OverDrive, Publishers, and eBooks. Oh my!

Due to an increase in e-reader ownership, more and more libraries are providing patrons with access to e-books, with the help of e-book providers like Overdrive.  To patrons, these e-book providers are a great service which their libraries provide them.  Which e-reader owner doesn’t want access to hundreds of popular titles, available to be borrowed for free from their public library?  If I had an e-reader, I know I would definitely take advantage of this resource.  In order for libraries to keep up with new technology and thus the needs of their tech savvy patrons, libraries know that it’s important to provide these services.  There are many reasons why these types of services are great for patrons and libraries, but many librarians feel that patronizing e-book providers, like Overdrive, is more problematic than it is beneficial, at least from a library stand-point. 

The Kansas State Library, which signed its first contract with OverDrive in December 2005, had to renegotiate with the vendor this year, as their contract would soon be up.  The new contract they received from Overdrive however, was not one that they were expecting, or could even afford.  As it turned out, OverDrive was increasing their price by 700% over their last contract.  In addition to the extraordinary increase in price, there was also a change in how the eBooks would be provided to them.  With their old contract, eBooks were considered purchased content, but in the new contract, it was obvious that the library would no longer be owning the eBooks, they were now only provided license to lend them to library users for as long as the contract was valid.  And so, the Kansas State Library chose to not renew their agreement with OverDrive and they have yet to find a new provider.  Kansas State Librarian, Jo Budler, feels that it really isn’t OverDrive’s fault though, she says:  “OverDrive is really caught in a squeeze as a middleman – all of these eBook vendors are – with publishers on one side and libraries and their patrons on the other.”[1] 

One of the main reasons why OverDrive had to change their contracts with their customers is because of publishers changing the way in which libraries can lend out their books, now that eBooks are a huge part of a library’s catalogue.  HarperCollins for instance, now limits libraries to lending out each of their titles only 26 times before the library has to re-pay for additional lending.  Since providers, like OverDrive are caught in the middle, Budler says “we need to collaborate as partners – libraries and publishers.  Let’s all gain from this.”

For those of you wondering why libraries would even try to work with eBook providers right now considering this transitional period seems to be a costly hassle, I will provide you with some positive information about eBooks in libraries, as it really isn’t ALL bad.  In October, Overdrive released their third quarter results, which include numbers from the 15,000 libraries that utilize the OverDrive network.  The results showed that the number of eBooks checked out nearly tripled in number for the third quarter, in comparison to all of 2010.  Additionally, there were more than 2 million new users, using not only e-readers, but mobile devices as well.  Since users have to have a library card and check-out these eBooks from their local libraries, this can only mean one thing:  E-Readers and eBooks are actually bringing people to their local libraries, as opposed to keeping them away, which is what many people thought would happen.   Libraries should be able to rejoice knowing that technology won’t be making them obsolete, but in the mean time, they have those pesky contracts (and those greedy publishers) to worry about.

                Sources:

1. “Kansas Leading the Fight for Fair Ebook Access in Libraries,” Nancy K. Herther.  http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Kansas-Leading-the-Fight-for-Fair-Ebook-Access-in-Libraries-78302.asp
2.  “eBook growth in public libraries powered by OverDrive results in record checkouts and new Users,” OverDrive Press Release [October 12, 2011].  http://www.librarytechnology.org/ltg-displaytext.pl?

Are e-readers truly the future?

In a world where e-readers seem to be taking control of the casual reading market, it is only natural to wonder if they can or will be as popular in other settings as well. More specifically, is it possible for elementary school students to utilize these tools effectively and, if so, how early should the be included in a child's education? To answer these questions, I spoke with two teachers currently working in elementary schools in the United States.

The first, Michael, has been teaching for almost three decades at various grade levels, including elementary, middle, and high school. He has also recently begun using an Amazon Kindle. When asked if he thought that e-readers would be relevant to education in the near future, his answer was an emphatic "yes". He went on to say, in fact, that he believed that e-readers would be the "next big thing in education, especially at the elementary level." At his school, students are evaluated twice a year to determine their reading levels and the main areas where they require improvement. Each classroom includes a small "library" of fiction and non-fiction books at various levels and the students select books to read from the appropriate level. A digital library would not only be able to cover a wider range of books for the students, but would require less upkeep than the physical libraries that are housed within each individual classroom. Students also could not really "lose" e-books, at least not in a way that would require replacement in the school's collection.

He went on to mention the ease with which teachers could track student reading, and that the software could suggest books directly to the students based on their reading level and areas of interest. Along these lines, he brought up the particular difficulty of finding books for adolescent boys. Most children's and young adult books are written with girls in mind rather than boys, according to Michael. He believes that it would be easier for picky readers to find books which they might enjoy with the introduction of e-readers, something that would encourage more students to be casual readers in the long run.

