Try e-books at the Fort Myers Beach Library
Weekly Activities
Preschool Story Hour starts at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11.
Book Discussion group meets at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 17.
Upcoming Activities
Dog Day literacy program is Thursday, Aug. 19, 4:00-5:00. Pre-register children.
Jewelry-making class scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 6:30 p.m. Pre-register and $10 materials fee.
Basic Computers class on Friday, Aug. 26 at 10:30 a.m. Pre-register.
e-Books
If you’re a full-time resident and among those who want to try e-Books and have a reader, talk to one of the staff about options for downloading e-books. We have a few users who enjoy them and want to support if that is a direction you’re exploring.
Ninety-one percent of adults didn’t buy any e-Books last year.
We are not making a major push for e-Books at this time. When you talk with publishers, most admit e-Book revenue is in the low single digits, if they’re selling them at all. Doesn’t Amazon, for example, have a massive incentive to play up eBooks and pretend that physical books don’t exist or are dying?
Publishers want e-Books to succeed as it eliminates returns, printing and inventory costs.
Print books are reliable, easy to use, don’t need to be plugged in, and relatively inexpensive. An inviting and appealing cover encourages people to pick it up and look at it. They make great gifts.
Print books have value and consumers aren’t giving them up. Still, for those seeking e-Books, be sure to chat with a staffmember as we aim to offer options your way if that is something you’re testing. While it’s a small group of readers, it is a devoted group.
The Net
Surfing the Net is a wonderful option. Initially the emphasis was that the Internet was free. Most of us know that little is actually free in life. It’s not surprising that some resources on the Net are starting to have a fee attached. The trends in recent communications history have moved from free distribution to some form of pay model.
When HBO (Home Box Office) emerged in the mid-1970s, the idea that we would pay to watch a TV show was unheard of. As technology improved in the early 1980s, HBO and its imitators received wide public reception by offering programs uncut and without commercials.
Many people came to enjoy the idea of owning copies of movies and some TV shows on video. When DVDs took hold, the pay model worked including convenience, commercial-free viewing, high video quality, and various bonus features as extras on the DVDs.
Many of us, as users, will be alert to what extent more and more of the Internet becomes fee-accessible. The central question on whether consumers will pay has already been answered in media history.
Library Hours
Don’t remember library hours? When we are closed, a recorder gives the hours on 765-8162 or on 765-8163. Except for holidays, we are open Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We look forward to seeing you.