e-books and the public library

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Is Kindle burning a hole in your Mobipocket?

• e-books and the public library
• Martin Palmer
• Resources Procurement Deployment Manager
  Libraries
• NAG Conference September 2008

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Essex libraries and e-books 2003

• Pilot project, funded by LASER Foundation,
  organised by Co-East and Loughborough University.
  Hosted by Essex.
• To explore feasibility of e-books in UK public
  libraries
• Other projects around the same time Richmond,
  Blackburn Darwen
• Not about e-reference

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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?

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Previously, on e-books

• Rocket reader
• Gemstar
• Franklin e-bookman
• Philips e-book
• Sony Librie
• And more
• All proprietary, usually single function,
  devices

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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

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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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Feedbackgenerally 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

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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

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Pilotand beyond

• Pilot viewed as success
• Sufficient demand to make e-books part of
  mainstream service

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Current take-up?
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Questions for public libraries

• Integration with Library Management System
  yes/no/how?
• Authentication
• Security
• Support
• Ive got an ebx.etd file and I dont know what
  to do with it..
• Should I be using Adobe 8?
• No sense of humor
• Promotion?

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Assumptions challenged

• Everything we thought we knew about whod use
  e-books was wrong
• Patricia Lowry, Cleveland (Ohio)
  Public Library

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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?

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Widening market

• More suppliers - eg
• MyiLibrary 100,000 titles from Ingram, 1000
  more each week
• DNL interactive e-bookscontain video, music, and
  more
• But, meanwhile, in the outside world

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E-books are the next big thing - again

• In the form of proprietary e-readersagain
• Kindle
• Sony
• iLiad
• Cybook
• And more
• Most use e-ink, to make them look like paper
  books

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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

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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

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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

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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."

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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.

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Meanwhile, in another part of the forest
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• 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

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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 (?)

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Apocalypse Now?

• e-book costs falling as those of traditional
  production printing, transport - are rising
• Publishersbooksellerslibraries
• all replaced by Amazon and Kindle?
• Or i-Books and Apple?
• (pace Steve Jobs People dont read anymore
  Jan 2008 )

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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?