The Evolution of the Book

I just read an article by Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. While I was working on my MLIS I completely eschewed the idea of e-books. There are so many things you can find while browsing shelves that you could never find on a computer. And the enjoyment inherent in holding a book and flipping the pages is such a delight. Then I read an article by an e-book convert and it has me thinking. There's something to be said for the portability of a book on your cell phone. I don't want to buy a seperate device for reading books, but if I had one already... well that's a different story. And yet it goes against all my principles. I felt, especially for children, that there was such value in the codex format. One of the professors at my portfolio defense to finish my MLIS asked a rididculous question. "What if a flash drive won the Newberry Award?" This question had me flabberghasted for multiple reasons. Firstly, the Newberry is for children's books-- books. Secondly, what on earth did this have to do with outreach to daycare providers (which was the material I was presenting on)? But altering his question a bit, could an e-book, that was published solely in digital format win the Newberry? Not currently, but if that progresses to become the popular format it may. In any case it was a great column. I bet library classes all over will be discussing this. I'll be forwarding this on to my husband probably. Maybe he can use it for reading all his academic pdf's. Boy, change is rough.