Google Books

What is the easiest way to get books? Well, that depends on who you are: for some, it is at major retailers B&N or Amazon, for some it is avoiding the trip to the store altogether with a simple push of a button--the e-book. Certainly, the Nook and the Kindle are among the most popular e-book readers available. Many, however, are now looking to Google Books, an app already installed on you Android phone when you purchase it. Google Books is quickly becoming one of the top e-book reading systems for this and other reasons.
Another reason is because of the Library Program they initiated. Oh, it has caused quite the controversy! Google maintains that they do not wish to replace books, rather they wish to promote better access to books by allowing digital pages to be scanned into the cloud. Critics say that Google is infringing on copyright, and that the Library Project needs to be stopped. Google counters, saying that it is only making some of the pages accessible at any one time without purchase, allowing customers to sample, not violate. What do you think?
Personally, I think it is a fantastic idea. So many books are going digital anyway. In a thousand years, think of all the information that we could still have access to. The people of the future would be better able to understand us. I suppose that it the historian and book nerd parts of me singing in unison, but I do not believe that the book will ever be replaced. Back-ups are always a good idea though. Think of everything we might still have if the Library of Alexandria had back-ups. I do not think the Google Books project is hurting things. Instead, it is allowing more people access to books and helping to bridge the digital divide.
For a basic history of the evolution (so far) of Google Books, I invite you to read the Wikipedia article. For a critical article, see this. For a positive article, see this. This one is about the legality of it all. Suffice to say, the legal battles and ethical battles are not nearly over. Only time will tell what effect it will have on the literary world, though.

Libraries and the Digital Divide

When first beginning to look into what exactly the "digital divide" is, I had no idea that it was a problem that we've been aware of and wrestling with for so long. I found a video published in 2000. Doesn't seem like that long ago, but it's actually been 16 years. Most often, one would think of the digital divide in socio-economic terms. However, I would encourage you to also look at this from the standpoint of those with disabilities. Are they not also limited in their access to technology and information? It seems that every Joe and his horse is claiming to be "bridging" that divide themselves, but not truly for everyone, it seems. As Stevie Wonder recently put at the 2016 Grammy Awards, "We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability." We are still a long way from doing that.

Consider this: Aren't those with disabilities the ones who would be most likely to need fast access to information about health? While briefly mentioning the digital divide in terms of the disabled, at least ALA President Nancy Kranich DID mention it in her 2001 address in American Libraries. Again, that was so long ago though. You would think that as buildings were starting to become more accessible for those with disabilities (including libraries) that the information housed inside would become more accessible as well. So far, though, I'm not seeing it as much as I would hope. The San Diego Library is setting a wonderful example (as mentioned in a previous post) of where to start. As someone who loves books, it makes me sad that people who might want that escapist function of literature more than anyone would have the least access to it. Let's do our part in libraries to provide that access that Mr. Wonder called for.

San Diego Library's I CAN! Assistive Technology Room ("Assistive Technology and Libraries")

In going to the new San Diego Central Library yesterday for the LT department field trip, I noticed that they have what they call the I CAN! room. It focuses on aiding those with disabilities to be able to use all of the resources available to them at the library. Within this space are dedicated technologies, programs, resources and staff with specialty expertise. It includes sixteen "assistive technology work stations, audiobooks, closed circuit video magnifiers, and the Ubi-Duo visual communicator." After consideration, they also intend to open up a youth chapter of the I CAN studio in the children's department filled with specially designed toys and learning instruments for children with disabilities. It is a wonderful and thoughtful addition to the technology housed within the San Diego Library.

Here is more about adaptive technology and the I CAN! center services at the library.