This New Yorker essay by Jeffrey Toobin is fascinating. I hope one day that everything ever published is at my fingertips, ready to be read, downloaded, or printed. Much of it already is, at least to those of us who work for universities. I love books, mind you, and don’t want them to disappear, but having books online allows me to determine whether they’re worth acquiring in tangible form. It also facilitates research. Sometimes I don’t want to read an entire book; I just want to skim it, browse it, or read a portion of it. By the way, I wonder how Google manages to scan so many books—and do it well. I scan various items, such as book chapters and periodical essays. It’s a laborious, time-consuming process. My arms get tired from holding the items on the scanner glass. Perhaps Google has automated the process. I’d love to see how it’s done. Wouldn’t you?