Libraries and eBook Readers Virgil Fuller Hartland, VT and Howe Library and Lebanon Public...

Libraries and eBook Readers

Virgil FullerHartland, VT and Howe Library and Lebanon Public Libraries, NH

Listen Up! Vermont Coordinator for the Green Mountain Library Consortium

Laura CrainAssociate Director for Collection Services

Saint Michael’s Collegelcrain@smcvt.edu

May 24, 2011Vermont Library Conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x4BK_2VULCU

Have you ever read an eBook “cover to cover”?

1 2

0%0%

1. Yes

2. No

Why should libraries care about eBook Readers?

eBook Sales How does Vermont

rank?

Barnes & Nob le

th ree month per iod

beg inn ing December 2010

th rough February 2011

Source : Smashwords data

Vermont ranked 50th out of states for percentage of U.S. eBook sales.

Per capita eBook consumption:

Vermont ranked 30th.

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 categoriesof trade publishing

eBook bestsellersCombined bestsellers

Do you personally own an ereader or device with an e-reader app?

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

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 2 3

0% 0%0%

1. Yes

2. No

3. I don’t work in a library

Saint Michael’s Kindles: Costs

Three 2nd generation @ $360 each

3 bags to store devices, manuals & cords @ $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 AcquisitionsAfter downloading content: remove credit card infoCirculation period: 28 days

Kindles at Saint Mike’s

A Kindle book can be put on up to 6 devices

Kindles with themes:

Gender StudiesEnvironmentPeace & 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. Mike’s.50 circulation rate in 1st 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 385Technotextualities:Digital Literary Studies

taught by Professor Maura D’Amore

NOOKcolor

March 2011 purchased:

NOOKcolor: $249

2 yr protection: $55

Screen protector: $17

Bag: $10

15 children’spicture eBooks: $134

Total cost to date: $465

Do you think ereaders are greener than print books?

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

1. Yes

2. No

3. It depends

4. Don’t 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 didn’t kill radio as everyone expected.

E-mail didn’t wipe out paper mail, either; the paperless office may never arrive.

For the same reason, e-books won’t 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, 2009. < http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/are-e-readers-greener-than-books>.

Bosman, J. (2011). E-Readers Catch Younger Eyes and Go in Backpacks. New York Times, Feb. 4, 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/books/05ebooks.html>.

Coker, M. (2011). Where U.S. Ebook Buyers Live. March 29, 2011. <http://blog.smashwords.com/2011/03/where-us-ebook-buyers-live.html>

Pogue, D. (2010). The Trouble with E-Readers. Scientific American Magazine, Nov. 2010

Rapp, D. (2011). Tablet Crazy. Library Journal, Feb. 15, 2011. “Review of the Day: It’s a Book by Lane Smith.” A Fuse #8 Production. School

Library Journal, Nov. 24, 2010. <http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2010/11/24/review-of-the-day-its-a-book-by-lane-smith/>.

Sibley, L. (2009). Cleantech Group Report: E-Readers a Win for Carbon Emissions. Aug. 19, 2009. < http://cleantech.com/news/4867/cleantech-group-finds-positive-envi>.