with Carson Block Library Technology Consultant Public Librarian’s Guide to E-Books Webinar One: Intro to E-Books

Why worry about E-Books? Won’t they just go away if I ignore them?

Who will benefit from this webinar? Public Librarians just starting or trying to build an E-Reader loan program or E-Book collection at their library Any library staff member hoping to better understand the ins and outs of this ever- growing service The Librarian ( Giuseppe Arcimboldo)

Why does this subject seem so complex? It *is* complex Libraries of all sizes and stripes are struggling to understand This webinar series won’t cover all of the nuances. But it is designed to help you know where – and how – to start.

Learning Outcomes for the Series Down-to-earth and practical approach Gain a complete understanding of the nature of E-Books and why they are important to add to library collections Learn the ins and outs of licensing, purchasing and lending E-Books

Learning Outcomes for the Series Receive tips and actionable steps to add E- Books and E-Readers to your library collection Hear strategies for creating a sustainable and scalable E-Book program for your library

Meet Carson Library Technology Consultant 16 years serving library technology IT Director, staff member, leader, consultant, project manager, geek!

My E-Book background and role Co-Chair of a joint public academic/public library committee on eBooks and eReaders Committee produced a report in May 2011 – released nationally Personal passion: E-Books are a “Top 5” issue Teacher and facilitator

Today: Introduction to E-Books Introduction to the E-Book and E-Reader market Talk to a library director who is passionate about E-Books Consider a contrarian point of view Briefly look at devices (but, unfortunately, no vendor panel)

How to participate Ask as questions come to mind (use Q & A box) Webinar staff will bring questions forward Ask now! Don’t wait…

E-Books are here to stay Remember the 2010 Holiday season? E-Books are in the news Lots of library webinars (mea culpa) Ever-changing topic Hard to keep up

Some Stats… Barnes & Noble: 2010 holiday online sales of E-Books outstripped physical books Amazon: online sales of E-Books for Kindle surpassed sale of paperback books in early 2011 OCLC 2010 Perceptions of Libraries: 1,554% growth in E-Book sales ($345 M)

Some Trends… People are buying more electronic books People are buying E-Reader devices and software These people are also our patrons OCLC 2010 Perceptions study: Books are out brand (and E-Books are books)

One Library’s E-Book Story… Geoff Kirkpatrick, Director Bethlehem Public Library Delmar, NY

Questions for Geoff?

On the other hand… Some libraries understand the issues well, and are choosing not to add E-Books Costs for subscriptions can compete with limited budgets currently devoted to physical materials Limited dollars can serve more patrons by purchasing physical materials

A Select, Brief History of E-Books Project Gutenberg (1971) Michael S. Hart (founder) First: Declaration of Independence Most are texts in the public domain 36,000 titles “E-Discover the Classics” – MARC records for top Gutenberg titles Vendors have also added access

A Select, Brief History of E-Books Several Projects (including University of Oregon, Smithsonian’s American Memory Project) The Internet Archive (1996) ( Commercial Vendors (for libraries) Net Library – now owned by EBSCO – was the first Overdrive

What is an E-Reader? (User Perspective) A hardware device designed primarily to read books Often small, portable Often has a long battery life Some can play other media (sound, moving pictures)

What is an E-Reader? (Vendor Perspective - some) All that other stuff, plus… A portable, personal storefront to sell content to individuals

What’s the big deal about individual accounts? Great for individuals. Difficult for libraries. Devices do not appear to be designed with many multiple users – or libraries – in mind. Possible exception: Blio (just an app right now)

Where are the E-Book vendors?

Devices – in General Devices are different – many are designed around the unique strategies of each company “E-Ink” displays vs. Color (more next) Size and weight varies Some have touch screens, others use buttons Many have wireless capability – including wifi and 3G

Displays: “E-Ink” and Color An attempt to match the quality of the printed word on paper Typically a “grayscale” display (But gen 3 supports 4k colors!) Easier on the eyes than other options (no refresh, wider viewing angles) High contrast – makes good use of natural light Ultra-low power consumption Many E-Ink evangelists!

Amazon’s Kindle Various Sizes “E-Ink” and new color tablet (Kindle Fire) Software versions for other devices Free wireless connection to Amazon for content purchases/access (wi-fi and 3G) 8 M units sold this year?

Barnes & Noble’s Nook E-ink and Color options Color has “Apps” “Button” and “Touch” models Predicts $1.8 B in sales of readers and content this year (Nook sales rose 140%)

Apple’s iPad Not strictly an E-Reader Early marketing touted it’s use as an E-Reader (and more) Color Only Multi-Touch Display Wi-Fi. 3G (for pay) 40 million sold this year

Other Options Many, many other devices on the market (Sony a notable example) Your Smartphone or Feature Phone Your computer Start exploring – Apps for televisions, video gaming consoles and more

Questions from today’s Webinar?

Some Resources E-Book/E-Reader report (May 2011): No Shelf Required – Sue Polanka (book) No Shelf Required – Blog

Next Week Laying the groundwork for a successful E-Book Collection Licensing and Digital Rights Management (DRM) E-Books are books. E-Books are not books. Library as “publisher” (panel discussion) E-Book vendor panel

Thank You! Carson Block Technology Consultant