Lauren Spencer
Whenever I hear or see the word ‘free’ my heart bursts with joy and tears begin to well up in my eyes, well not exactly, but that little four letter word means the world to the many struggling college students living on their own and trying to make a way for themselves. And because I fall into that category, I was more than excited to know that at the library there are 15 thousand new free eBooks available.
Once I received the news, I pushed the power button on my wheelchair and zoomed off to the library. I hunted down the librarian and began to ask questions on how and where I could get these ‘free’ eBooks. I found out that all you have to do is, go to the library, sign up for a free account on their website, and BOOM! You can access ‘free’ eBooks from anywhere there is a computer and internet connection.
There is no more having to check out volume after volume in a set of encyclopedias to do a research paper on rats. No need to add another $40, to the 500 something dollars you’ve paid for textbooks, on a literature book for an English course. Any information needed to find the answer to any question is available through free eBooks.
Less money and more convenience are things I look for on a daily basis especially when it pertains to school work. eBooks fit that bill. I no longer need to carry a 50 pound book on the two buses I take to get home everyday.
Many of us don’t even have the time to spend at the library because class schedules are back to back and when it’s over, you have about 10 minutes to get to work and continue to slave for another few hours. One more load off a student’s back is possible, knowing that they can research using the same books from the library, at home.
With every good there is a bad. With all the accessibility to these eBooks, none of them are textbooks. You may get lucky and find a couple, but the database doesn’t include textbooks. This definitely isn’t a way to beat the college academic financial system, but it is a way to at least lighten the financial barrier most of us face.
But maybe one day all textbooks will become free eBooks, Naw, now I’m reaching for the planets.
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