Pez Librarian

Gasp!  I know, as a librarian this is something I am not supposed to say.  I ‘m supposed to have a huge collection of books, collecting dust so that everyone who sees it knows that I am a lover of books.  Although that is somewhat true, I do have a largish collection of books that are on prominent display in my house, it does not come close to reflecting what I have actually read.  There are hundreds of books I have read that are not shown on my bookshelf.  I may have borrowed the book from a library, friend, or maybe given the item away after I read it.  Just because I do not have tangible proof of the item does not mean I didn’t read it and find  something meaningful from the text.  So, the point I am trying to make is this: I am a lover of reading, not books.  And, as a lover of reading, there are numerous reasons to love ebooks above the more tangible print counterpart.  Here are my reasons:

Accessibility

Let’s face it. No bookstore in the world can compete with the internet.  I have access to thousands of items, literally at my finger tips.  Electronically, I don’t have to wait for the mail or even spend a dime on gas.  I have immediate access to the title I want to read and can read it within seconds.  This accessibility has taken me on a quick trip to ebook addition.  It’s almost too easy.  There is absolutely no delay between books.

Information

Again, nothing can compete with the internet.  I find it amazing that I can search for a book, find titles that are similar, find out the next item in a series, and read reviews all within one page.  I am recommended items that are also available immediately. While you can still get all this information and then turn around and get a print copy of an item, why bother when you can get it immediately?

Privacy

I must say that this reason is one of my favorite.  Let me be honest, I am not reading the most literary works these days.  I need to relax and unwind with something light and entertaining and probably trashy.  Do I want the whole world to know what I am reading?  No, that is between me and the ebook vendor and I want to keep it that way.  I can walk around town reading the most blush-worthy material ever written and no one is the wiser.  I don’t have to embarrass myself at a bookstore when the clerk sees a bodice ripper in my hand.  Nope, pure anonymity.  Just the way I like it.

Portability

Speaking of walking around town, this is more about an ereader than the ebook but I love the fact that I ALWAYS have my book.  I have an iPhone with numerous ebook apps loaded.  I do not go anywhere without my phone, therefore I do not go anywhere without my book, my very trashy book that no one knows I am reading.  I have read this trash on the beach, late at night with the lights tired off, in waiting rooms, just about everywhere.    And, when I finish a book, there is always a backup available.

Affordability

Now I know bookstores have sales all the time but do they give books away for free?  Didn’t think so.  I have read for months on free ebooks.  Or, books for $2 or less.  It can still add up when you are reading a book a day but it is significantly less than you would find with a print item.  They can afford to put the ebook on sale.  I imagine their profit margin is outrageous.  So, I can sort for items by price and find quite a few good books for free.  Sometimes a new book in a series comes out and they want to promote it by offering the first in the series free or reduced.  Just to grab a new reader.

History

I really enjoy the fact that all of the items I read are stored in a device or on the vendor’s site.  If I can’t remember whether I read a title or not, I can just check.  If you have read as many items as I have, you will find this feature very rewarding.

Clutter-free

I no longer have books that I need to get rid of, or store in some fashion.  These items will not collect dust and will not take up space in my life.  Read and move on to the next title.  No clean-up necessary.

I am not trying to say that ebooks are better than print books.  The message I am trying to convey is that the love of reading and the love of books are two different things.  You can love them both but if you are a lover of reading, ebooks are like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.  Don’t get me wrong, there are still flaws with ebooks as intangible items that compete with tangible ones but that is a post for later.  This post is to define all the reasons I love ebooks more than print and not afraid to admit it.

Sincerely,

ebook addicted librarian

I have been thinking about committee work a lot lately and how we librarians are expected to be on committees.  But, no one really talks about committee expectations or relevance, let alone productivity.  A former colleague once talked about how a group of individuals will water-down all great ideas and I am constantly finding that to be true in my committee work.  It seems that in order to satisfy the whole group, concessions and compromises have to be made.  What happens to the great idea?  It dies.  Creativity is stifled in this situation and it can be very frustrating for we creative types.  It is more that frustrating for we managerial types as well.  After contemplating why committee work is so frustrating for me, it dawned on me that I am not good at it.  I am a leader and expect ideas to be executed, good or bad.  I make room for failure and I make grand leaps of faith.  Committees do no such thing.  I am stuck in a chair listening, without the power to control the situation.  This goes against my nature.  So, I guess committee work is what I need to do.  It is completely out of my comfort zone.  I just wish there were a way to commit and participate without feeling like my head is going to explode.  I swear, it will be the death of me.

I recently received a piece of mail addressed to Dr. Karen Glover.  Well, I do not have a doctorate and have no plans on ever getting one.  This lead me to thinking about why one would get a doctorate in Library Science and what the benefits would be, besides bragging rights.  I could only think or find one area that would require a doctorate: teaching.  So, if you have no desire to teach library school students, what is the point?  This then began a search for doctorate programs in Library Science where I found 35 institutions providing a PhD program in Library or Information Science.  I was surprised to find so many since I have met very few individuals who have earned the degree.  I suppose you could use the degree to secure a Dean position at a large academic library but I don’t know that it’s really a requirement at most institutions.  Perhaps there is something I am missing.  Please enlighten me.  Maybe you will change my mind about pursuing a PhD.  Until then, I might frame that piece of mail since I will probably never see it in writing again.