Libraries and eBook Readers Virgil Fuller Hartland, VT and Howe Library and Lebanon Public Libraries, NH Listen Up! Vermont Coordinator for the Green Mountain Library Consortium Laura Crain Associate Director for Collection Services Saint Michaels College May 24, 2011 Vermont Library Conference

Have you ever read an eBook cover to cover? 1. Yes 2. No

Why should libraries care about eBook Readers?

eBook Sales How does Vermont rank? Barnes & Noble three month period beginning December 2010 through February 2011 Source: Smashwords dataSmashwords Vermont ranked 50 th out of states for percentage of U.S. eBook sales. Per capita eBook consumption: Vermont ranked 30 th.

At the end of 2010 Association of American Publishers eBook sales were 9% of total consumer book sales

For the month of February 2011 Association of American Publishers eBooks ranked as the #1 format among all categories of trade publishing

eBook bestsellers Combined bestsellers

Do you personally own an ereader or device with an e-reader app? 1. I own an ereader: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony…. 2. A device - tablet, smartphone, ipod with an e-reader app that I installed 3. I own both 1 & 2 4. NO!

New York Times, Feb. 5, 2011 E-readers catch younger eyes and find room in the backpack

Does the Library that you work in circulate ereaders or tablets to patrons? 1. Yes 2. No 3. I dont work in a library

Saint Michaels Kindles: Costs Three 2 nd $360 each 3 bags to store devices, manuals & $30 each Total cost for devices and bags: $1170 Each Kindle contains 145 titles Total content cost: $820 Total cost: $1985 Available for checkout September 2009

The Nuts & Bolts of Acquisitions After downloading content: remove credit card info Circulation period: 28 days

Kindles at Saint Mikes A Kindle book can be put on up to 6 devices Kindles with themes: Gender Studies Environment Peace & Justice Themes were a flop So… we made them all the same and distributed the titles on all the Kindles

Cost per use Kindles $1985 ÷ 36 circulations = $55 per use New print books at St. Mikes.50 circulation rate in 1 st year of acquisition $75 (avg. cost of academic book) $75 ÷.50 circ = $150 per use A year and a half later…

Broken, Lost, Stolen

Curriculum-based EN 385 Technotextualities: Digital Literary Studies taught by Professor Maura DAmore

NOOKcolor March 2011 purchased: NOOKcolor: $249 2 yr protection: $55 Screen protector: $17 Bag: $10 15 childrens picture eBooks: $134 Total cost to date: $465

Do you think ereaders are greener than print books? 1. Yes 2. No 3. It depends 4. Dont know

Ereader devices abound 2010 Consumer Electronics Show

Ereaders are so last year Summing up the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show --Library Journal, Feb. 15, 2011

The Trouble with E-Readers by David Pogue Scientific American Magazine, November 2010 Television didnt kill radio as everyone expected. didnt wipe out paper mail, either; the paperless office may never arrive. For the same reason, e-books wont kill paper books.

The Future Portability Device neutral / Device agnostic Tablets - iPad, BlackBerry, Galaxy, Amazon? Phones eReader apps One device – many apps Sharing - Lendle / Library lending In the cloud Multifunctional touch screens

Sources Are E-readers Greener Than Books? (2009). Green: A Blog About Energy and the Environment. Aug. 31, e-readers-greener-than-books Bosman, J. (2011). E-Readers Catch Younger Eyes and Go in Backpacks. New York Times, Feb. 4, Coker, M. (2011). Where U.S. Ebook Buyers Live. March 29, Pogue, D. (2010). The Trouble with E-Readers. Scientific American Magazine, Nov Rapp, D. (2011). Tablet Crazy. Library Journal, Feb. 15, Review of the Day: Its a Book by Lane Smith. A Fuse #8 Production. School Library Journal, Nov. 24, day-its-a-book-by-lane-smith/ Sibley, L. (2009). Cleantech Group Report: E-Readers a Win for Carbon Emissions. Aug. 19, envi