I am at a loss to understand this. What particularly mystifies me is why anyone would get rid of an entire book collection. No doubt many of the items in the collection are not available electronically and could not be replaced.

I am surprised that there hasn’t been more outcry about this. In my view, the accrediting authorities should look seriously at revoking Cushing’s accreditation. Dr. Tracy’s action suggests that it is no longer a school to be taken seriously. Even if the accrediting authorities don’t act, parents and students should, voting with their feet to avoid this den of anti-intellectualism.

Then again, the issue that lies in the middle of all this is that every one of the devices you mention is what Jonathan Zittrain calls a “tethered appliance,” which means that it’s connected to some (corporate) entity who maintains rights to greater and lesser degrees over the device & its content. Right now I’m writing an essay about what it may mean to learn to read on a device in which one’s privacy and Fourth Amendment rights are anything but guaranteed.