Back in 2017, Microsoft jumped on the electronic book train and created a digital library for eBook lovers to browse and download their favorite stories. Now, Microsoft announces it will be shutting down its eLibrary and erasing all user-content this July.
Microsoft is closing its eLibrary and erasing all user-content.
While we’re sad to see our favorite eBooks being removed from our devices, all purchases will be refunded to alleviate the loss. And if you marked your book up with notes, you’ll get an extra $25 credit. (You’ll probably want to write those notes down real quick before they’re gone forever.)
How can they erase the content downloaded on my device?
This is where the digital world seems to have precedent over the physical world in the 21st century: Although you may have added a book to your digital bookcase, it’s more like you’re leasing the book and less like when you buy a hardback that can only move when you pick it up.
Aaron Perzanowski, author of The End of Ownership: Personal Property in the Digital Economy, does a better job of explaining the concept to NPR:
“You can go out and buy a car and you think you own the car because it’s parked in your garage. “But in reality – how it functions, who can repair it, what replacement parts are compatible with it – all of that is controlled through software code. And, so I think that line between the physical and the digital is getting increasingly blurry.”
Why are they shutting down their eLibrary?
Unfortunately, the company hasn’t announced the reason for the closure, so we still have no idea why. We’re just glad we were told in time to grab our notes and finish our last chapters. Now that you’ve been warned, be sure to do the same!
And if you ever want to switch your own digital book over to a more long-lasting platform like Amazon or Google Books, be sure to give us a call!
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