Prompt Response- -E-books

I thought it was interesting to read from the Library Journal article that regarding e-book budgets, 17% will be taken from the Reference budget (2013, 5). This ensures that more reference items will be available via databases. At my local library the use of e-books is growing though they have more technical questions as to how to download items on their particular device. My library uses Overdrive which is to accommodate various types of e-readers (Nook, Kindle, Sony Reader) and tablets. Currently we have more audiobooks being checked out than e-books. Viewing how patrons are accessing e-books they prefer to download these materials on their own (36).

I was most impressed with the e-book categories graph in the article (43). More nonfiction titles need to be included and I liked that foreign language items were highly regarded.  E-books and young adult titles are the trend. The in-demand book genres match what is at my library for both e-books and audiobooks, leading with Bestsellers, Mystery/Suspense, and Romance (45).  After meeting with a cataloger from my local public library she told me that both erotic and religious-based romances in these formats were being checked out regularly. Regarding nonfiction Self-Help, Business, Biographies, Cooking, Weight Loss, and Travel are also popular.

I was surprised by the 65% of those libraries surveyed not wanting to purchase e-book titles from e-book originals or self-published e-books (51). I think this will change in the future; since several young adult and graphic novels come from independent publishers they should be considered as well. I already see e-book collections promoted on my library’s catalog and was impressed by the how word of mouth helps market these items (56). A few patrons from my library access the catalog from their smartphone so they may be checking out e-books independently. Personally I have seen e-books promoted on blogs and not displays. The awareness of e-book availability is a very important factor to libraries (59).

Patron-driven acquisition seems to be another growing trend (82). For me, the take home use of e-readers would depend on the patron’s history (fines, damaged items, etc.). At this time libraries should include both books and e-books. In house circulation statistics are important to have when purchasing these items. Staff training on how to answer technical questions and use the e-book downloading service as well as weeding these items is crucial. It is vital that both small and large libraries can provide e-book lending as a service because the demand is clearly there for all regions surveyed in the article.

What I did not see in this survey was any statistics regarding patrons with disabilities. Although e-books “present great potential for users with print disabilities”, e-book publishers have created e-books and e-readers that are “inaccessible to those with visual, hearing or learning disabilities” (Junus, 2012, 22). From Junus’s research, Amazon’s Kindle allowed the most access to e-text formats (i.e., EPUB, PDF, DOC, Txt, HTML, etc.); the Kindle Fire with App, Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet, and Apple iBook e-readers included DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) (25).  In this study the Amazon Kindle was most accessible and I was glad to read that users prefer the .PDF format. I wear glasses and prefer articles this way for the white adequate spacing around text, the use of pictures, and zoom in features for PDF files. Patrons with disabilities may need to know how to download Apps as this is becoming the trend and cost-effective.

Resources

Junus, A.G.R. (2012, October). E-books and E-readers for users with print disabilities.Library Technology Reports, 48(7), 22-28.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy2.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6ddcc999-d2a3-4ab3-abde-765c553cee0a%40sessionmgr4005&vid=10&hid=4206

Library Journal. (2013). Ebook usage in U.S. public libraries [PDF document]. Retrieved from:

            https://s3.amazonaws.com/WebVault/research/PublicLibraryReport-2013.pdf