Is Kindle burning a hole in your Mobipocket

1. e-books and the public library Martin Palmer Resources Procurement & Deployment Manager: Libraries NAG Conference September 2008 Is Kindle burning a hole in your Mobipocket?

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3. 3 Essex libraries and e-books: 2003� Any demand? Any specific audiences? Housebound people? Mobile library users? VIPs? Which format? Which subjects? How do you promote? Alternative supply models?

4. 4 Previously, on e-books� Rocket reader� Gemstar� Franklin e-bookman� Philips e-book� Sony Librie� And more� All proprietary, usually single function, devices�

5. 5 So, what is an e-book? We said it was� A book in electronic format� NOT the reader itself� Can be read on a multifunctional device � PC Laptop PDA Smartphone

6. 6 Content? Was there anything anybody might actually want to read? If so, who could supply it? Overdrive � Cleveland, Ohio: good range of popular material Traditional supply model: one copy/one reader 21 day loan Ebrary � Palo Alto, California: �Public library collection� - 2500 titles (now 7,000+), simultaneous access for all readers

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13. 13 Feedback�generally favourable The ebook site is wonderful: it's what the Internet was invented for... ��recommending it to all my friends, and a neighbour - �who is blind - has just started to use ebooks as a result� Useful to take on holiday or even private study when a paper book is less easy to cope with. Can be used anywhere; takes up a small space in bags etc if travelling And this is the kind of feedback we got� Well, some of them were extremely enthusiastic � particularly one housebound man who felt it was what the Internet was invented for� He also had a neighbour who was blind, and who was making use of the Adobe �Read Aloud� facility, where a rather mechanistic voice will read your ebook to you� We had felt this wasn�t a good enough service to promote, but this man showed that this clearly was an incorrect assumption on our part� Other people pointed out other advantages such as ease of use when travelling, and the ability to carry the equivalent of a dozen or so books in a small PDA seemed very useful to many readers�And this is the kind of feedback we got� Well, some of them were extremely enthusiastic � particularly one housebound man who felt it was what the Internet was invented for� He also had a neighbour who was blind, and who was making use of the Adobe �Read Aloud� facility, where a rather mechanistic voice will read your ebook to you� We had felt this wasn�t a good enough service to promote, but this man showed that this clearly was an incorrect assumption on our part� Other people pointed out other advantages such as ease of use when travelling, and the ability to carry the equivalent of a dozen or so books in a small PDA seemed very useful to many readers�

14. 14 But not always� I read quickly and was irritated by the flicker of moving the small pages on. Not easy to check back when I want to. I found it very irritating Think it puts you off reading. Long term eyesight effects? Would turn us off reading. Not clear how we buy. How we get books - costs? Cost and browser use. End of libraries such as Loughton and Debden And some absolutely hated them, and thought they might mean the end of the library service as we know it�And some absolutely hated them, and thought they might mean the end of the library service as we know it�

15. 15 Pilot�and beyond Pilot viewed as success� Sufficient demand to make e-books part of mainstream service�

16. 16 Current take-up?

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19. 19 Questions for public libraries� Integration with Library Management System � yes/no/how? Authentication� Security� Support � �I�ve got an ebx.etd file and I don�t know what to do with it..� �Should I be using Adobe 8?� No sense of humor� Promotion?

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21. 21 Assumptions challenged� �Everything we thought we knew about who�d use e-books was wrong�� Patricia Lowry, Cleveland (Ohio) Public Library Meanwhile, much of what seemed to be received wisdom about ebooks when we started has been shown to be incorrect� Most research suggested that there was no ebook market for fiction/recreational reading � we now know that�s not true� This quote from Patricia Lowry in Cleveland Ohio confirms that it�s not just us � many US libraries have been surprised to discover that Romance is their most popular ebook category, and that their largest single group of ebook users are truck drivers�Meanwhile, much of what seemed to be received wisdom about ebooks when we started has been shown to be incorrect� Most research suggested that there was no ebook market for fiction/recreational reading � we now know that�s not true� This quote from Patricia Lowry in Cleveland Ohio confirms that it�s not just us � many US libraries have been surprised to discover that Romance is their most popular ebook category, and that their largest single group of ebook users are truck drivers�

22. 22 Currently in Essex, and next�? Two popular, and different, services available remotely 24/7 Good range of content Readable on a variety of platforms � PC, Mac, PDA, phone� Integrated into main library offer� Overdrive also provide e-audio, e-video, e-music� More suppliers�?

23. 23 Widening market� More suppliers - eg: MyiLibrary � 100,000 titles from Ingram, 1000 more each week� DNL interactive e-books�contain video, music, and more But, meanwhile, in the outside world�

24. 24 E-books are the next big thing - again In the form of proprietary e-readers�again Kindle Sony iLiad Cybook And more� Most use e-ink, to make them look like paper books�

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27. 27 E-books � big time, this time�? Kindle � from Amazon, US only currently $400, reduced to $360 in May: sold 240,000? Sell 500,000 more over next 12 months? Sony Reader in US since 2006 �199 in Waterstones, from September Iliad �399 in Borders, from May

28. 28 Not completely proprietary�? Kindle: compatible with mobi� and online access to: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times� Newsweek, Time, Readers Digest� Gawker, The Onion� Sony Reader � compatible with .epub and adobe� Penguin to publish 1500 bestsellers in .epub

29. 29 But � not for libraries�? The contentious characteristic of both products is that they bar users from sharing their e-books with other users. Gizmodo.com

30. 30 So � not for libraries�? Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener told Library Journal that a loan of a Kindle without content is OK But sharing a device loaded with content "with a wide group of people would not be in line with the terms of use."

31. 31 Or - OK for libraries�? Greetings from Amazon.com Thank you for contacting Amazon.com Kindle. We appreciate your interest in using the Amazon Kindle in your Library. We have reviewed through our Terms and Conditions regarding this matter and the Amazon Kindle. You will be able to purchase Kindles for your library to use for checking out to patrons, as long as you are not reselling the digital content.

32. 32 Meanwhile, in another part of the forest�

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35. 35 One Million i-Phones sold in first weekend: hint, hint to clueless book biz� David Rothman, Teleread Is the i-Phone the ultimate eBook reader?... Josh Catone, Read Write Web

36. 36 iPhone as e-book reader? Fictionwise eReader for iPhone (.pdb) available now Stanza for iPhone (.epub) available now Mobipocket for iPhone on the way� Adobe Reader for iPhone� (?)

37. 37 Apocalypse Now? e-book costs falling as those of traditional production � printing, transport - are rising� Publishers�booksellers�libraries all replaced by Amazon and Kindle? Or i-Books and Apple�? (pace Steve Jobs � People don�t read anymore�� Jan 2008 )

38. 38 or, All Together Now? Perhaps e-books will simply find a niche, alongside paper books� �in the way that radio/tv/cinema all co-exist now�?