Listening to the Library

A story on NPR caught my eye (ear) in part because they interview someone from the Montgomery County Public Libraries system in Maryland. This is my 'hometwon' of sorts and I fondly recall the branch out in Potomac as a backup to the library in my High School (or when I just felt like being around books ... you ever get that feeling?).

The story on NPR : Downloading Audio Books Gains in Popularity discusses the increase in popularity of audiobooks - especially those downloaded from commercial sites (such as Audible.com) and within the holdings of library systems. The former requires a paid membership and the latter a library card. As good as this is for readers (listeners?) of general material, it is not likely that specific textbooks will be available anytime soon - so don't shut down your E-Text production services quite yet.