The second teacher whom I spoke to, Devin, works as an art teacher at an elementary school and has been teaching for less than five years. Though she does not have any experience using e-readers in her classroom, she has seen their implementation in the rest of the school. Often, she finds, children seem to learn their use faster than adults to, and she definitely advocates their use with children as young as four or five. Their are some drawbacks to the introduction of e-readers that Devin mentioned, such as "the expense and having to take the time to train teachers." However, she felt that "most [teachers] would react in a very positive way." The use of e-readers would also free up a great deal of space in small classrooms, a fact that both she and Michael mentioned.

The consensus from both teachers was that e-readers will, in the very near future, replace books as the preferred medium in schools. As Devin put it: "For schools, I say it is only a matter of time before books are completely replaced." She did, however, preface this with the following statement: "Personally, I like holding a physical book in my hand but that is because I am a nerd."

Amen to that, sister.

Benefits of E-Readers in County Libraries:

According to the National Association of Counties' publication, County News, county libraries are being benefited by the lending of e-readers.  Shelly Kilgas, the Director of Technology at Grand County Library in Colorado, states in the article that she finds e-books to be more cost efficient for libraries than books in print (Taylor, 2011).  Libraries that offer e-readers to their patrons are seeing an increase in their patronage. Frank Marin, head of audiovisual popular reading services at the Broward’s North Regional-Broward College Library, says in the County News article, “It makes books available to people in a new way, brings people into the library, and I think it’s part of how we adapt today to the changing times for libraries" (Taylor, 2011).  

As a result, for those libraries that offer e-readers, circulation is booming.  At the Arlington County Public Library in Virginia, at any one time 74 percent of their e-book collection was checked out, as compared to 20 percent for their print collections.  Also, borrowers of e-readers are generally considerate with the valuable piece of equipment, something that can not be said for many library books. Frank Marin states in the article that his library had seen no damage to their e-readers, and all of them were accounted for.  Shelly Kilgas said the same for her library (Taylor, 2011).

For now, most libraries are just focusing on e-books.  However e-readers also have the capability to read PDF files, in which case all sorts of documents can be read.  For the county library, this means that  county documents, such as board agendas could be made available for public access.  Also, e-readers would give libraries the capability of offering their own original content (Taylor, 2011).

Now, even though the e-reader has its benefits, the librarians in this article agree that bound books won't go extinct any time soon.  Frank Marin puts it this way: ...The reality is that most often these things exist side by side. The movie theaters didn’t go away when VCRs came along, and certainly we’re always going to have books.  I think there’ll be new ways of accessing them" (Taylor, 2011).  Nicely said, Frank.

Taylor, C. (2011). County libraries see benefits in lending e-readers. County News: The Voice of 

America's Counties, 43(1), Retrieved from http://www.naco.org/newsroom/countynews/Current           Issue/1-17-11/Pages/Countylibrariesseebenefitsinlendinge-readers.aspx

E-Readers at the Romeo District Library

We’ve already discussed e-readers in an academic setting in a previous post and there are many articles on the web that discuss e-readers in public libraries.  I thought it would be interesting though, to find out more about how e-readers are being used in our own local public libraries.  As a result, I made a visit to my local library, the Graubner Branch Library, part of the Romeo District Library in Romeo, Michigan. 

At the library, I spoke with Heather VanFleet, one of the Adult Services Librarians.  She informed me that the Romeo District Library actually has five e-readers that patrons can check out.  She said the only way that Romeo was able to provide the Kindle’s to patrons, was because the Lion’s Club of Romeo donated them. 

I asked her what having e-readers available meant for the library and for the librarians that worked there.  She told me that the library staff is split on how they feel about e-readers, which really didn’t surprise me.  Some of the staff have e-readers and love them and others really don’t like them, but they are still happy that they can offer that service to patrons who do like them.  She also told me that although they are very grateful that they were given Kindles, it also creates some problems.  I wasn’t aware of this before, but apparently Kindles are only compatible with e-books purchased from Amazon.  The e-books available through the Romeo District Library are actually available through Overdrive and the Suburban Library Cooperative.  Not all of the e-books available there are from Amazon and so if a patron checks out a Kindle, they won’t have access to all of the e-books. 

The Lending Agreement Form

Additionally, the Kindles create a little more work and worry for the librarians.  Each patron who wants to check out a kindle, must fill out a Kindle Lending Agreement Form.  The form was actually modeled off of the one used at the Clinton-Macomb Public Library for their e-reader lending.  Additionally, the librarian must fill out a checklist.  Not only do they have to verify that the patron qualifies to borrow an e-reader, but the librarian also has to make sure that the device is still working, that all of the parts are still present, and that the titles are loaded on the Kindle.  Because of e-readers, each librarian who helps a patron check one out must know how to use the e-reader, so that requires additional training for each staff member.

