I would never consider myself a Luddite. I own an Android phone and have upgraded it annually ahead of the completion of my contract since it was a bag phone the size of a toaster in my car. I was on Facebook just a couple of months after it went from university-only to its current free-for-all status (no pun intended). I have Skyped since it was measured in the hundreds of thousand of users, not millions. I have an e-book reader and an MP3 player and I even check in on Foursquare. None of these things are intuitive to me and although the apps may be free, the time they consume never is. So what is it that has my panties in a bunch, you ask? Technology moves so fast; it feels impossible to keep up. I know the bounty of surrounding myself with brilliant young people. Although they say they don’t mind helping me, I know they don’t want to sit around and hold my hand while I figure out the next new thing. Now they just spend their time getting me out of the messes I have created while not asking them to teach or guide me through.

So in practically the same breath that I used to do all this complaining, I need to tell you about my lunch hour. I went out today and had the best interaction at a new card shop in downtown Grand Rapids. I took my purchases to a tiny little counter; the hip, young twentysomething ran my card through a postage-stamp-sized device on the top of her iPad; had me sign on the tablet with my fingertip; and sent the receipt to my email. I giggled all the way back to the office.

Just as some sharks have to keep swimming forward or they will drown, librarians and libraries need to do the same. The e-book devices and technology that consume our time today will be antiquated a year from now. In five years, who knows what the future will hold? I do know that we as library professionals need to be aware of and embrace the next new thing; otherwise we will be left behind. The advent of the [insert your biblio-technology disaster here––Netflix, the Internet, VHS tapes, microfiche, the printing press, bound books] spells doom for libraries. E-books are only the latest biblio-disaster. Yet smart libraries and smart librarians are doing what it takes and swimming forward. They’re shaping a perceived disaster into a biblio-triumph.

Smart libraries and smart librarians are joining the conversation. They’re working with publishers and vendors and legislators to encourage policy and business models that factor in the needs of real people. They’re filling training and technology gaps in their communities. They’re adapting and evolving to make sure they can continue offering real and valuable services to those real people and connecting to communities in ways never tried before. I am tempted to start listing the forward-thinking librarians and library directors who are embracing the ambiguity around them and taking technology in hand to create new services, new applications, and thinking in new ways about how we “do” libraries. But just as soon as I do, I will not know something or someone big, leave out something huge, and in the time it takes to get this article to print, half of them will be obsolete. Beyond e-books and the I’ve Fallen and technology flavor of the day, I believe that civic engagement and the library’s responsibility for public discourse, deliberative democracy, and cultural connection may be the next new responsibility that heaves us past the electronic this and Wi-Fi that.

Paula Ellis, vice president of strategic initiatives of the Knight Foundation, told a gathering of library and civic leaders in early November that a recent Gallup/Knight Foundation study reveals “libraries have a fundamental role in how attached people are to where they live.” She stated, “That’s particularly important because how residents feel about their community may lead to greater economic vitality.” The study identified three factors that drive why people are emotionally attached to their neighborhoods and cities. They include: (1) openness, or how welcoming a place is; (2) its social offerings; and (3) aesthetics. Ellis continued, “Openness is at the top of the list of what drives people to love where they live. What is more welcoming than a library? Being welcoming is what gets people in the door and then people can form this emotional attachment to the library as a true community center and place for personal transformation.”¹

Perhaps that is something with which we should be spending some time––rather than how publishers aren’t playing nice.

Back to my rant . . .

No one told me that the most interesting thing in my purse to my grandkids would be the golf game that came on my phone. So what is a fifty-something woman with left brain leanings and an INFP Meyers Briggs personality type supposed to do? I feel like the old woman in the commercial that cries out, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” I have to learn the next few thing. If I don’t get up and try, if I don’t learn the next new thing, if I don’t do all of this on the time that is supposed to be mine, I know I might as well check out of my career right now.

I wish Erma Bombeck were around today to have written this column. Oh, go look her up.

REFERENCE

1. Elizabeth R. Miller, “Ellis: Libraries Are Respected Brands that Can Help Create Strong, Resilient Communities,” Knight Foundation, Nov. 8, 2011, accessed Jan. 3, 2012.

The post I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Catch Up first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

This is all the more essential when dealing with the wild world of e-books. Like it or not, libraries have been thrust into a rapidly shifting, highly competitive environment. Publishers, hardware manufacturers, digital marketplaces, and vendors are all jockeying for market share, often at the expense of traditional library service models.¹ The path between author and reader has become rather convoluted.

We don’t have the luxury of waiting for things to work themselves out. The holiday season has led to an explosion in e-reader sales,² and the effect on library activity has been immediate. Where I work, at Skokie (Ill.) Public Library (SPL), our OverDrive statistics show a jump in checkouts that began on December 26 and has yet to let up. The demand for digital content is here, but it’s going to take some sound strategy to address all the issues that come with it.

For my first column, I’d like to offer some suggestions for ways in which libraries can become e-book-friendly. Whether you’ve gone all-in with OverDrive, loan out physical e-readers, or are pursuing alternatives, there are a number of steps you can take to make a claim in the e-book world. We’ll start with things you can do right away, and move into ideas that will require some long-term planning.

Right Now: Focus On Core Competencies

At SPL, we’ve seen a massive influx of e-book–centric questions at the desk. We’ve even had a few people who haven’t even taken their new e-readers out of the box yet. We should be flattered that we’re the first place our patrons think of when they look for help with their e-books. But answering these questions goes beyond having a few e-book geeks on staff. Staff members at all levels need a basic understanding of our services, and that’s going to require some training.

I’m a strong believer in the learn-by-doing approach. Give someone the opportunity to understand a device on their own terms, and proper procedures are far more likely to stick in their heads. Many libraries have created in-house gadget libraries to facilitate these hands-on experiences.

But which devices should you buy? Budgets are tight, and buying every device out there is a fool’s errand. In order to grasp the processes behind the widest range of devices, I would try to get one device from one of these three categories. I’ve also listed a few key competencies—questions that a device-savvy individual should be able to answer.

1. Built-in: Devices on this tier probably provide the closest thing we have to a seamless checkout experience. (As you’ve no doubt discovered, this is a relative term.) The Sony Reader Wi-Fi has a built-in connection to the OverDrive marketplace, and only requires an Adobe Digital Editions ID to download materials. Kindle products allow content to be beamed directly to the device—once they’ve been checked out on an external computer. While Amazon’s move to turn every checkout into a sales pitch has raised some red flags,3 the fact remains that Kindle remains the most frequently employed device by our patrons.
   Key competencies:
   • How do you activate an Adobe Digital Editions ID on the Sony Reader?
   •How do you manage the titles that show up on your Kindle account? Can you re-send a book to a device, or remove an expired title from your account?
2. App-based: The next step up on the difficulty scale would be those devices that require a separately downloaded piece of software. This includes Apple iOS and Android smartphones and tablets (including the Kobo Vox), and material downloaded directly to a PC or Mac.
   Key competencies:
   •How do you install and configure Adobe Digital Editions (on a PC or Mac), or the OverDrive app?
   •How do you configure the app so that it remembers your home library?
   •Which formats work with each device?
3. Side-loading: Any device that requires content to first be downloaded to a computer before it can be transferred to the device itself falls into this category—including older Sony Readers, all Nook models, and Kobo e-ink devices.
   Key competencies:
   •How do you register the device with an Adobe Digital Editions ID?
   •What do you do when the file you’ve downloaded has an .ascm extension?
   •How do you get the book on your device once it’s been downloaded and where can you find it once it’s been transferred?

It’s going to take some practice to develop a muscle memory with these skills. If staffers don’t have opportunities to keep building on their skills, it’s easy for people to forget things rather quickly. Asking recently trained staff members to train their colleagues can help reinforce what they know.
The continued flow of desk questions will also keep staff knowledge sharp. As those curveball questions arise, encourage folks to share what they’ve learned. Continued practice will eventually yield a team of e-book experts.

Next: Expand Your User Base

All of this training is going to help you with the people coming into your library. But how do you expand that audience? Your community has a host of potential partners in this endeavor.

