Libraryman
Jan 27th, 2010
Jan 27th, 2010
iPad Launch and Libraries: Its not about the iPad, its about future business and market share
Stats of note for libraries in todays iPad launch slides: Apple stats: “75 million iPhone users”, “iBookstore”, “over 125 million accounts with credit cards”, over 12 billion downloads”…These brief notes say more about what the things Apple is doing to pieces of library business than any hype or buzz ever will.
Yes and no.
We have some differing opinions on iPad in libraries here:
http://blog.8bitlibrary.com/2010/01/28/the-ipad-in-libraries/
Yes and no what, JP? I’m talking about what Apple (and others) want to do with electronic content access and distribution here primarily. The iPad really wasn’t/isn’t anything that new, but it is great marketing and making an impact on how consumers see technology in their lives. It’s great to pick apart and understand the details of the thing, but that is less important than the larger implications, and that’s is what I was after here.
Its hard to have a discussion that covers what it needs to in comments though. Wish we were all sitting around a dinner table instead!
Most everyone I have talked to thinks the IPad is a laughingstock.
As long as there are stories being told, the library will have a place in the world.
I don’t understand why people think that E-Readers mean anything to the library?
What about VHS? What about DVD’s? What about cassettes? What about CD’s?
As long as there is a format that costs money to buy…there will be a library there doing the buying and giving it to the public for free. It doesn’t matter what format we are talking about here. It could be books, records, 8 tracks, audiobooks, DVD’s, CD’s, video games….could be anything.
Call me when Amazon starts giving away the Kindle for free and giving away the accompanying books for free.