【推荐2】Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant, but many publishers are too cautious about piracy (盗版) and lost sales to cooperate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries.

Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book- lovers with money. If these people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, e-book files can be downloaded at home from digital libraries anytime. The files disappear from the device when they are due automatically. Awkwardly for publishers, buying an e-book costs more than renting one but offers little extra value.

E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible (不兼容的) e-book formats, devices and licenses. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, which secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s global market dominance, as the company can control fees and conditions. Publishers were annoyed when OverDrive teamed up with Amazon, the world’s biggest online bookseller, last year. Owners of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon’s website, where Amazon follows up library frequenters directly, letting them know they can “Buy this book” when the loan falls due.

According to Pew, an opinion researcher, library users are a perfect market for Amazon. Late last year Amazon introduced its Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.

Library supporters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new works. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books. So, publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance. Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.

【推荐3】It’s a tempting habit for young people to glance at their smartphone or tablet rather than make eye contact with someone and make conversation! There is so much to look at: photographs, social media feeds, messages and emails; it’s no wonder they are glued to their screens. But is it good for them?

There have been many claims about the damage looking at screens does to our eyesight. Some people feared staring at a small bright box could make us short-sighted or lead to headaches. This is a particular concern for children and young people, who spend a higher percentage of time using electronic devices.

But a new study says time in front of computers and phones might not be as bad for young people as many think. Research by the Oxford Internet Institute examined data from more than 17,000 teenagers in the UK, Ireland and the United States. Their study concluded that most links between life satisfaction and social media use were “trivial”, accounting for less than 1% of a teenager’s wellbeing. Professor Przybylski, director of research at the institute, said, “99.75% of a person’s life satisfaction has nothing to do with their use of social media.” The research found that family, friends and school life all had a greater impact on wellbeing.

So, does this mean young people can spend longer looking at social media? The Oxford researchers are confident that their study is robust in its findings and that any correlation between screen time and mental health is very small. Dr Max Davie, officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, calls the study a “small first step”, but he said there were other issues to explore, such as screen times interference with other important activities like sleep, exercise and time with family or friends. Perhaps for now, deciding what the right amount of screen time is has to be down to personal judgement.