bookworm

Monday, August 07, 2006

Going paperless

The building may not appear as modern but this library's got it going on in Sunnyvale. A cozy place for a good afternoon or evening read; and its magazine corner, well-stocked with many current-issue magazines, happens to be one of our favourite spots in this library. The resources and collections in this library is definitely not restrained by the amount of space it is limited to. One of the best things we love about the library system is that they have eResources such as eBooks, that allow library account holders, like us, to download the book at the comfort of our own home and read at our own convenience and time. The only missing element in eBooks...is the use of your other senses of touch and smell. Yes, you can read the same content in an eBook exactly what you find behind the bookshelves, but you will miss being able to hold on to a good book, feeling and flipping the pages, and occasionally smelling the printed paper pages. I do not think eBooks will replace the traditional hardcovers or paperbacks. It is just another book offering with advantages of portability, price and some new features not possible with paper books.

I have wanted to pick up this book "Early Warning: Using Competitive Intelligence to Anticipate Market Shifts, Control Risk, and Create Powerful Strategies" by Benjamin Gilad, for a read. It would have cost me ~USD25 at the book retail, and maybe ~ USD15 at Amazon. However, with Netlibrary, I am able to browse this ebook version complete, at no cost. I love it ! As the French scientist Louis Pasteur once said: “Luck favors the prepared mind.” Yes, I am indeed prepared for more eBooks, am I lucky or what ?

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