http://m.boingboing.net/2010/01/29/amazon-and-macmillan.html

Note: No embeded links here as I’m posting this from my iPhone. So, also an experiment.

Faculty members at Brigham Young University (BYU), Provo, UT, have a new alternative to interlibrary loan (ILL): the Amazon Kindle. The Harold B. Lee Library has purchased three ebook readers for the pilot, expecting the items chosen to be either very new or very popular titles—titles that in some cases the library has been unable to get through ILL.

It’s nonsensical — and expensive — to look to traditional hard-bound books when information today is so readily available in electronic form. Especially now, when our school districts are strapped for cash and our state budget deficit is forcing further cuts to classrooms, we must do everything we can to untie educators’ hands and free up dollars so that schools can do more with fewer resources.

He also talks about currency of materials:

By frequently updating texts as they are developed, rather than continuing to teach from outdated textbooks, we will better prepare our students. For example, many textbooks still describe television technology in terms of cathode-ray tubes, without even mentioning LCD or plasma screens that are being sold today. If California is to remain competitive in an increasingly global economy, this initial focus on math and science texts is critical.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Twitter and similar services have been most avidly embraced by young adults. Nearly one in five (19%) online adults ages 18 and 24 have ever used Twitter and its ilk, as have 20% of online adults 25 to 34. Use of these services drops off steadily after age 35 with 10% of 35 to 44 year olds and 5% of 45 to 54 year olds using Twitter. The decline is even more stark among older internet users; 4% of 55-64 year olds and 2% of those 65 and older use Twitter.

What I’ve found interesting lately is the number of businesses/organizations I’ve heard advertising their Twitter feeds. Perhaps an indicator that it might be becoming more mainstream.

For bookstore owners who see e-books as a nonstarter, one major concern is price. “You’re not going to make 40% of your margin on e-books,” said David Didriksen, president of Willow Books & Cafe in Acton, Mass. “Therein lies the problem, as I see it. You’re making pennies per transaction; e-books are a pipe dream. Books still sell every day.” In a similar vein, Mitchell Kaplan, cofounder and owner of Books & Books, headquartered in Coral Gables, Fla., plans to continue doing what he does best. “I have to serve my core customer, and that doesn’t fall into the realm of e-books,” he said. “We have to provide value of a different sort. We focus more on a sense of place, providing a place for people to come. Can you stop an Amazon? While we can’t do electronic books well, they can’t capture a big share of what we do well.”