Or at least, you shouldn't buy a Kindle.
Now, I understand that plenty of people are happy with paper pages, but as a librarian, I feel it is my duty--my duty, I say!--to learn about these newfangled devices. And I believe that an eReader could complement someone's library use in two special ways:
1. eReaders give you significantly faster access to bestsellers at a reasonable price (Bestseller ebooks are $9.99 on Amazon and the Sony eReader store). You can get bestsellers through the library, but unless you predict that they will be bestsellers well in advance, you could be #241 on the hold list.*
I just noticed that bestseller is a word--as in, spell check accepts it. Yet, it does not accept Spellcheck. Weird.
2. eReaders allow you to download ebooks from libraries, Google Books, and other independent sites. The Kindle does not allow you to do this!
Kindle books are in another format, and the Kindle does not support the epub format used by libraries, Google books, etc. Nor does it support PDF files. So if you buy a Kindle, you can only buy books from Amazon. See? That is not in the spirit of democracy or public libraries.
Now, I understand that plenty of people are happy with paper pages, but as a librarian, I feel it is my duty--my duty, I say!--to learn about these newfangled devices. And I believe that an eReader could complement someone's library use in two special ways: