Home library of the future

What will the home library look like in the future?

Amazon.com has reported that Kindle sales are outpacing sales of hardcover books. Not much of a surprise there, when you consider the price of a hardcover book at your local bookstore.

Amazon reports 180 Kindle e-book sales for each 100 sales of hardcover books over the past month.

Last week a Woodstock neighbor showed me her Kindle reader. It was larger than I thought. That's good; if I had one, I'd be able to read the print-out! I have noticed a problem with my cell phone; it seems that each time I turn it on, the phone numbers have shrunk!

The large, flat, rectangular Kindle reader is very thin. I mean, really thin. What you do is download (without an additional air-time charge (i.e., free 3G)) your book and then read it when you want to. You can even download your books on the train to Chicago.

What will your childrens' libraries at home look like in 10-20 years? Lots of dust on the shelves and one Kindle (or similar reader of another brand)? Will there even be libraries in the homes of the future?

And what will e-books mean to bookstores, especially good, hometown bookstores like Woodstock's Read Between the Lynes?

Frankly, I like the books on my bookshelves. I'm glad I own them. It's nice to be able to take one from the shelf and flip it open to a page I have "bookmarked." There are memories with books.

Will our children feel the same way?