What is the Future of Libraries?

That's the question recently posed on NPR.

From the piece...

E-books, says Neiburger, are really digital files, but libraries and publishers are still trying to deal with them as if they are just like print books. In other words, they're trying to do business the way they have always done business

"Part of the models we've seen so far are still trying to force 20th century business models onto digital content," Neiburger says. "And any digital native says, 'You mean I have to wait to download an e-book? What sense does that make?' And they're off to the Kindle store to spend $3.99 or $4.99 or $9.99 to get that same book."

In the current climate, libraries worry they'll become obsolete. Publishers are afraid they won't be able to make any money. That's why HarperCollins came up with a new e-book policy that says an e-book can be checked out 26 times, after which it has to be repurchased. Leslie Hulse, a senior vice president at HarperCollins, says publishers have to place some limitations on the way libraries lend e-books.