Yes, the iPad, the iBook App, and Apple's iBookstore will have a big impact on the publishing industry. Yes, more ebooks, as well as books of all kinds, will be published, purchased and read because of the iPad. But what few folks are talking about is how wonderfully open Apple and the iPad are where it comes to free books.

Currently the only means to purchase books for your iPad is Apple's iBookstore (part of iTunes), but several other cool ways exist to fill up the shelves of your iBookshelves with high-quality free ebooks.

Because Apple, in a financially wise and egalitarian decision, chose the ePub format for their iBook App, it’s possible to import ePub files into iTunes and sync them to your iPad. Below are just a few of the obvious sources for populating your iLibrary (yes, I'm just adding "i" to any word I feel like) without spending a dime or throwing out your back lugging armfuls of your favorite tomes.

Here are three options, from Not Too Difficult to Falling Off a Log for Dummies easy, for putting free books on your iPad . . .