• Community groups: Civic organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis, and the local Chamber of Commerce are always looking for presenters. Each one provides a built-in audience as you make your case for the library as a source for e-content.
• Business partners: Community relations managers at Barnes and Noble have been making efforts to get Nooks into public libraries.4 While there is a fairly transparent profit motive in the partnership, it’s still a good chance to promote your collection in high-traffic locations. Contact your local store for more information.
• Gathering spaces: I’m a big fan of the “eReady Learning Takeovers” developed by Richland County (S.C.) Public Libraries. Noting the prevalence of people reading e-books at local restaurants, librarian Susan Lyon led a group of library staff to “invade” each location to provide e-book instruction, register people for library cards, and engage the public in a casual manner.⁵

These outreach activities do more than get new people to check out e-content. Casting the net as wide as possible allows you to create a coalition of supporters—people you can cite as evidence of the library’s essential role in the e-book marketplace.

For the Future: Help Build a Sustainable Content Strategy

If you’re an OverDrive subscriber, then you’re well aware of the tenuous hold we have over large chunks of our content. As of this writing, only one of the Big 6 publishers (Random House) offers libraries unfettered access to its e-book collection, and even they have been on record as “actively reviewing” its stance on library purchases.6 This environment is no way to cultivate a healthy e-book ecosystem. We’ve got to take matters into our own hands. A number of library-associated organizations are already hard at work.

• Library Renewal: The brainchild of former Public Libraries columnist Michael Porter, Library Renewal is a nonprofit devoted to creating a sustainable e-content solution that places library values first.
• Gluejar: This for-profit company is working with authors to identify the cost of “ungluing” their works—making digital copies available to readers and libraries via Creative Commons licensing, without digital rights management (DRM). Think of it like a Kickstarter campaign for e-books.
• Open Library: The brainchild of the Internet Archive, the Open Library project aims to create a wiki-like interface for every book in existence, including access to an enormous collection of public domain works.
• The Digital Public Library of America: A project of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, the DPLA seeks to build a national repository for digital content, and to use a variety of open-source projects to facilitate access, research, and other patron activity. (Full disclosure: I have been participating in DPLA working groups since early fall 2011.)

As libraries start to take a longer view, we can start thinking creatively about other features e-books can offer. Imagine library e-books that not only could be checked out, but that connect you to a real-time network of associated information and a community of other library users sharing their own reactions and commentary.⁷ This goes beyond the popular concept of the library as place, rather positioning the library as a platform — a springboard for research, conversation, and building community. To get there, it’s going to take a mix of comprehensive training, community support, and homespun innovation. I hope you’ll join me in pushing things forward.

REFERENCES

1. Randall Stross, “Publishers vs. Libraries: An E-Book Tug of War,” New York Times, Dec. 24, 2011, accessed Jan. 9, 2012.
2. Bob Minzesheimer, “E-Books Sales Surge after Holidays,” USA Today, Jan. 8, 2012, accessed Jan. 12, 2012,
3. David Lee King, “Amazon, OverDrive, E-Books . . . and YOU,” DavidLeeKing.com, Oct. 19, 2011, accessed Jan. 10, 2012,
4. Patrick Sweeney, “Libraries, Tell Amazon to Piss off and Buy Nooks,” PC Sweeney’s Blog, Jan. 5, 2012, accessed Jan. 10, 2012,
5. Susan Lyon, “E-Books: The New Normal,” Susan Lyon (blog), Dec. 10, 2011, accessed Jan. 11, 2012,
6. Andrew Albanase, “No Change, But Random House Says It Is ‘Actively Reviewing Library E-book Policy,” Publishers Weekly, Nov. 22, 2011, accessed Jan. 10, 2012,
7. PLA blogger Nate HIll elaborates on this concept in his vision for the DPLA: “A Suggested Approach for the Digital Public Library of America,” The PLA Blog, May 18, 2011, accessed Jan. 10, 2012.

The post Developing an E-Book Strategy: Now and For the Future first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Trends in Publishing

Two key trends have emerged that will drive the future not only of publishing, but of public librarianship. They are:

1. The rise of e-books. By the end of 2010, Amazon reported that it had sold 115 e-books for each 100 paperbacks, and 3 e-books for each hardback.¹ On October 19, 2011, author Erik Larson told me at a local book talk that his most recent book, In the Garden of Beasts, had sold 500,000 copies––and that fully half of them had been e-book sales. While probably fewer than 20 percent of Americans own an e-book reader (Pew reported a 12 percent number in May 2011, and that number had doubled since November 20102), they read a lot, and every holiday boosts their number. Beyond the steady growth of this market, there is also a compelling economic force: Even best-selling authors typically make only about 10 percent on each sale of a print book. But with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a host of new e-only publishers such as Smashwords and BookBrewer, authors are getting 70 to 90 percent of the sale. (And there is some anecdotal evidence that commercial authors are now getting a higher royalty on sales from e-books than from paper.) E-publishing is attractive not only to established authors (who already have an audience), but new authors with dreams of making a fortune, beholden to no one. Finally, there are also authors who are adopting the Creative Commons license, for whom e-publishing is simply a low cost way to get their message into the world.
2. The rise of self-publishing. In 2004, there were 29,000 self-published titles in the United States. By 2009, that had grown to 766,000––roughly two-and-a-half times the output of commercial publishing. By the end of 2010, there were more than 2.7 million titles.3 Such phenomenal growth presents profound challenges to librarians: How can we stay on top of such a flood of new content? How can we determine what’s good? How can we manage the acquisition and cataloging of even the best? It is the job of the public library to gather, organize, and present to the public the intellectual content of our culture. Yet few public libraries collect any self-published works at all––typically, only the most persistent of local authors, and then, probably on topics of local history. The truth is we really don’t know what’s out there. Wouldn’t now be a good time to start finding out?

The Problems of Outsourcing

Certainly, librarians have heralded the coming of the e-book for a long time. But it wasn’t until the arrival of the Kindle, the Nook, and the iPad that the demand really took off. When patrons showed up after last Christmas asking for e-books, there was really only one public library solution: OverDrive.

The good news is that OverDrive gave us a solution when we needed one. It was very much like the model we had followed with periodical databases: We outsourced the content aggregation, indexing, and presentation to a vendor. That made it familiar. But that outsourcing has brought along some troubles, too. I see four of them:

1. Loss of ownership. My library’s current OverDrive contract specifies that if we leave OverDrive, we also leave all of the content we have licensed.
2. Increased costs. While I have not done a title-by-title comparison across the board, I have concluded two things. First, most OverDrive licenses exceed what a consumer would pay for the same title if available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Second, while sometimes e-book prices are lower than the comparable print version, suddenly we have lost a mainstay of library budgets: the discount. My library’s collection budget currently exceeds $3.5 million annually. For that, we negotiate buying discounts up to 45 percent. OverDrive also charges an annual platform fee. Moreover, as with the state of Kansas, OverDrive has shown itself willing to unilaterally demand price increases of up to 700 percent over a four year period.⁴ Then, of course, there’s the HarperCollins notion of charging an additional license fee for materials circulating more than twenty-six times. At this moment in history, e-books, despite the fact that they are cheaper to produce, are relatively far more expensive to “buy.”
3. Confusing user interface. Again like the multiplicity of database vendors, the OverDrive model of e-book provision splinters the user experience. We might have MARC records for OverDrive titles, but the instant patrons selects one, suddenly they are yanked out of our catalog and dropped into a system that looks, feels, and operates very differently. This fragmentation of the user experience makes library use unpredictable, cumbersome, and difficult.
4. No used e-books. This is a twist on the “loss of ownership” issue. The secondary market of print––whether withdrawn from or donated to a library––is huge. Libraries recycle books into communities in many ways: nonprofit organizations, thrift stores, churches, charter schools, overseas charity efforts, overseas troops, and not least, poorer families and students, who pick up books at pennies on the dollar. There are no used e-books. That means fewer books in homes, fewer people getting into the habit of buying books, fewer people discovering authors.

Disruptive Technology

Sometimes print is profoundly disruptive. The first time was the invention of moveable type. The surge of print––mostly of Bibles––directly resulted in a profound challenge to the most powerful institution of the time, the Catholic Church. When people could read the Bible for themselves, they formed their own opinions, sometimes different from those of the parish priest. The rise of literacy is directly related to the secular fall of the church.

A second example is the age of the broadside. At the end of the Colonial period there was an explosion of political writings. People––like Benjamin Franklin––went to the local newspaper printer to print up often anonymous screeds of 8, 16, 32, or 64 pages. That’s where Thomas Paine got his start, and many others. The broadside––the blogs of the day––launched a revolution.

