Getting new book releases in English overseas, and in a timely
fashion, can be a real challenge for international schools. Our school
has purchased Kindles for student check out from grades 5 and up so we
can buy new eBooks from Amazon as a way to tackle the problem. While our
school uses Overdrive as an eBook lending library, publishers have
restricted the available books for many reasons. Books in Overdrive
can't be downloaded in Kindle format overseas but they can from U.S.
public libraries. The eBook controversy is complex and has disrupted the
traditional publishing business model in many ways. I don't have the
time nor the desire to delve into it, but the result is a mishmash of
eBook offerings at our library in an attempt to get new books to patrons
without the usual 2 month delay. Here's an interesting article that
touches on the issues:
http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml. I'm willing to
pay for whatever service agreed upon and desperately wish the parties
could agree on something that satisfies the creators, publishers, and
libraries. In the meantime, I'll keep watching and waiting.
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