Library Cataloging
eReaders are being pushed as one of the gifts this holiday season. I bought one last summer and here are my personal impressions and thoughts about the device. They may help you in making a decision.
I bought a nook. I wanted e-ink; I spend all day looking at a screen and need to rest my eyes. This limited my choices to the Kindle, Kobo, nook and Sony readers. I wanted something open, something I could use to download books from my local library. That eliminated the Kindle. I picked the nook because it just felt better, it was really just a toss up. I did not get the 3G model. I think I made the right decision there, for me. I have plenty of books unread, no chance of being stuck without anything to read. Connecting it to my computer once a week or so works for me.
I've mostly been reading books freely available on the Internet. Project Gutenberg and eBooks@Adelaide have supplied many of my texts. Kipling, H. Rider Haggard, and Jules Verne are the authors I've been reading the most. I have downloaded a book from the library and it worked just fine. I also bought a book by Haggard that was also on Project Gutenberg, to compare them. Not much difference. I could have saved the two or three dollars.The texts do sometimes have odd white space. Long blanks might have been illustrations, they may be disconcerting for some readers.
On my computer I use Calibre to manage the texts. For the library book I had to use Adobe Digital Editions.
The nook comes with chess and sudoku. I tried them and that was it. I'd rather play on the DS. Maybe if I was stuck in an airport for a very long time I'd try them again. There is a very poor Web browser. Once again I'd rather browse using a DS. The nook can also play audio files. I have yet to try this, my mp3 player works just fine. (The DS is not a bad player either.) These features are fluff. The wi-fi works fine. Setting up a new connection is straight forward.
I have enjoyed my nook. It works for me. However, it does take downloading and installing programs that do not come with the unit. Also, unless you want to purchase all your books, searching for texts and downloading them in the right format is also necessary. They are not simple devices, they assume either deep-pockets or a fair bit of tech savvy.
- Another Ebook Reader?
Lately I've had technolust for an ebook reader. This is something I can resist, but it does make me more aware of the market. I've played with the Nook when at B&N. Checked out the Sony at Boarders. Now another player has entered the market,...
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The post on JSTOR is an experiment. I just wanted to see how the Blam! service works. Looks fine to me, let me know if you experience any problems.Maybe this would be a good tie-in with the Librarians Book Club. Comments on the books could be made available...
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I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The graphic novels will be a natural tie-in for libraries. However, the characters are drawn from Poe, Haggard, Verne, Wells and other similar writers. It might be possible...
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Cleveland Public Library is launching an eBook system that will let people download publications onto their PCs and personal digital assistants. While these experiments are interesting, they do tend to be hyped-up. Here in Texas, anyone with a public...
Library Cataloging
eReaders
eReaders are being pushed as one of the gifts this holiday season. I bought one last summer and here are my personal impressions and thoughts about the device. They may help you in making a decision.
I bought a nook. I wanted e-ink; I spend all day looking at a screen and need to rest my eyes. This limited my choices to the Kindle, Kobo, nook and Sony readers. I wanted something open, something I could use to download books from my local library. That eliminated the Kindle. I picked the nook because it just felt better, it was really just a toss up. I did not get the 3G model. I think I made the right decision there, for me. I have plenty of books unread, no chance of being stuck without anything to read. Connecting it to my computer once a week or so works for me.
I've mostly been reading books freely available on the Internet. Project Gutenberg and eBooks@Adelaide have supplied many of my texts. Kipling, H. Rider Haggard, and Jules Verne are the authors I've been reading the most. I have downloaded a book from the library and it worked just fine. I also bought a book by Haggard that was also on Project Gutenberg, to compare them. Not much difference. I could have saved the two or three dollars.The texts do sometimes have odd white space. Long blanks might have been illustrations, they may be disconcerting for some readers.
On my computer I use Calibre to manage the texts. For the library book I had to use Adobe Digital Editions.
The nook comes with chess and sudoku. I tried them and that was it. I'd rather play on the DS. Maybe if I was stuck in an airport for a very long time I'd try them again. There is a very poor Web browser. Once again I'd rather browse using a DS. The nook can also play audio files. I have yet to try this, my mp3 player works just fine. (The DS is not a bad player either.) These features are fluff. The wi-fi works fine. Setting up a new connection is straight forward.
I have enjoyed my nook. It works for me. However, it does take downloading and installing programs that do not come with the unit. Also, unless you want to purchase all your books, searching for texts and downloading them in the right format is also necessary. They are not simple devices, they assume either deep-pockets or a fair bit of tech savvy.
- Another Ebook Reader?
Lately I've had technolust for an ebook reader. This is something I can resist, but it does make me more aware of the market. I've played with the Nook when at B&N. Checked out the Sony at Boarders. Now another player has entered the market,...
- Yet Another Example Of Why To Avoid Microsoft And Go Open-source
About a year or so ago I bought MS Plus! Digital Media Edition. I registered it when I bought it. Worked fine until today. Now it is asking for a registration key. I can't be expected to keep track of cases forever. Calling MS help line is a long-standing...
- Experiment
The post on JSTOR is an experiment. I just wanted to see how the Blam! service works. Looks fine to me, let me know if you experience any problems.Maybe this would be a good tie-in with the Librarians Book Club. Comments on the books could be made available...
- Reading
I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The graphic novels will be a natural tie-in for libraries. However, the characters are drawn from Poe, Haggard, Verne, Wells and other similar writers. It might be possible...
- E-books
Cleveland Public Library is launching an eBook system that will let people download publications onto their PCs and personal digital assistants. While these experiments are interesting, they do tend to be hyped-up. Here in Texas, anyone with a public...