The third example may well be the self-published e-book. It’s fair to wonder which institutional power or powers will fall this time.

There are now at least seven links in the public library chain of distribution from author to reader: author, agent, publisher (which includes acquisition, editing, copyediting, book design, cover design, printing, and marketing), reviewer, distributor, library, and reader. I don’t see how we can do without the first and last of those. But for everyone in between, we had better be able to show that we can add value at a reasonable cost, or the reader will simply step around us. If reviewers can’t keep up with 2.7 million new titles, we’ll need new strategies (see “crowdsourcing collection development” below). If distributors require us to buy materials in proprietary formats (Amazon’s mobi and Baker and Taylor’s Blio), then we will contact publishers directly. If publishers won’t sell to us at all, then we’ll talk to agents. If agents won’t talk to us, we’ll talk to authors––many of whom grew up in libraries and want their works in our institutions. And let’s not forget that most of those 2.7 million titles are from authors who are unattached. To them, the library might become the publisher and the bookseller. But I’ll say more about that below.

My point here is that public libraries don’t have to sit back passively as publishers and distributors unilaterally redefine the terms of our relationship. These commercial entities now comprise less than 12 percent of the market of new content. While not all of that nontraditional content is “good,” some of it may be wonderful. In a time of disruption, do we put our time and money into maintaining the old, or do we leverage our skills and talents into something new, but more vibrant and alive?

Managing Our Own Content

What drives a lot of publishers right now is fear. They saw what happened to the music industry. One file gets out on a peer-to-peer network, and sales disappear. Putting that book file on a secure third-party server (OverDrive, 3M, or other) and licensing its access looked like a way to lock it down. Indeed, licensing looked more profitable than selling. Surely they could make more money charging per view or per year than allowing many readers for one purchase.

Publishers are also extremely wary of Amazon, which has decimated many bookstores, the traditional consumer outlet for publishers. Amazon is driving down the margin of profit, particularly for used books.

It’s also the case that many publishers don’t really understand the value of the library market. Some think we steal sales from them. The truth? We account for about 10 percent of publisher sales⁵ and 40 percent of children’s.⁶ Public libraries account for about $1.8 billion of sales a year. Other studies show that libraries directly promote the publisher’s bottom line.⁷ “Our data show that over 50 percent of all library users report purchasing books by an author they were introduced to in the library,” said Library Journal executive editor Rebecca Miller.⁸

When librarians thought of an e-book on their catalogs, they saw the possibility of instant gratification. An electronic file doesn’t have the limitations of physical items. They imagined being able to satisfy every single demand for a new book simultaneously. We could replace the market of scarcity with a market of abundance.

But that won’t work. Publishers can’t stay in business if they sell one copy to institutions that used to buy hundreds. And authors can’t make a living––without whom we have no content at all.

I was myself content to think that some new licensing model might be in order until I spoke with a friend and colleague, Joseph Sanchez, then the director of the Red Rocks Community College, and now associated with the University of Colorado Denver. “If we maintain the existing model ––one user at a time––then what does a publisher have to be afraid of?”⁹ It’s true that the file doesn’t “wear out.” But most library materials aren’t discarded because of condition; they’re discarded because they are no longer in demand. Our patrons mostly want what’s new.

The more I thought about that, the more brilliant I found it. This is a case where the existing model––libraries buying at discount, managing the content ourselves, “checking it out” to one patron at a time, buying multiple copies to meet demonstrated demand––translates very well into the e-publishing world.
So I asked Monique Sendze, my associate director of information technology, to investigate a method of circulating digital rights management (DRM)-protected content. Her article, “The E-Book Experiment,” details the infrastructure she has now built (see page 34).

In brief, that e-content management system includes the following components and features:

• A Vufind (open source) discovery front end. Vufind integrates searching, displaying, recommending, ranking, reviewing, and delivering the content to a private cloud. There is one user experience, for print or digital content.
• An HTML5-based online e-reader for all e-book content (and another “browser” for audio content). This software remembers where you are in a book, allowing you to read it across multiple browser-enabled devices. All you need to do is log into your account.
• Free content (Project Gutenberg, public domain, Creative Commons) sits on a MYSQL server. It can be downloaded freely. But it too is in the catalog.
• DRM-protected content lives on an Adobe Content Server (ACS). This industry standard solution is used and understood by many publishers. It’s what OverDrive and 3M use. It controls the download of e-pub files to supported devices. To my knowledge, only the Internet Archive and the Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries (DCL) have adopted ACS for use in a library setting. That should change.
• Visual display on the library catalog, a large screen LCD powerwall, and a mobile application. One of the biggest questions in the twenty-first century will be how do people find the book they’re looking for? Libraries are a big answer to that. As much as 80 percent of our adult circulation is driven by displays. Less than 20 percent is driven by catalog searches. It’s reasonable to think that a similar pattern might be true of e-books. This is our solution to the sociability and serendipity of browsing––touchscreen displays based either on community use (popularity, ranking, newness) or private use (your own reading history on a mobile app).
• A link to purchase. In an effort to demonstrate our value to publishers and authors, we’re experimenting with inserting either generic links (to Tattered Cover, our amazing local independent bookstore or Amazon) or specific links (to an author or distributor website) for titles. That way, if the patron sees that an item is on hold and doesn’t want to wait, or wants to buy something he or she enjoyed, they just click through. We started tracking this recently. Between October 20 and October 31, 2011, there were 653 click-throughs, about evenly split between the independent bookstore and Amazon.
• Building this infrastructure took about a year, and we’re still tweaking it. But it works. It allows us to take what was successful under an old paradigm (the value of discount-based ownership, integration of content, and fair payment to publisher and author) and incorporate modern elements (industry standard copyright protection, full-text indexing of digital content, secure cloud-based access,) that give it immediate new life.

I have to ask, as Sanchez asked me, “Why would a publisher object to that? It’s what we’ve been doing for over 100 years!”

Partnerships

Now all we need are people willing and able to sell to us. So far, it hasn’t been difficult to find them. First, we approached the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. Their members produce many fine books––many of which hadn’t wound up in our libraries. This reveals the myopic focus of many libraries on just the Big Six publishers. Independents were eager to break into a new market, and intrigued by the experiment of preparing their best––EVVY award winners, in this case––for e-publication.

We learned a lot from this early partnership. Among our lessons were:

• A lot of publishers are still trying to figure out how to produce a clean and consistent EPUB file. A lot of them had to be sold on EPUB as a format: many knew how to do PDF files (which flow poorly on e-reader devices), or the Amazon mobi format. But EPUB, we told them, was the wave of the future––an open standard.
• A lot of new companies are springing up to help publishers produce such files.
• We needed to set up two kinds of upload options: single and batch.
• We need to think through cataloging workflow.
• Amazon influences even small publisher pricing, driving it down. The Amazon price is the lowest price; if a publisher sells their title at a discount to libraries, Amazon will lower their own price to match.
• We needed to generate a strong PR buzz for every new publisher that signed up with us. At this point, no one model has settled down or been generally adopted. If we want our model––library-owned and managed content––to win, then we have to promote it.
• We needed to think through the terms. Was it necessary to do a complex contract with each publisher, or could we simply hold to some general principles (one person uses it at a time, we give you a link through, etc.)?

Since then, we’ve formed agreements with reference publisher Gale/Cengage. They get it. Without any kind of contract, they simply provided MARC records and files for the titles we’d already purchased. And here we made another discovery: Ownership and integration of files meant that we now had federated searching. We’ve been doing some experiments with full-text indexing and realized that it gave us the ability not only to solve some cataloging workflow problems, but to far more tightly knit together a variety of resources.

We were particularly excited to sign children’s publisher Lerner––and to add interactive children’s books to our growing collection.

We have recently signed an agreement with the Independent Publishers Group, a coalition of some seven hundred publishers. We are in discussions with many others, including some cautious but interested talks with HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. One particularly interesting discussion was with the faculty of a local University of Phoenix campus. They’d like to contribute some Creative Commons textbooks for their students.

These days, every trip to a conference involves a visit to exhibitors asking a simple question: Will you sell us your e-books? I believe, as time goes by, more of them will. And those that do will get a larger percentage of our budget.

Library as Publisher

We realized that, after installing and configuring our new system, we are now in the position of owning not just a distribution platform. We could ourselves be publishers. To that end, we’ve been talking to some local historians and film producers to investigate what other content we might gather and disseminate.

