An electronic future?

Most children's librarians are so immersed in the world of books that they don't always recognize changing trends. How popular is the Kindle with teenagers and even middle-school students? Has anyone tried to study that yet? The N.Y. Times has tried to sum up some of the ways publishers are moving toward making books available in electronic format. Although the article doesn't specifically talk about children's books, we all know that young people are among the first to adopt electronic forms of recreation and information. Will book publishers avoid the problems that have beset the music industry? The Google agreement with the Author's Guild appears to offer a good model for offering profits to authors while also offering the convenience of electronic for mat for readers. It's important for librarians to be away of changes in publishing and to move to take advantage of trends that benefit libraries and children.