Brian Stern of netLibrary described the currently existing products and methods for accessing eBooks, saying that currently we are choosing among technology that is advancing so quickly that there will be a third generation of options available in only a year. When reviewing those available today, a major consideration is the hardware needed to access the electronic book. A related benefit is the ability to share books within consortia without transporting titles between libraries. You can annotate as you read and can copy or print a page at a time. Only one patron can view one eBook copy at a time.
Access is protected through third party escrow.
Circulation or checkout limits and times for library patrons are determined by institution policy. Bob Nardini of Yankee Book Peddler gave the library book vendor s perspective of this new and revolutionary access to the printed word, saying the traditional functions that vendors perform are also needed when libraries enter into the purchasing arena of this new field. Consolidation of orders, invoicing, facilitating the flow of information between publishers and libraries and the possibility of a new form for the approval plan are some of the services that could evolve and be of great benefit to librarians. The need for the interested parties to work together in developing new models to meet the challenges this new technology presents to the library community was obvious. The second meeting the next morning offered more details on the proprietary eBook products currently on the market, those that require you to purchase and use a special, small computer that can access only eBook titles from the same company, and in some cases only titles loaded on an individual machine.