Our library has more than two million physical visitors each year, and another two million virtual visitors. All of them are looking for books, movies, and music.
There are many ways we could start a conversation with them, for example, inviting them:

• to help us crowdsource collection development (a possible experiment where we’ll take anything, but we only keep what our community uses and ranks well);
• to help others write better (by working as copyeditors or indexers, for instance);
• to contribute cover art;
• to conduct and contribute interviews of local people;
• to attend, or deliver a workshop on writing quality works; or
• to serve as citizen journalists, attending meetings, posting reports, and/or ranking the writing of others.

First the West, Then the Rest

For the time being, DCL will run a mixed-digital environment. That is, what our patrons want, and can only be leased, we will lease. But we will give preference to 3M over OverDrive, because 3M explicitly states that we own the titles. And we will give preference to publishers who sell to us directly over 3M because we can achieve a higher degree of integration if we possess the file. We will also begin to explore the exciting world of quality content creation.
The library belongs at the center of this revolution, not at its periphery.

DCL can’t be the only institution willing to invest some time, effort, and finances into setting up their own content management infrastructure. We need partners and colleagues to catch the eye of the marketplace.

Our first official team-up will be between DCL and the Marmot Library Network (a consortium serving much of the Western Slope of Colorado).

But this is an ideal cooperative effort for multistate regional networks, state libraries, in-state systems, or other smaller regional cooperatives.

The key features are:

• purchasing discounts to demonstrate the value of the publicly funded buying cooperative that is the public library;
• ownership of the file, both for preservation and to ensure the highest possible degree of integration and seamless user interface, the better to connect creators with consumers;
• industry standard DRM for those who need it;
• open source tools; and
• a bold and confident engagement in the emerging revolution of content creation.

Interested? Start at vufind.org and www.adobe.com/products/contentserver. Don’t forget to check out our website.

In this time of disruption, the relationships between powers will change. Many institutions will be challenged. I think public libraries just might be the last ones standing.

REFERENCES

1. Julianne Pepitone, “Amazon Sales Pop as Kindle Books Overtake Paperbacks,” CNN Money, Jan. 27, 2011, accessed Jan. 20, 2012.
2. Kristen Purcell, “E-reader Ownership Doubles in Six Months,” Pew Research Center Publications, June 27, 2011, accessed Jan. 20, 2012.
3. “Traditional Book Output Up 5%; Nontraditional Soars,” Publishers Weekly, May 18, 2011, accessed Jan. 20, 2012.
4. Michael Kelley, “Kansas State Librarian Goes Eyeball to Eyeball with OverDrive in Contract Talks,” Library Journal, April 6, 2011, accessed Jan. 20, 2012.
5. American Library Association, “Marketing to Libraries, ALA Library Fact Sheet 5,” accessed Jan. 20, 2012.
6. Barbara Fister, “Publishers & Librarians: Two Cultures, One Goal,” Library Journal, May 1, 2009, accessed Jan. 20, 2012.
7. Andrew Albanese, “Survey Says Library Users Are Your Best Customers,” Publishers Weekly, Oct. 28, 2011, accessed Jan. 20, 2012.
8. Ibid.
9. Joseph Sanchez, personal interview with the author.

The post The Last One Standing first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

This growth in popularity and demand for e-books presents many challenges to public libraries. At this point, the way most people access e-books completely bypasses the library. The options that libraries have today for e-books (in terms of content, interface, interoperability, and so on) are very limited, and that greatly impacts the primary role of the library––to connect people and information.

E-Books: Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities

E-books seem to present challenges that go against the core mission of libraries. The move from print to digital, along with the shifting business model from content ownership to content licensing, are some of the largest challenges facing libraries today. Electronic books are not always owned when purchased by libraries. Instead, materials are only leased for a certain period of time, and in some cases are not available to libraries at all. The current environment allows publishers and aggregators to control our content, in ways they can’t with our print collections.

In addition, getting an e-book from a library can be a confusing process; so much so that library staffers wind up creating elaborate tutorials on how to borrow an e-book. Simple downloading processes with retail outlets like Amazon provide readers with access to vast collections of e-books and pose serious competition for libraries.

What Do Libraries Own and What Does That Mean?

When Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries (DCL) buys physical books, we own those books. They don’t disappear unless we choose to remove them from the collection or a patron loses them, in which case we usually recoup our costs in patron fees and fines. We can loan those books through other library systems and we can put them on hold, incurring no costs for that book beyond the initial purchase. With e-books, we pay hundreds of thousands of dollars
to license books from a vendor––but we do not own anything. If we were to cancel our subscription, those books would be gone. We also do not have archival rights to the books we have paid for, even if a vendor goes out of business. The vendor also has the power to add or delete books from our collection depending on their current deals with publishers. What are libraries to do when a book is taken out of its print form and only exists as an e-book?

The Squeeze on ILL

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is another area that is affected by the growing demand for e-books. ILL is an important part of what we do in libraries. As we turn our efforts to respond to patron demand and begin buying more e-books, and with only a small number of e-book vendors (mostly academic) allowing for any sort of ILL, the more our book collections go digital, the less we will be able to loan to other libraries or borrow from other libraries.

Too Many Platforms, Too Little Interoperability = Limited Discovery

Libraries want to provide e-books through a single, easy-to-use, easy-to-search platform. Unfortunately, that may never happen. Vendors continue to create their own distinct platforms: OverDrive, Baker & Taylor, Simon & Schuster, 3M, ProQuest, EBSCO, etc. Libraries are expected to present all of these platforms to patrons in a way that makes sense, which is near impossible.

Library catalogs have been the primary resource patrons use to browse and locate materials. The library catalog is perhaps the best single place to make our e-book collections discoverable, but many catalogs lack the sophisticated search functionality of the individual vendor platforms themselves. The solution then lies in the integration of these platforms for discovery and delivery.

Browsing is still an important part of the discovery experience, but serendipitous browsing is not replicated well online because libraries offer a mix of vendor e-book collections and traditional print books. Add to the mix the nightmare of ensuring that your library’s e-books work on the plethora of mobile devices and e-readers patrons will tote into the library.

When it comes to technology and e-books, it is very difficult for a library to make decisions or plan ahead, due to the number of e-reader devices (Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc.), and the number of e-book formats (EPUB, PDF, Flash, etc.). A single standard for e-books would ease maintenance and administrative burdens. Libraries should be cognizant of the issues (business, technical, and legal) so that we make the best possible decisions and lobby for better interfaces. There is no legitimate reason why any book in the library should be encumbered by digital rights management (DRM).

Libraries have historically been too complacent to negotiate directly with publishers, to create consortia to lend e-books, to fight DRM, to create our own lending/license conditions, to promote an e-reader model, to produce any technology such as a basic desktop e-reader, or even to demand open formats. If all libraries had supported one format and bought a particular e-reader ten years ago, imagine the power we would have. DCL made the decision not to wait any longer––as no one is really sure what the future for e-books holds.

DCL believes that no contract should be signed without the right to own a copy of the e-book file, to lend that e-book to our users for as long as we decide, and to receive the e-book in an EPUB format. The library profession must do its best to push publishers to come up with better platforms and purchasing/licensing options. We should fight to regain control of the content and establish our own rules––rules that will benefit the library patron the most.

The DCL Experiment

DCL, located just south of Denver, serves a population of close to 300,000. As the third largest library district in the state, it features seven libraries and is considered one of the busiest libraries in the United States, with more than eight million items checked out annually. However, for the first time in over two decades, DCL is actually seeing a decline in circulation growth in almost all categories––with the exception of digital downloads (see figures 1 and 2).
DCL has been very innovative in its current experiments with e-books. We are leveraging the e-book opportunity to improve service and reach more users than ever before. Our immediate goals to improve the library e-book user experience include:

• to enhance the discovery of e-books with VuFind library catalog software;
• to simplify the delivery and circulation of e-books with Adobe Content Server (ACS); and
• to challenge a business model based on content license, with one based on content purchase.

Library staff have developed software to optimize the e-book user experience; implemented Adobe Content Server to store and deliver e-books that require DRM; and begun working with publishers to develop an e-book purchase model that will fairly compensate writers and publishers, while meeting the expectations of library users.

