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It seems like a far off dream that one day libraries will be replaced by ebook readers such as the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader.  However, in some cases it’s looking more and more like the the current state.  Amazon is looking into the textbook sales with the Kindle DX and now it looks like perhaps at least one prep school is going even further.

Cushing Academy, a prep school not far from Boston, MA, has recently decided to do away with its library, save for a few books.  The library now consists of a collection children’s books, and 18 ebook readers from both Amazon and Sony.  There’s also three flat-panel TVs that will display “data from the Internet,” an expensive coffee shop (it has a $12,000 cappuccino machine), and numerous laptop-ready study carrels.  For the prep school, the future is all digital, so there’s no reason to have 20,000 old books lying about the place when each ebook reader can handle the same amount in less space.  The teachers are even encouraged to make curriculums based on textbooks that can be used on such devices.  For a school of only about 450 students, the transition shouldn’t be too jarring, considering last semester the school library only saw 48 checkouts, 30 of which were children’s books.

Cushing will definitely be an interesting testing ground.  It’s small scale so 18 readers should be enough, though come finals time it will be interesting to see how busy things get.  Although, chances are with tuition starting at $31,000, it might be safe to assume most students can afford their own.  Perhaps if it does well, a small college might try the same, though the adoption rate among colleges will be rather slow.  Even if it does spread quickly and each student can get one, it might be hard to convert some teachers and professors, some of which (in my experience) still don’t know how to use the Internet all that well.  Plus, there’s something to be said about walking into an English class with an old, beat-up copy of “On The Road,” though that book could just be my own personal exception to ebook goodness.

Read [Boston.com]