(http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000FI73MA/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all)

November 2007-Amazon.com's release of its version of an electronic book may yet prove to be the death knell for the printed book as we know it.  Or some pessimists are led to believe.  Designed to mimic the book in size, portability, and ease of access the Kindle sold out within the first few hours.  Amazon has only recently been able to restock the item (as of April 28, 2008).  Amazon's ambitions for the Kindle are not small.  In an article for Newsweek, Stephen Levy hypes the new e-book as "a revolution (already in progress) that will change the way readers read, writers write and publishers publish. The Kindle represents a milestone in a time of transition, when a challenged publishing industry is competing with television, Guitar Hero and time burned on the BlackBerry; literary critics are bemoaning a possible demise of print culture, and Norman Mailer's recent death underlined the dearth of novelists who cast giant shadows."

The Kindle also raises the hackles of many so-called "traditionalists"-"In May 2006, novelist John Updike, appalled at reading Kelly's article ('a pretty grisly scenario'), decided to speak for them. Addressing a convention of booksellers, he cited 'the printed, bound and paid-for book' as an ideal, and worried that book readers and writers were 'approaching the condition of holdouts, surly hermits who refuse to come out and play in the electric sunshine of the post-Gutenberg village'" (Levy).  There are other problems inherent with reading a book on a hand-held machine.  Even though the technology has come a long way, the screen still isn't as easy to read as a print book is.  "The reason they [the Kindle and the Sony Reader, which was launched in 2006] will fail is the same one that doomed the Rocket e-book: Why would anyone pay $300 to $400 for a dedicated reader device when the display and interface are not as good as a paper book?" (Sottong 47)

 What all this means for libraries is still unclear.  Since Amazon.com is the creator and owner of the Kindle, the proprietary issues are also another hindrance for individuals and libraries.  You can only download books from Amazon, so until this is opened up to include any bookseller (which in itself may be a pipe dream), there are severe limits on the number of books available for downloading.  The continued demand for devices such as the Kindle "depends on user preference, availability of high-quality content, cost, intuitive interface, and standardized methods of encoding and downloading" (Sottong 48).  Some libraries have already taken the initiative and ordered the Kindle for circulation, such as the Sparta Public Library in New Jersey.  "The response was overwhelming: Within two weeks the library had a waiting list of 20 people" (Sottong 46).  In other words, there is definitely a desire to have the Kindle available.  Regardless, there is still enough negative response to indicate that Amazon has their work cut out for them if they want the Kindle to be truly replace printed books as we know them.

Sources:

Levy, Stephen.  "The Future of Reading."  Newsweek 150.22 (2007): 56-64.

Sottong, Stephen.  "The Elusive E-book."  American Libraries 39.5 (2008): 44-48.