The Software

The software components of our system include (see figure 3):

• ACS, which primarily handles DRM;
• VuFind––an open source discovery layer that interfaces with our integrated library system (ILS) to allow patrons to easily find titles they are most interested in. The base VuFind code has been heavily modified to handle e-content management. Many application programming interfaces have also been added to VuFind to enable additional products to be created on top of the VuFind platform such as our powerwall displays;
• an Android and IOS e-reader/mobile app; and
• an engine that provides Amazon-like recommendations.

The e-content delivery platform:

• handles the management of e-content with both unlimited usage and e- restricted usage;
• allows e-content to be viewed online from a DCL-developed, cloud-based HTML5 reading system in the browser application;
• allows e-content to be downloaded for offline usage;
• allows new e-content to be purchased;
• allows e-content to be searched so patrons can easily find titles that are of interest to them;
• includes various reports to help collection development staff purchase titles that are of interest to their patrons and weed titles that are no longer used; and
• handles the management of holds and checkouts for e-content to eliminate the need to manage the items within the library’s ILS.

The beauty of our system lies in the fact that the number of steps from search and discovery to checkout has been greatly streamlined to no more than three clicks.

Future developments include:

• a content acquisition and aggregation system for selection and purchasing;
• replicating the system to other libraries. We are currently set up to pilot with the MARMOT Library Consortia in the western slopes of Colorado;
• a publishing platform that will set up the library as publisher for any self-published authors––crowd-sourcing; and
• incorporating other content types other than EPUB and PDF (video, audio, and so on).

The Display

Circulation of print materials at DCL is high because we purchase, manage, and physically display our collections in a smart, appealing, and engaging way, through the use of our powerwalls (see figure 4). Powerwalls are located almost immediately as you enter the library, giving the patron a true retail experience featuring popular material. From research, we know we have only thirty seconds to catch a customer’s attention and keep him or her engaged. People come to the library to browse––to use their eyes and bodies to explore. Our powerwalls are successful because they meet consumers’ needs and interests the minute they enter the library. We know powerwalls work, because at least 60 percent of our circulation is driven by these displays. We decided to apply this same model to e-books in order to create a successful virtual browsing experience.

DCL now offers virtual solutions that allow patrons to explore digital material. Our new touch screen displays (two to three 52-inch digital touchscreen displays), are located adjacent to our physical powerwalls, and feature e-book content for easy browsing and downloading. We also have an online e-book storefront within our online catalog, as well as a mobile app, that allows us to display the same dynamic content.

Browsing is a key feature of the digital discovery experience. Our virtual powerwall displays staff-selected e-content using the same principles that drive our physical displays––what people look for, what’s hot, or what’s seasonal. What we are after is to manage this content as intelligently and professionally as we do our other collections.

The Publishers

Lastly and most importantly, we’ve established agreements with publishers to allow DCL to purchase and manage the digital rights for e-books.

To date, we’ve secured agreements with Lerner Digital, the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, Marshall Cavendish, ABDO Publishing Group, Independent Publishers Group, Dzanc, Book Brewer, and Gale, a leading publisher of research and reference resources for libraries, schools, and businesses
and part of Cengage Learning. Our agreement with Gale includes titles available through Gale Virtual Reference Library, including numerous business titles, travel series titles, and children’s nonfiction titles.

By directly pursuing these agreements with publishers, we emphasize our role as protectors of intellectual freedom and major players in the book-buying industry. After all, public libraries account for a healthy chunk of all book sales, and can properly guard against copying.

Patrons enjoy being able to experience products in new and creative ways that are highly entertaining and exclusive. We recognize that the greatest commercial value for e-books is not the book itself, but the conversations around and through the book. Libraries can position themselves as the vehicles that enable these conversations, and use this to gain leverage with publishers.

The Rollout

Our experiment gets put to the test this winter. We have created our own software, and combined elements––our catalog, ACS, the Vufind “discovery” tool, and a new recommendation engine. All of which have never been combined before.Now we are ready for one more ingredient––our patrons.

Many more reports and articles will follow as we continue to drive traffic, create awareness of our electronic collections, and enhance our customers’  experience with digital content. DCL is proud to bring such a distinct look and feel to our library that is both captivating and entertaining, while still providing a tight and seamless integration into our library system.

REFERENCES

1. Matt Townsend, “Barnes & Noble Sinks Most Since June After Halting Dividend,” Bloomberg.com, Feb. 22, 2011, accessed Sept. 21, 2011.
2. Kristen Purcell, “E-Reader Ownership Doubles in Six Months,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, June 27, 2011, accessed Sept. 21, 2011.

The post The E-Book Experiment first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

E-Book Growth

E-book growth is not offsetting traditional book use and the popularity of multiple formats continues to grow. At TPL in 2011, use of our e-book and e-audiobook collections was up 103 percent over 2010, and by the end of 2011 we surpassed the 500,000 circulation mark for e-book downloads. Still, even with this exponential growth in e-circulation, this represents only 1.5 percent of TPL’s overall circulation (which is seeing growth for its third straight year).

So there is still great demand for print materials, while at the same time demand continues to increase for other formats, both established and emerging. And that is one of the biggest challenges facing libraries everywhere––increased demand overall, continued demand for traditional books while at the same time there is an explosion of online resources, increased availability of alternate format materials such as audiobooks and graphic novels, and emerging formats such as downloadable e-content. And then of course in Toronto’s case, there continues to be great demand for a multitude of languages, with requests for new languages all the time. At TPL, we actively collect in forty languages, and are regularly adjusting our mix to accommodate new ones.

We also see that, for more and more titles, there are multiple formats available. With last year’s release of Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, for instance, we ordered the standard book, the talking book for the print-disabled, the large-print book, the audiobook, and the e-audiobook. And this year, with The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, we have it as a standard book, a large-print book, an audiobook, and an e-book. For some titles, it’s becoming more common to release the formats simultaneously with the book. For example, when The Lost Symbol was released, we bought eight hundred copies of the print version and then we bought copies in large-print, e-book, e-audiobook, audiobook, and talking book formats. And all are popular!

The popularity of both traditional and emerging formats makes sense. For Torontonians, already a city of readers, e-books are sparking new and renewed interest in the written word. An e-book is still a book––it is just offered in a different, very convenient “container,” and digital or downloadable content simply provides another option for people, helping to extend the availability of published materials. An easy read obtained through an impulse download from your couch on a rainy Saturday night, or the classic pre-loaded for free on your e-reader that you’ve been meaning to read or reread, very much appeals to the serious and casual reader alike.

So, in the mid-term, we expect to see more of what we are experiencing now; that is, significant growth in the availability and use of e-books, and continued use and demand for the traditional book. In the longer term, e-books will become a mainstream format. We see that process unfolding now.

Demand vs. Budget

So how do we meet growing public demand (a good thing) for new and different formats, with tighter and tighter material acquisition budgets? While the growing popularity of e-books is definitely good for business, it’s certainly having its impact on our budgets, especially in the current climate of fiscal constraint that so many public libraries are struggling with. To manage this demand, TPL is taking several approaches.

Although circulation is up at TPL in pretty much all areas of print materials, one notable exception is in mass market paperbacks––the same trend that has been reported by the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study group.¹ At TPL, we are also seeing some decline in the use of compact discs, albeit to a lesser extent (1.2 million borrows per year). So these declines have certainly helped us to offset our e-book purchasing by reducing our spending in these areas. Still, more needs to be done.

Another way that we are looking to manage our e-book costs is through the exploration of different pricing models with publishers. For example, through patron-driven acquisitions, which have been available in the academic community for some time.

With the release of new e-readers and e-reading devices such as the iPad, staff members are increasingly being asked to provide tech support and tech purchase recommendations, in addition to their reference and reader’s advisory roles. Some vendors provide training opportunities for staff, but this one time or occasional training doesn’t accommodate the frequent release of new devices, and the increasing rate by which the public is adopting them.

At TPL, we are addressing these pressures, in part, through innovative internal training programs such as Tech Days and iKits. On Tech Days, we bring together internal technology and online expertise from throughout our organization––staff from the IT and eServices departments, from Collections Management, and other staff throughout the organization who have an affinity for new technology and are happy to share their knowledge. We gather all the newest gadgetry we can––some purchased for the purpose of training, some already in use in the branches, and some personal devices from staff. And then we invite staff for the day to try the equipment and applications, ask questions, and get demonstrations from our “experts.” The days are fun and interactive, and full of learning.

