Books without paper

Drawing on the vast popularity of its stories and films, the Disney Corporation has decided to offer its storybooks in a new format. The company is setting up a website which will make Disney books available for children to read or for parents to read to their child. Each book is reproduced on the screen and children can move through it page by page with the click of a mouse. If they encounter an unfamiliar word, a click of the mouse brings an audio definition. Books are listed in age categories so both parents and children can choose age appropriate titles. A subscription to the site will cost each family $79.95 a year. Although the company insists their website will not supplant the experience of having a parent read while the child snuggles on her lap, it is easy to guess that some busy parents will encourage their children to switch on the computer instead of asking for an individual session. Will other publishers follow this lead? None has shown interest so far, but then no other publisher has such deep pockets and such a large collection of content. It's too bad the Disney illustrations are so similar to one another. A child would benefit from a wider variety of styles. Nonetheless it seems likely this project will catch on and librarians may soon be asking for institutional subscriptions to the website.