Can The iPad Lead To A National Digital Library System
TeleRead founder David Rothman has an interesting essay on the iPad and the future of learning, on The Atlantic’s website this week. In the piece, he argues that if the national government invests in tablet readers for schools and libraries, along with a digitized library system, our country could drive readership and save money in the long term.
Rothman argues that the excitement around the iPad could spawn interest in reading. “…Think of the iPad and similar devices as one way to help spark a greater interest in books and other long texts that encourage sustained thought. Let’s work harder to bring books, not just videos and games, to The Screen.”
He also argues that digital books could bring books to communities whose libraries are closing. “If nothing else, the iPad and similar machines could drive down library costs per book. That could help keep reading alive in places like Hood River County, Oregon, where the 98-year-old library system plans to close for financial reasons –just one of many cash-strapped U.S. libraries.”
While his idea of outfitting libraries and schools with iPads might seem costly, Rothman has a good point about how affordable it could really be. iPads are expensive today, but technology prices always come down. After all, the eReader pricing war has already begun. And they offer long term investment potential.
“Along the way, as the technology’s price declined, the mass automation potential of the tablets could justify the cost of a national digital library system. Such potential might count even more than the library initiative itself.”
The iPad is ripe with potential to help innovate. However, the challenge that remains is how long it would take to implement a digital learning program nationwide, and by the time it was actually implemented, the technology itself might become obsolete.
What do you think?