We have also purchased a limited number of iKits––small collections of portable devices including e-readers, tablets, and netbooks––and distribute them to library staff in our branches for them to try out, learn, to support customers, and to use as part of their day-to-day work.

Limited E-Content

Lots of people want to borrow e-books, but do we have the e-books they want to borrow? We know that e-books are the future, or at least a major part of it, but right now the reality is that content is limited, and that will limit growth. In Canada, libraries simply can’t buy the same range of titles that we can buy in print.

Despite the growing adoption of the e-book format with publishers, it’s not news that e-books are making them nervous as they struggle to find sustainable business models, in particular with libraries. There are still major publishing houses that are not making their titles available for lending and in Canada we have only recently started to see an increase in the availability of more Canadian titles.

Navigating the Landscape

Libraries understand better than most how important it is to have a vibrant, healthy successful publishing industry––for publishers, vendors, and authors. So we as libraries need to work with publishers and vendors to navigate the changing and evolving landscape. Through organizations such as the Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC), public libraries are advocating for better access to e-books and, as a result, we are gradually seeing more Canadian content for our customers. And as mentioned earlier, we continue to explore pricing and lending models that will work for the success of all.

Another avenue we are exploring is making the library’s website––and more specifically our catalog––a gateway to publishers to generate e-book sales. These kinds of promotional and affiliate sales opportunities can clearly benefit both parties, building confidence and partnerships between us, while also providing a much needed revenue source for the library to help reduce ongoing budget pressures.

For local authors and small publishers, libraries also have the potential to be strong partners for generating e-book sales, for providing access to other kinds of online and digital content, and for collaborating in the creation of new digital content based on the library’s unique collections.

One such example that demonstrates the potential for these kinds of partnerships is TPL’s collaboration with an innovative initiative called the Toronto Project. This online digital resource was set up by local authors, content producers, historians, and city builders “to help build meaningful connections between the City of Toronto and its population––past, present and future––through the use of history. Toronto has a rich history, and it is hoped that torontoproject.com will assist in illuminating the accomplishments of its people, and the strength and continuity of its diverse communities.”²

One of several partners in the project, TPL’s main contribution will be its extensive local history collections, special collections, and expertise, which will be used to help tell Toronto’s history in a way that makes it accessible, interactive, and brings it to life, using digital channels and applications to deliver the content. Some examples of this include: narrative documentaries (defined as “kinetic exhibits” that make use of text, kinetic text, photographs, video imaging, interactive protocols, and sound); independently written and published e-books on local history that would be lent and sold through the library’s
online channels; and an interactive encyclopedia of Toronto history, a collective narrative that “harvests history” from Toronto’s diverse communities and neighborhoods.

A Marked Difference in E-Book Usage

Despite significant challenges for public libraries’ access to e-content, we are seeing some expanded offerings from publishers and in 2011 TPL saw an  increase in availabiity of content over 2010. Combine this with the proliferation of e-readers and other e-book reading devices that are now cheaper and easier to use, and we’re seeing a marked difference in e-book usage in just one year. It started at the end of 2010, when Torontonians plugged in their new Christmas presents and took their devices for a spin at their library. As a result, in the week between Christmas and New Year’s 2010, TPL saw an incredible jump in e-book downloads. The trend wasn’t just in Toronto either. OverDrive reported that traffic and e-book checkout records were “smashed” during the 2010 Christmas holiday, with an increase of 93 percent over the month prior.³ We saw similar activity at TPL during the 2011 holiday season. On a single day (December 28), views of our downloads webpage spiked to more than 6,000, and since then we’ve had more than 2,500 page views each day—a 25 percent increase over the pre-holiday period.

Not surprisingly, around the same time that e-reader sales were taking off, we were seeing a real increase in Canadian e-book content––from small  publishers to some large publishing houses––and not just in terms of new titles of bestsellers and genre fiction that are very popular with the format.  Increasingly, we’ve seen the availability of more nonfiction and children’s materials (for example, Thomas the Tank), and even some books that are being issued exclusively in the e-book format (for example, Jack Layton’s essay collection, Hope is Better than Fear, published by Random House Canada). And, as a sure sign that e-books are becoming mainstream, the New York Times started publishing e-book bestseller fiction and nonfiction lists in early 2011.

Longevity of Access

One of the longer-term issues for libraries as we invest more heavily in e-books and other e-resources is longevity of access. Currently, most public libraries are dependent on the OverDrive platform to purchase and distribute their e-titles. And the e-titles we purchase are often in multiple proprietary formats. Still other platforms and services offer a subscription-based model, where purchasing of titles isn’t even an option. This was fine when we were purchasing titles in both print and online. But we’ve already seen with many subscription-based e-resources that the print versions are being phased out and “e” is the only option.

So what happens if a vendor or publisher chooses to pull a library “purchased” e-title from their lending inventory, or fifty years from now OverDrive is no longer around, or the proprietary formats have changed or disappeared? How do we guarantee continuous access for our customers? What if we want to change platforms and move from OverDrive to something new or different? How can we take our significant digital investment with us?

These are important questions that libraries, in partnership with publishers, producers, and distributors of e-content are working through to ensure that new formats like the e-book continue to fuel the growth of publishing, reading, and public access to information, and remain an important part of the innovative library services we deliver.

REFERENCES

1. Julie Bosman, “The Dog-Eared Paperback, Newly Endangered in an E-Book Age,” New York Times, Sept. 2, 2011, accessed Jan. 11, 2012.
2. Toronto Project, accessed Jan. 11, 2012.
3. Dan Stasiewski, “Traffic and E-Book Checkout Records SMASHED Over Christmas Holiday,” OverDrive’s Digital Library Blog, Dec. 30, 2010, accessed Jan. 11, 2012.

The post Balancing Patron Demand for All Formats first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

In the past year, our library system has seen a dramatic increase in the use of e-books and e-readers. Circulation of e-books is 131 percent higher now than it was in 2010, with the most notable increase occurring when Amazon’s Kindle was made compatible with OverDrive, our e-book vendor. In direct correlation to this rise in e-book circulation, the number of patrons with questions about the library’s e-book collection rose dramatically. We’ll share with you the practical, hands-on way we’ve dealt with this increase and also what we’ve learned along the way.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we want to point out that currently only one of us owns an e-reader and uses it personally. We do this to dispel the myth that you have to own an e-reader to be an expert in its use. E-books and e-readers are changing the way people access information. It’s important for all library professionals to acknowledge this shift, learn more about how e-readers work, and understand how their proliferation will impact the future of the libraries.

Helping Patrons inside the Library

Worthington Libraries has high customer service standards. All staff members go through customer service training, and assessing customer service skills is part of the annual performance review process. With the growing popularity of e-books and ereaders comes a new set of customer service challenges. E-book and e-reader technology is in a constant state of flux; new devices, new procedures, and new problems are continually introduced.

For librarians and library support staff to stay ahead of the game, staff training on e-book services and devices is essential. Administrators at Worthington Libraries realized this and formed a work group to design patron and staff training programs. This work group was named the Technology Petting Zoo Task Force––the “petting zoo” name was meant to convey a sense of playful learning (and was originally coined by our friends at the Washington-Centerville Public Library). The members of this team soon became affectionately known as “zookeepers.”

Helping patrons with e-books and e-readers can be intimidating for staff. To provide the best customer service, staff must be made comfortable with this technology and have up-to-date information to use as reference. At each Worthington Libraries information desk, there is a binder with tips and troubleshooting advice for each of the major e-readers on the market. It includes step-by-step guides for downloading e-books using the OverDrive app (for tablet computers, smartphones, iPads, and iPod Touch) and using Adobe Digital Editions. The guides include screenshots and detailed descriptions of the download process. When Amazon’s Kindles became compatible with OverDrive, the Technology Petting Zoo Task Force worked quickly to learn the process and create a step-by-step guide to use as a reference. Zookeepers also developed a list of website links (some of which are included in the sidebar on page 45) to help with the download process and troubleshooting.

Zookeepers regularly add information as technology changes and troubleshooting solutions arise. Information is also available on a shared staff drive so it can be accessed electronically. We also encourage staff to share news articles about devices and patron interactions that led to a troubleshooting lesson or tip. So that it’s always current, helpful information is simultaneously added to both the physical binder and electronic file. A goal of the Technology Petting Zoo Task Force is to get everyone comfortable with the e-readers and the setup process. We also want our colleagues to feel comfortable asking questions and encourage staff to share what they’ve learned.

