
Google-backed drones will drop library books to kids in SW Virginia - jamessun
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/10/wing-library-book-drone-delivery/
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yardie
This is in the county, Montgomery, where Virgina Tech is based. They have a
very large UAV program there. So much so that they applied for a campus-wide
FAA exemption. I think it's cool if a bit useless. But if you have a hammer,
everything else is a nail. Books have been delivered electronically for
decades. Electronically flying a physical book doesn't look to be our future.

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suifbwish
Electronic books are also not our future. Until there are ebooks with physical
pages I can turn, I can’t be bothered with them and I am not alone. Ebooks
will never be mainstream except for audio purposes and for reference material.

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zaphod12
You aren't alone, but you are also incorrect. Ebooks are already very
mainstream. Doesn't mean physical books are dead - over time sales of physical
books have gone down and sales of ebooks have risen. (though this has been
relatively steady of late - ebooks make up 20% of sales)

fwiw, I hate ebooks for references because flipping around is pretty tough -
but as someone who loves to travel and loves to read, being able to bring a
single ebook reader has been life changing.

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suifbwish
Don’t get me wrong I make it a point to collect as many ebooks as I can but I
never read them. I feel through them now and then with some regex but I would
never stare at a screen for hours just reading. Paper is softer on the eyes
and it doesn’t take fossil fuel for them to continue existence and use. Until
renewable energy makes up more than 50% of our energy sources, I hold that
paper books are more environmentally friendly than ebooks as they do not
require electricity to use or to store, additionally they permanently trap
carbon in a useful way. Everyone is itching for everything to be “smart” but
we don’t necessarily gain a benefit of making everything electronic

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kayodelycaon
I can’t help but think a car would have been a better delivery mechanism but
then Google wouldn’t get much press from it. Doing “good things” just for
better optics really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

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agarden
Today, sure, using a van would be much more efficient. But this is probably a
way to test and improve the technology, working towards making it more
efficient than a van.

More importantly, the optics here are not just about you and me and other
adults. Think about it how it looks to a kid. You can have your library books
show up in a van, and that might be fun, but if you could have a drone drop
off your library books? What kid wouldn't sit around outside all day waiting
for their books to arrive?

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fma
I think we should get kids excited about reading a book through the experience
the book provides, not the experience the delivery provides.

In the past they used to have book mobiles, and probably still do in some
areas. It's a library in a van...not like a UPS delivery where you pick a book
out online and you only get that book. A book mobile is where kids can go in
the van, physically touch and feel books and choose one that excites them.
They can talk to other kids, talk to the librarian...

At some point when drone delivery of books get boring, someone will need to
invent teleportation just to get kids to read.

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082349872349872
For the low-tech version, see Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

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kwhitefoot
> low-tech version

Appropriate tech in this case. They have delivered over a a hundred million
books.

[https://imaginationlibrary.com/news-
resources/](https://imaginationlibrary.com/news-resources/)

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mabbo
Why is this a great idea, but Amazon delivering packages via drones crazy?
Technologically, it's the exact same thing.

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cmdshiftf4
Because it's for "good.

The cynical side of me, and I'm particularly cynical when it comes to Google,
is that this kind of thing is nothing more than PR to try to normalize filling
our skies with drones ("Look at the good they do!") so they can inevitably
then fill the skies with crap to boost the consumerist appetite without much
protest.

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cat199
came here to say just that.. this is basically 'think of the children' spun
positive as concerns drone normalization impact

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beamatronic
Huh, the median income of Christiansburg, VA is way higher than I expected.
$60-80k?

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luspr
It's cool technology, but I guess ebooks might have been even more effective.

Side note, for once I am happy to be in Germany and not the US. Here Libraries
are open. I go to the gym. Next week I even have a movie date at the local
cinema.

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wsetchell
That packaging looks incredibly expensive. Even if the other
components/service was free, that alone would make this price uncompetitive.

That makes me think this is a long long way from being a self sustaining
business.

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cloudwalking
It's paper.

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c-smile
Hmmm... dropping books on kids...

It's good that cows are not flying...

Wait, Russians did that already
[https://youtu.be/QvRiXIfRsCw?t=28](https://youtu.be/QvRiXIfRsCw?t=28)

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leoh
What is this from?

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dawg-
Wow, I would love to see some research done on this. Does drone delivery of
books improve reading rates among public school children? My hypothesis: No.

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themodelplumber
It doesn't exactly sound like goal #1 is improving reading rates. The article
discusses "readers" as the main audience. Which I think is really important to
understand. There are a lot of readers out there for whom the pandemic created
unnecessary stress and inconvenience, students included.

Personally my three kids would have used this like crazy over the last couple
months, when they were stuck with whatever they could check out before the
local library closed. The drone delivery is a bonus but also it would have
been the only way to get books. Aside from learning and enjoyment, the book-
reading sessions are converted into AR test scores and classroom-by-classroom
cumulative reading word counts, which are reasonably good motivators for many.

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sleepinseattle
Over-engineering vs ebooks

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bokbok8379
E-book? Electronic books??? Have you gone mad, sir? Our robotic carrier pigeon
service is far superior.

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bokbok8379
Anyone got a pastebin? Article's behind a paywall.

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Stratoscope
[http://archive.is/6frfQ](http://archive.is/6frfQ)

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bokbok8379
Thanks

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littleweep
This seems insane. Why not digitally deliver any e-book in a plain text
instead of this pr stunt?

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themodelplumber
What's insane about an alignment of incentives? Drone resources were
available. Physical books were going unused, while electronic copies are not
exactly free. Those involved get a pat on the back via publicity. Readers get
to read more. Learners get to experience a new phenomenon.

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accountwhatever
"Electronic copies are not exactly free."

What?

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themodelplumber
Yep. You know the library has to pay extra for electronic texts, right? For
example, when a patron checks out an item from Hoopla, the library is charged
from $1 to $3 (or so... prices may have changed) for that transaction. This
affects the number of check-outs the library grants patrons for a given month.
I've seen ours vary from 3-10. And many popular titles are not available at
any time.

Another reason why it makes sense to leverage the physical books.

