, visual literacy, 21st century literacies, transliteracies and more) with special focus on all libraries."
 
An example is a recent post by Bobbi Newman, Information Literacy for the 21st Century.

This is the future of reading.



Source:
Ewan MacIntosh's edublogs:

iPhone + Book = Book: beautiful transmedia book

Laugh it up, New Yorker

I know you have to power down your Kindle along with other electronic devices during take off and landing. You know what? I don't care! 

During a recent trip to Japan (chaperone for the Concert Band - more on that later) I packed as lightly as possible for the 10 day trip, but had a massive suitcase stuffed with technology to record, blog, video, and digitally capture the whole shebang.

Perhaps the most crucial bit of tech I brought along was the Kindle in my carry on. I had it loaded, and in the course of the flights, bus trips, jet lag induced insomnia and down time in rehearsal halls, I made my way through old classics by Edith Wharton, Henry James, and even Shogun by James Clavell.  It would have been physically impossible to lug that many books. So make fun of us Kindle readers all you want, New Yorker. Me? I'm just looking for a place to plug in my charger.

From the New Yorker:
"In preparation for landing, please turn off your books."

Format bigotry or What exactly is a book?

The New York Times article Do School Libraries Need Books? hits a nerve. Kudos to the articulate and informed library professionals and advocates who were interviewed for the article, even if I disagree with most of their conclusions.

Over the course of the article there are so many references to the tangible experience of paper.  Books and paper have strong sensory, emotional, nostalgic associations. Over and over again I have had people explain with passion how they love the feel and smell of books and the weight of holding it in your hands. Nobody comments on how heavy a book is, how you can't take that many in your suitcase for vacation because of the weight, or holding it in bed at night. Nobody mentions that with paper you have no chance for digital accommodations like text-to-speech which allow greater access to all learners.

These same strong connections carry over to the idea of the library. We all know and understand what a library is, what it does for us, and how to use it. We know it is a quiet place dedicated to learning and inquiry. We understand the librarian is there to help us navigate the process of acquiring knowledge and building meaning.

We all want students to love reading, to become effective users of information and life-long learners. These goals are no longer enough, and our emotional connections with the familiar are holding us back. If we want libraries to survive and remain relevant we need to play closer attention to schools like Cushing Academy, because they are blazing the trail for all of us.

"Our library is now the most-used space on campus, with collaborative learning areas, classrooms with smart boards, study sections, screens for data feeds from research sites, a cyber cafe, and increased reference and circulation stations for our librarians. It has become a hub where students and faculty gather, learn and explore together." 
This is a perfect illustration of a learning commons, and it isn't a quiet space dedicated to books. It is a dynamic, energized space students recognize as valuable and pertinent to their needs and education.  Hmmm....

"...they need more help from librarians to navigate these resources, so we have also increased our library staff by 25 percent."
Many other programs are facing staff cuts, yet Cushing needs to add staff to support increased demand for  student learning. Hmmm...

"Cushing Academy today is awash in books of all formats. Many classes continue to use printed books, while others use laptops or e-readers. It is immaterial to us whether students use print or electronic forms to read Chaucer and Shakespeare. In fact, Cushing students are checking out more books than before, making extensive use of e-readers in our library collection. Cushing’s success could inspire other schools to think about new approaches to education in this century."

Readership and circulation is up. Hmmm...

Our bigotry toward diverse formats of reading must end, because it is denying students access to skills, content and collaborative possibilities. Reading can be solitary and books reinforce the role of the reader alone with print. But knowledge and creativity are global. The time of the student alone in the metaphorical stacks or being "lost in a book" is over and has been replaced with connection, new perspectives, and a broader and more dynamic canvas for learning. 

Reading is more relevant and critical than ever.  Paper and books aren't going anywhere. However, if we want robust programs, increasing readership and to become the hub of learning and skill-building for our schools, we had better diversify and start offering our students greater choice.

Good job, Cushing. I'm taking notes (some on paper, and some are digital.)

Photo Credit:
Flickr Creative Commons

Paper

Uploaded on September 30, 2009
by spikeblacklab

Free books! Give it a click.

It has never been so easy to read. Carbon based or digital based, stationary or mobile, books are everywhere. Thanks to e-books a cell phone can access millions of books - for free.

Developing the CCHS Library Learning Commons web portal has been a big project this year. One aspect of this work has been focusing on diversifying the formats available to students. Today I created a Google Custom Search widget for eBooks and added the link to the catalog page. This widget searches 8 free e-archives for titles in every branch of study, all downloadable with a click. (See widget below. Go on, test it out! )

The thing I really like about this is that if a title is not in the public domain the search also returns commercial sources (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.) You exit the search with a book or the ability to purchase access.

What does this mean for libraries? The ease and portability of e-books means they are here to stay. The new Nook looks very exciting and early reviews are positive. Over the next few months there will be an explosion of new devices and the technology is leaping ahead almost daily. In the not-too-distant future libraries will be checking out e-books and e-readers as often as they check out print material. And don't worry, print books aren't going anywhere. It is the addition of so many alternatives that is exciting.

What does this look like here at CCHS? We already have a substantial collection of e-books. Take a look at our catalog and do an author search for Shakespeare. Of the 95 titles, almost half are either e-books or audio MP3 formats. So many different ways to access the works of Shakespeare! The manga versions are a lot of fun and provide a terrific introduction for students. What a fantastic time to be a reader!

Explore our catalog and see what an e-book looks like. Try the Google Custom Search widget and download a classic text to your desktop.

Custom Search

Google Custom Search - Free eBooks!



Photo Credit:
Flickr Creative Commons "Mis ebooks, o "sólo falta el Sony Reader"
Uploaded on September 17, 2008
by kandinski

Sand in my keyboard

Google Books has come a long way. If you want to play around with alternate formats for reading, check it out.

Personally, I can't read for extended amounts of time off a computer screen. More than 2 pages and I hit print. However, I absolutely love digital ink and the Kindle, so am prepared to give Google Books another shot.

Not sure how well it will go on the beach this summer. Sometimes sticking with print is still the best option. Happy reading!