I’m just getting back from ALA and there is so much to process, wrap up and share! Last week the OITP eBook Task Force released these ebooks FAQs. pdf here Frequently Asked E-book Questions from Public Librarians Prepared by the OITP E-book Task Force The OITP E-book Task Force is responding to FAQs sent to us by public librarians. (Future FAQs will focus on questions from the school library community). We anticipate that additional questions will be added over time. 1. What are e-books? An e-book is a digitally expressed narrative containing text and other media. Many e-books are electronic versions of printed books; increasingly authors and content creators are creating e-books with no print analogues. Most current e-books exist as packages that can be read on computing devices using a browser-based application or on a dedicated e-reader device. Some e-books are enhanced and include indexes, dictionaries, maps, video, and geolocational or interactive elements such as simulations as an integral part of the book. Most e-book distribution platforms permit bookmarking and annotations. At this time, the majority of trade digital books that public libraries typically acquire do not presently have these features. 2. How many libraries provide e-books? In 2011 two-thirds of U.S. public libraries offered e-books, up from 38
eBooks
Why I’m Returning the Kindle DX or My Continued Search for the Prefect PDF Reader
There is nothing exceptional or particularly exciting about my returning the Kindle DX . But I’ve been talking about how much I want one just to use it to read PDFs that I thought I should share what went wrong. In a nutshell something call “enhanced pdf reader”. A huge motivation for getting my Kindle 3G last year was the highlighting and note-taking ability for books. Amazon magically syncs them to kindle.amazon.com so you can access your notes any time. I copy mine to Google docs so I can search all of them whenever I need to. It’s wonderful. It’s fabulous. It’s magical. I read a lot, I mean a LOT of reports, in pdf format and I got to thinking wouldn’t it be great if I could use these same features for reports. No more searching for that statistic or quote through the 3 shelves of printed reports (yes really). So I started longing for a Kindle DX. I read around, I did some research and after months I finally caved and ordered one. I did my research, I read the Amazon pages, they even have this great comparison chart for you. Native pdf support! Check! It will work! Except it doesn’t. What isn’t made clear, on
More Thoughts on the Kindle Lending Library at Library Renewal
I’ve shared some additional thoughts about the news of the forthcoming Kindle Lending Library, as Amazon likes to call, or as we librarians like to call it, Kindle owners will finally be able to use library ebooks, it in a post at Library Renewal. Library eBooks Coming Soon to Amazon Kindle! But At What Cost? Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Buzz it up Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Tell a friend
Some Questions for Overdrive and Amazon about the Kindle Lending Library – Updated
This morning Amazing announced their Kindle Lending Library. Amazon today announced Kindle Library Lending, a new feature launching later this year that will allow Kindle customers to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 libraries in the United States. Kindle Library Lending will be available for all generations of Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps. “We’re excited that millions of Kindle customers will be able to borrow Kindle books from their local libraries,” said Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle. “Customers tell us they love Kindle for its Pearl e-ink display that is easy to read even in bright sunlight, up to a month of battery life, and Whispersync technology that synchronizes notes, highlights and last page read between their Kindle and free Kindle apps.” Customers will be able to check out a Kindle book from their local library and start reading on any Kindle device or free Kindle app for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone. If a Kindle book is checked out again or that book is purchased from Amazon, all of a customer’s annotations and bookmarks will be preserved. At first glance this seems like good news, anyone who works with the public
My First Post at Library Renewal – ALA EQUACC Interim Report
Recently I was invited to be a contributing editor at Library Renewal* and I was delighted to accept (because I need more projects!) Seriously I think what is happening right now with access to electronic content is very important. Tonight I published my first post, simply the Interim Report released by The Presidential Task Force on Equitable Access to Electronic Content (EQUACC). Of special note: The Task Force had agreed to focus on five issues: Environmental Scan Licensing Accessibility Public Relations Model Project Task Force created an EQUACC web site (http://www.equacc.ala.org/). You can, of course, read the whole thing at Library Renewal *For those of you not familiar with Library Renewal it is about electronic content and access, specifically developing research, relationships, and outreach to help libraries manage and deliver digital content. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Buzz it up Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Tell a friend
Reading