When assisting people with e-reader setup and the digital downloads process, it’s important to manage expectations. To set up an e-reader to download library e-books, it’s often a multistep process that involves downloading software to a home computer. According to a recent study, people ages 30 to 49 are most likely to own an e-reader, with people ages 50 to 64 in a close second.¹ Because of this wide age range, comfort level and knowledge of technology can vary wildly with every interaction.

When someone needs help with an e-reader, staff explains the download process to make sure each person understands that, although the setup process can be frustrating, the day-to-day use of an e-reader is simple and easy to learn. In cases where people ask for assistance but do not have the proper equipment with them (cords, a laptop, etc.) to begin the setup process, we help by demonstrating how to access and use the e-book catalog and begin the setup process at home. And, we’re only a phone call or instant message away if they need help from home.

Answering questions about e-readers over the phone or through instant messaging can be challenging, however, as you can’t actually see what’s causing trouble. Our recommendation is to ask specific questions about the computer operating system and device so you have as much information as possible. Frequently, Googling a problem or specific error message is an effective way to find a solution to the problem. Of course, the key for this type of interaction is to be understanding and calm (because the caller is very likely frustrated) and provide resources to solve their problem if you are not able to do so over the phone. Troubleshooting e-readers and e-books over the phone does not always end successfully, but it’s a great way to go above and beyond for your patrons and truly be a support system.

It’s very common for patrons to bring their devices to the library and ask staff to assist them with the digital downloads process. Sometimes, they come to the library directly from purchasing their new e-reader with it still sealed in the box! In fact, there have been many instances where personnel at the bookstore or electronics store told them to go to the library to get their e-readers set up. This can be a delicate process as patrons often want a staff member to hold their device and complete the download process for them. While our goal is to help patrons to the best of our ability, we have a policy that staff cannot touch a patron’s device or download software for them. Like most other technology reference questions, it is best to act as a guide during the process. This helps the patron learn the process by doing it, and troubleshooting questions can be answered along the way.

Staff should always keep in mind that what may be second nature for someone with lots of computer and e-book experience may be very difficult for another person to understand. Trying anything for the first time is a learning experience, and the setup process for acquiring library e-books on a personal electronic device is sometimes a confusing endeavor, requiring the registration of the device, registration of the software used to transfer files to the device, and establishing a digital books account with the library. Library staff should take care to be patient with patrons who do not immediately grasp what is being asked of them, and to provide a welcoming and understanding environment in which to learn. Learning how to download and transfer e-books can be the cause of much frustration, so it is imperative that staff remain calm and helpful.

Programs for Patrons

In 2010, Worthington Libraries purchased the Amazon Kindle 2, the Sony Reader, the Nook, iPod Nanos, and iPads with the intention of using them for staff and public instruction. The Technology Petting Zoo committee recommended the purchase of three of each device, so each of our three locations could have a set of devices for staff training and public programs.

The first Technology Petting Zoo for the public was held in September 2010. Staff spent the weeks leading up to the event learning to use each device and the library’s Digital Downloads catalog, powered by OverDrive. The program was designed so patrons could try out e-readers, iPods, and iPads with library staff present to answer questions about device functionality and compatibility with the library’s digital offerings. Each device had a designated table with a sign and a dedicated staff member assigned to answer questions and demonstrate how it worked. We partnered with Best Buy for this event, and they provided representatives from their Geek Squad to demonstrate popular smartphones. The program was an overwhelming success, with more than fifty people attending the four-hour event. Many commented on how helpful and enjoyable it was.

Because the first event was so successful, the library held a second Technology Petting Zoo in early December 2010. This time, we partnered with Sprint for phone and GameStop for gaming system demonstrations. Eighty-five people turned out for the second event, which was two hours long. Many attendees were holiday shoppers who wanted a “try before you buy” experience for the devices they were interested in purchasing.

Since these events were well-received, we decided to expand the number of technology and e-book programs we offered. Worthington Libraries continues to offer Technology Petting Zoos in addition to opportunities for patrons to learn how to use devices in a classroom style setting. In the past year, we’ve held instructional events for those interested in getting library e-books and audiobooks on their iPods, iPads, phones, and e-readers, as well as Technology Petting Zoos designed for teens and younger children just learning to read. Having offered several different kinds of programs, we now have a better idea of what people are looking for and how to best introduce them to the e-book lending process.

Most important to the success of a technology-related program is to know one’s audience. Staff in charge of planning and presenting at an event will benefit from understanding the demographics of those most likely to attend. At the majority of our events, attendees were mostly in their thirties or older, with varying degrees of computer literacy. The classroom-style training attracted those who felt more comfortable learning to download e-books in a supportive environment, with library staff close at hand should they encounter any difficulty. We discovered smaller class sizes worked best as many people had limited experience with technology and computers, and benefited from one-on-one assistance.

Technology Petting Zoos could accommodate much larger numbers of people than classes. These events were more relaxed and designed to give people a brief first look at how the technology works. One staffer to every seven patrons was a manageable ratio for our Zoos, whereas at least one staffer to every four patrons for a class is recommended.

Managing patron expectations is another major component of conducting a successful program. All promotional items (fliers, posters, calendar listings) should include a detailed description of the program. We used words like “sample,” “hands-on,” and “examine,” to make it obvious the program was about trying different devices and not a tutorial or troubleshooting session. When we offered instructional classes, the descriptions read, “let us show you how” or “bring your device.” Being as specific as possible helps patrons prepare for the event and get the most out of their participation (so if the event requires attendees to bring their devices, USB cables, and library cards, the description should say so).

When conducting a class, the presenter must provide clear instructions to attendees on how to participate (when to ask questions, what to do if something goes wrong, and so on). When Worthington Libraries offers tutorials for how to get library e-books on devices, it works well to have one staff person as the presenter and at least one additional staff person walking from person to person, answering questions and troubleshooting. This way, if someone gets stuck, the class can continue while staff quietly works with them on whatever issue they have encountered.

Flexibility is an important skill to have when running any library program and it is key to holding a successful e-book event. Staff can only wield so much control over the composition of the program. If the library is offering a class called “How to get library e-books on your Kindle,” and everyone shows up with Sony Readers and Nooks, staff need to be trained and prepared to scrap their plans and do their best to help patrons with whatever device they have. Similarly, if only a few people come with the wrong device, staff should offer those people the option of remaining after the program to get additional help with their gadgets.

It is important to remember these new technologies are continuously evolving and new gadgets hit the market every few weeks. Library staff should be future-oriented when it comes to learning how to use these devices. It takes an active effort to learn new technologies and adapt to changes to continue to best serve our communities and their changing needs.

Staff Training

As part of a large consortium of libraries jointly purchasing our shared e-book collection, our public service staff does not have much to do with the selection of e-books, but we do field a lot of questions about their availability and use. Our population, as indicated by our circulation statistics, has been quick to embrace e-books and e-readers. Although all staff members have been trained on e-readers, in-depth questions from patrons about e-readers and e-books are mostly handled by the adult services and, to some extent, youth services departments. Thus, members of those departments received additional training.

In addition to planning events for patrons in the library, the aforementioned Technology Petting Zoo Task Force was charged with training staff on new and emerging technologies. The group decided to focus on e-readers (because, well, this is a library after all). The group discussed the best way to train staff in the use of the purchased devices and decided a Technology Petting Zoo would be just as beneficial for staff as they had been for patrons, providing them with the opportunity to experiment with the devices in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere.

To accomplish this, the zookeepers held an initial round of five Technology Petting Zoos for staff, with two supplementary events for those who could not attend the first round. These events were mandatory for staff members at all levels of the organization from managers to circulation aides. By providing training to all staff members, we increased organizational knowledge of an important service we provide and made it easier for staff at all levels to help patrons.

In planning these events, it’s important to make them relaxed and less formal than a traditional classroom setting. Representative of the general population, staff members, too, are often overwhelmed by new technology and experience a fear of change that can be expressed as resistance or apathy. By emphasizing the touch and play aspect of the training, the need to find the “right” answer is lessened. Try your best to make the experience as fun and relaxing as possible.

The next step in our process was to identify staff members who were e-reader experts because they owned a device or had previous training (one of our employees also worked part-time at our local Barnes & Noble and was our Nook expert). After this list was compiled, it was distributed to all staff so everyone knew where to direct questions and get expert advice about using a particular device. One set of devices was kept at each library location and made available for staff to check out during his or her free time.

