Library without Books

The school library world has been considering (and freaking out) about the high school library in Massachusetts that got rid of all of its books.  The school purchased Kindles for its students who can then download books from Amazon.  Reference books were replaced by ebooks and subscription databases.  And let's not forget the $12,000 espresso machine.  Obviously, this school is not your typical public high school.  It's a private academy with lots of money.  (I told my principal that we, too, could be cutting edge if only we had a $12,000 espresso machine. He told me we'd have to make do with the pop vending machine.) 

When an institution takes such a drastic step as this, supporters and naysayers come out yelling.  Some say that this is indeed the wave of the future.  Most information is available digitally and as long as someone is helping students locate the information they need, Cushing Academy's way is the way to go.  Students may find this set up more relevent to their lives. 

While I applaud the courage this step took, I must admit I have some concern.  First of all, not all books are available for the Kindle.  Do we allow Amazon to choose what we have available to our students to read?  I also think that there is the need for the library as a place.  I listened to an interview with students from this high school and most liked the Kindles and the coffeeshop, etc.  But they also said that they missed the feel of the library with books.  They missed a place to go and quietly read, write, and work on homework. 

Actually, most high school libraries have been using a combination of ebooks, subscription databases and "old-fashioned" books for years. Was it really necessary to remove the books to make this change?  Or was this an attempt of a private institution to make a splash in the media to attract students and donars?