Another issue with e-readers at the Romeo District Library is that because of their value and the limited number of e-readers available, not every patron will be qualified to use the Kindle.  The library requires that each user be at least 18 years old and they must be a resident of either the village of Romeo or two of the surrounding townships.  Additionally, the patron is required to pay a $20.00 refundable deposit.  Not everyone will be able to afford to pay this deposit and so I think it really limits which patrons will be able to use the e-readers.  If the e-reader is damaged or lost, there are additional fees that the patron will be responsible for as well, so there’s a possibility that some people may not want to take that risk of checking one out.  Lastly, their Kindles are only available for a week at a time because of their high demand and for some, that may not be enough time to finish an e-book.

I am in no way saying that I think e-readers in public libraries are a bad idea, nor am I implying that I think the Romeo District Library is doing a poor job at providing e-readers and managing their lending program.  The real problems in providing e-readers in public libraries comes from the fact that there are limits to which e-books are used on which e-readers because of the many different brands and companies that sell them.   Another problem is that because of the high cost of e-readers, libraries have to take many precautions with their e-readers, which can lead to patrons having to shell out quite a bit of money to use one if some sort of accident happens with it.

I actually think having e-readers in a public library could be a great idea, especially for those patrons who would love to be able to use an e-reader and have access to the many e-books available.  I just think that having e-readers in public libraries won’t be a practical thing to offer until the costs go down, so all patrons can have access, and the access to e-books, based on e-reader brand, improves.

Sources and important links listed below:

http://www.libcoop.net/romeo/

http://slc.lib.overdrive.com/A732D534-A90C-46DA-A12D-1BED3D28B52A/10/496/en/Default.htm

E-Readers in the Classroom

When considering the impact that e-readers from the point of view of academics, the question that should be asked before all others is: Should we even bother?

If e-readers do not provide any distinct academic advantages to the students or the institutions over paper books, then time and resources should not be wasted with attempting to adapt them to classroom use.  Along these lines, studies have been performed at Penn State University during the 2008 - 2009 academic year, and at Princeton University in the fall of 2009.

The Penn State study used 100 of the Sony PRS-505, and did not focused exclusively on their use in the classroom.  Due to the licencing model of the Sony reader, which was designed so that the "e-library" on a computer can be synced with at most five individual readers, the study's administrators had to get a bit creative to run their 100 readers on less than 20 machines.  They did in fact solve this problem using two computers, nine virtual machines, and separate log-in information for each e-library.  The readers were loaded with leisure reading as well as the required materials for classes.  The study was run in both English and library studies classes.

The reactions of the students pointed out several known issues with the readers, but also gave some new insight with regards to their usefulness for classroom purposes.  According to the study, most students used the readers only in their dorm rooms despite the fact that it is a mobile device.  It was speculated from the students' comments that this was due to an inability to make in-text notations or easily navigate pages.  The students felt that the readers needed more multimedia functionality and wireless capability, and that it should have been easier to interact with the text.

The students felt, generally, more immersed in their texts when read on the readers.  In the English class, many of the students were not majoring in the humanities, and the overall feeling was that the Sony reader would not lend itself well to the hard sciences.  They did not want to commit to buying an e-reader in the near future as they were unsure if they would use it outside of the classroom assignments, and due to the fact that they felt it was probable that they'd have to buy paper books as well.

The article I viewed did not provide much in the way of statistics, and I would be interested in going over those.  Also, many of the issues that the students in the Penn State study had seemed specific to the Sony reader.

The Princeton study used the Amazon Kindle DX (which was not available at the time of the Penn State study) in conjunction with 3 faculty members and 51 students.  It focused on the effects of the e-readers on printing habits, and on overall classroom experience.

The study found that the use of the Kindle did, in fact, reduce the amount of printing by the students.  The average paper use of Kindle users was around half that of non-Kindle users, when compared to previous semester figures.

When asked to compare reading on the Kindle to reading out of a book, most students in the study felt that the experiences were about the same.  Most wished that more course readings were available on the Kindle, though they were not sure if more courses would use e-reader technology.  Several complaints about the difficulty of navigation were brought up as well.  The students liked having all of their course readings on one device and the ability to search on the Kindle.  They would have liked to have seen more compatibility with PDF files, better annotation tools, and the ability to organize documents into folders.

Overall, the consensus seemed to be that, though the students enjoyed reading on the Kindle, printed off less paper, and were happy to have all of their readings on one device, the Kindle left a lot to be desired in terms of note-taking.

Looking at these two studies, it seems to me that e-readers in their current form cannot supplant books in the classroom.  Though reading on them is convenient, they are designed with leisure reading in mind, not academics.  If e-readers were to be a viable option on college campuses, it is my opinion that the e-reader would have to be designed with specifically that purpose in mind.  Most importantly, making notations on the documents themselves and general navigation would need to be made easier.

I have wondered how much of our opinions on e-readers are shaped solely by the fact that we have been using books for so long, and going over these studies gives me something a bit more concrete to consider.  There are some essentials that are much, much easier to do on paper right now and, until e-readers provide a similar experience, they will always be deficient in the classroom.

The Penn State and Princeton studies can be found below:

americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/09242009/e-readers-action

www.princeton.edu/ereaderpilot/