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Everything Old Is New Again: Digital Library Services. Sarah Houghton, MA, MLIS e-Services Librarian, Marin County Free Library. Books to eBooks. Why do libraries offer eBooks? Time, space, and cost savings Reach new people in the community Increase support for the library
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Everything Old Is New Again: Digital Library Services Sarah Houghton, MA, MLIS e-Services Librarian, Marin County Free Library
Books to eBooks Why do libraries offer eBooks? • Time, space, and cost savings • Reach new people in the community • Increase support for the library • Available 24/7 when the library isn’t open
Text eBooks Presented as: • webpages (HTML) to read online • page images (PDF) to download for portable use
Audio eBooks • Presented as downloadable digital audio files • None are compatible with Apple products (e.g. iPods, Macs) • What do they sound like?
Popular Subjects for eBooks • Popular fiction • Travel guides • Business • Technology • Self-improvement
What’s Next For eBooks? • Apple device compatibility • Cheaper and cheaper = affordable for more libraries • Smaller files = faster downloads
Reference to eReference First we answered questions in person. Then we added the phone. Now….. Virtual Reference: answering questions through an electronic medium • e-mail • web-based chat • instant messaging
E-mail Reference • Fill out a form online, get an e-mail reply • Turnaround time: 24-48 hours usually • Detailed and local questions, adults
Web-based Chat Reference • Fill out a form on a webpage, start chatting • Turnaround time: instant! • All questions, users w/ higher-end PCs
Instant Messaging Reference • Uses popular IM programs (AOL, Yahoo) • Turnaround time: instant! • Homework & business questions, techies, kids, teens
What’s Next for eReference? • More libraries offering instant messaging reference services • Reference via cell-phone text messaging • Video and audio reference (webcams)
New Publicity Frontier • Traditional Library Publicity • flyers • print newsletters • newspaper blurbs • public service announcements • The New Frontier • weblogs (blogs) • RSS
What’s with the Blogs? • Blogs (weblogs) are websites • Updated frequently • Newer posts show up at the top • A “what’s new at the library” • Keep patrons informed about events, new materials, online resources, recommended reading, good websites…….
Marin County Free Library Blog RSS feeds
RSS: Really Simple Syndication • RSS figures out “what’s new” on the website • Users choose what they want to read about from different websites (like the library) • These feeds of “what’s new” on the site go into an aggregator • Can read at your leisure
RSS Aggregator: Bloglines Different Sites New Stuff from Site
What’s Next for Blogs & RSS? • More libraries with blogs • RSS feeds from library catalogs (starting already) • new books from favorite authors • new items in your interest areas (DVDs, etc.) • books are due soon
Questions? Sarah Houghton shoughton@co.marin.ca.us AIM: LibrarianInBlack http://www.librarianinblack.net