Digital book lending from libraries has begun and is expanding more swiftly than expected. Type in your library card to one of 5400 public libraries nationwide and you can view the books available as well as e-books and digitally downloadable audio books. The NY Public LIbrary has 18,300 e-books (out of 860,000 print books). Advances in digital lending has been somewhat slower that anticipated because e-books in libraries cannot be read on Apple’s I-phone or Amazon’s Kindle the two most popular devices for reading digital books for now. In addition most libraries deal with these books like they print ones in that only one customer at a time, which most people find … well, silly. Will this expanding trend destroy print books? Probably not , but it might make purchasers more discerning as to what they do purchase when the supermarket or beach book is on line for free. It should help to even the learning playing field for those who cannot afford formal education but really want to learn something and upcoming pressing societal needs such as the latest informati