The greatest challenge in training staff in the use of e-books and e-readers is rapidly changing technology. It’s difficult and often costly to put forth a great effort in creating staff training materials when the landscape may change in six months. As the devices continue to evolve, staff training must be a continual process. As was mentioned earlier, the zookeepers created binders of information on e-readers and reproduced that information electronically for easy access. In addition to this, one-on-one trainings with personalized attention are often the best way to bring the least skilled staff member up to speed. This reduces the pressure to know the right answer to questions, which can be intimidating in a classroom setting surrounded by peers and coworkers.

Further, one of our enterprising department managers has built e-book training into her team’s monthly meetings. Every meeting, one member of the team brings in a new e-reader and discusses it’s compatibility with the library’s collection. Deliberately making this an ongoing process ensures the latest changes in technology will be communicated to staff in a timely manner. Integrate relevant updates to ebook technology as part of regular communications to staff.

It is important to emphasize that the skills public service staff worked so hard to cultivate in the pre-e-book era are still applicable, only the platform is  different. When staff members feel overwhelmed by swiftly changing technologies, they may react negatively or apathetically. If the download and transfer process is broken down into manageable parts, they will gain a sense of mastery and control over the situation. Positive feelings will move staff to greater degrees of competency. Use the staff’s existing skills to move this along. For example, if you have someone who is excellent at reader’s advisory, ask him or her for best practices with e-book reader’s advisory. This will not only give you a set of best practices for the rest of the staff, but also emphasize that existing skills and passions are still relevant in the digital environment.

Conclusion

There is every indication that the growth of e-books and e-readers will continue. Barnes & Noble and Amazon have both released new devices in the past year and, along with Apple, are vying for control of the market. It is absolutely imperative that the library community embrace this growing trend and make every effort to assist patrons with questions about ebooks and e-readers. This is not a matter of personal preference, but a matter of the library maintaining its relevance as a valuable community asset in a changing environment. While rapid changes, such as the rise in popularity of digital books, can be intimidating, it also presents an excellent opportunity for libraries to reconnect with their communities. The nature of a library is, and has always been, a place for people to have access to information. The proliferation of e-books and an everevolving technologically proficient society means that people are flocking to their public libraries with new questions and new needs. By welcoming this change, libraries are taking an important step to ensure they will be valued far into the future. This will be a challenge for libraries, but the zookeepers think librarians are up for it!

REFERENCE

1. Kristin Purcell, “E-Reader Ownership Doubles in Six Months,” Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, June 27, 2011, accessed Nov. 11, 2011.

The post A Practical, Public-Service Approach to E-Books first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Booktrack, a startup headquartered in New York City, has announced the release of soundtrack-enhanced e-books. The experimental technology is something that Booktrack founders hope will catch on and change e-book readership. The company’s proprietary technology combines music, sound effects, and ambient sound, automatically paced to an individual’s reading speed. Funded by investors that include Peter Thiel, cofounder and CEO of PayPal and the first external investor in Facebook, Booktrack looks to achieve an industry first by creating synchronized soundtracks for e-books that dramatically boost the reader’s imagination and engagement. Booktrack’s enhanced e-book product debuts with The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (HarperCollins, 2011), a YA novel chosen for its cinematic scope. Booktrack was honored with the international Smart Content Award, as the best entertainment development for smart devices in 2011. Booktrack editions are limited to the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, with Android compatibility coming soon.

Not Your Parent’s Tablet: LeapPad for Kids

LeapFrog Enterprises recently unveiled LeapPad, a personalized learning tablet designed for kids ages four and up. Designed for little hands and big imaginations, LeapPad will launch with LeapFrog’s largest library ever with plans to offer more than 100 learning game cartridges, books, apps, and videos. The existing library of Leapster Explorer game cartridges and apps is cross compatible with LeapPad. Kids can doodle on photos taken with the built-in camera, create a story about themselves in the Story Studio, or bring their favorite characters to life with the Animation Studio. LeapPad aims to offer kids the ability to create their own personalized experiences and have fun while learning at their own pace with content that automatically adjusts to their skill level. Each LeapPad book app is actually three books in one, offering each story at three different levels. LeapPad has 2 GB of memory, and a five-inch touch screen with 480 x 272 resolution. It offers kids motion-based play with a sensor and includes a built-in camera, video recorder, microphone, and stylus. LeapPad is now available for presale at select retailers.

CollectionHQ Launches New Discovery Module

CollectionHQ recently announced the launch of a powerful new Discovery module. The module provides unique insight into the material that is being read most frequently by library patrons, and presents the results in an interactive browser interface. In addition, the Discovery module enables libraries to cross reference data against their own holdings, so that gap analysis can be carried out quickly. For example, Discovery could enable a library to search for the most popular books on digital photography nationally over the past six months, restricting the results to show only items that the library has never purchased. The library could add these titles to purchase lists. CollectionHQ is a software application for public libraries delivered as a hosted, subscription-based service over the Internet. It uses the principles embodied in Evidence Based Stock Management (EBSM), a collection performance improvement methodology designed for libraries.

OverDrive Debuts New ContentWire Newsletter

OverDrive recently announced the availability of a new version of ContentWire. Targeted for children and young adult audiences, the monthly newsletter is a tool to help children’s and teen selectors to be aware of what’s newly available from OverDrive. It will feature new children’s publishers, popular series, required reads, and award winners. Also be on the lookout for selection and searching tips to help selectors make the most out of digital collections for younger patrons.

OverDrive Launches Test Drive

OverDrive recently launched Test Drive, a program that assists libraries in offering e-book devices for demonstration and lending. OverDrive provides guidelines, recommendations, best practices, and promotional materials for integrating e-book devices into everyday services, all within publisher copyrights and library-lending policies. Three options are available for program implementation: (1) staff education and training; (2) demo devices at the library; or (3) lending devices to users. OverDrive does not sell devices; once your library purchases the devices, you may use the Test Drive toolkit to help in preparing the devices for training, demos, or lending. Test Drive programs are required to be operated with consideration for publisher copyright permissions for lending e-books. Libraries participating in the programs will have access to recommendations and best practices to acquire devices that provide assistive features for
low vision and blind readers.

Gimlet Tracks Reference Data

Sidecar Publications’ Gimlet, a statistical tool for reference questions, allows users to build a searchable knowledge base while tracking questions. The tracking form is customizable and permits storage of full-text Q&As for search and retrieval. A tagging feature helps with trend and pattern discovery. A Gimlet bookmarklet integrates with the form; anytime you find yourself answering a question where a webpage contains the answer, you may use the bookmarklet. If the answer to a patron question is on a webpage, the bookmarklet adds that answer to the appropriate field on the answer form. Once recorded, full-text answers are searchable by text or tags through filters. The starring feature allows for boosting best answers to the top of the result list. The reports tab allows for building a table of data points, sorting, highlighting, and filtering, as well as for exporting data to spreadsheets. Gimlet provides useful data for scheduling by tracking the times that the desk is busy. The software is free for the first site; reports and additional sites are $10 per month, no contract is necessary.

User Feedback Drives Gale PowerSearch Enhancements

Gale, part of Cengage Learning, recently announced enhancements to Gale PowerSearch, its specially designed platform that offers cross-searching of periodical content, reference content, primary source information, and e-books from a single interface. Based on user feedback, Gale has added a multitude of new features, including search assist, expanded content, and enhanced subject and publication search options. The features allow for a faster and easier way to search the more than 180 million entries and multiple online resources with a single query.

EBSCO Publishing Releases Business Source Corporate Plus

EBSCO has expanded its collection of corporate research solutions with the release of Business Source Corporate Plus (BSC+). The database includes full text from more than 4,000 quality business journals, magazines,and trade publications. It provides researchers with full-text newspapers, television and news radio transcripts, SWOT analyses and more than 950 full-text books and monographs. BSC+ also offers researchers access to more than 20,000 industry reports, conference proceedings, country reports, and monographs.

BSC+ also provides two companion databases with hundreds of full-text sources including regional business publications, newspapers, and newswires. With daily updates, Regional Business News provides full text for more than eighty regional US and Canadian business publications. The McClatchy-Tribune Collection includes a 90-day archive of more than 280 newspapers from the McClatchy-Tribune wire service. PL

The post New Product News Jan/Feb 2012 first appeared on Public Libraries Online.