Librarian by Day » Libraries

Working with eBooks? Please Take this Pew Survey

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:51:53 +0000

Actually there are two surveys – one for those working in libraries and one for patrons. If you work in a library and work with ebooks please take a few minutes to take the first survey. Please share the second survey with your patrons.

The surveys will be live April 16 through May 18.

The survey’s are part of a the research Pew is conducting on the role of libraries in the digital age (disclaimer: I serve on the Library Advisory Board). The next report will be available this summer (the first one was released in April). Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, will provide an update on the Pew library research on Sunday, June 24, at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim.

Survey One

This survey is targeted at librarians and other people who work at public libraries that lend e-books. We would like your input; please take the survey, it takes about 15 minutes. It is available here: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-lenders

Login: your prefered email address
Password: please email Kathryn Zuckuhr (kzickuhr AT pewinternet.org) for the password with Pew Library Password as the subject. If you prefer you may also email me for the password.(bobbi.newman AT gmail.com)

Survey Two

The second survey is for patrons who check out e-books from their local public library. It is available here: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers. It also takes about 15 minutes. This survey is not password protected.

Pew has created a brief message (available below) that you can share via your website, e-newsletters, social media and other dissemination methods, as well as a flyer and code that can be used to embed the survey on your library’s website. To get the Web code and/or flyer, please contact Kathryn Zickuhr at kzickuhr@pewinternet.org.

Template for Patron Survey:

The Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project is conducting an online survey of library patrons. We ask that you take the survey to help us out. All responses will be confidential. The survey should take about 15 minutes.

To take the survey, visit: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers

The Pew Internet Project will also be doing other general surveys of library patrons, as well as non-library-users who own e-readers or tablet computers. If you would like to participate future surveys, sign up here to be notified.

To learn more about the Pew Internet Project’s research on e-reading and libraries, which is entirely free and available to the public, visit libraries.pewinternet.org.

Background Information

The ALA, IMLS, COSLA and other library leaders are advisors on a national research effort studying the changing role of public libraries in the digital age, as well as the experiences and expectations of public library users. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project to conduct surveys and provide analysis related to reading and e-reading; the changing world of public library services and the choices public libraries must make; and a typology of who does – and does not – use public libraries. As many of you know, Pew is a national leader in this kind of research, and their reputation and reach are high and wide – and the Project is interested in learning about the work and opinions of public librarians. We believe this effort will provide the kind of data-based information public libraries are demanding to proactively meet changing community needs and advocate for the future.

And, like all research efforts, it can’t happen without you. The first major report in this series was just released and examined the “rise of e-reading” and how people find and consume long-form digital content. That report is available online at libraries.pewinternet.org.

The next report in this research series will look specifically at people’s experiences in public libraries, especially their use of e-books and other digital services. To inform this research, Pew is supplementing its usual nationally representative phone surveys with two online surveys to draw out the deeper, richer stories behind the data.Similar Posts:

Should Libraries Get Out of the eBook Business?

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:14:32 +0000

Or get out at least until there is a better system?

I know what you are going to say, I can hear it already – “We can’t! Our patrons demand ebooks!” Except the truth is our patrons want a lot of things we can’t give them – to always be first on the waiting list for the new James Patterson, to not pay fines when their books are late, for the library to be open earlier or later, or to have a system besides Dewey because despite using it their entire lives they still cannot figure it out. When it comes to ebooks, we cannot give them what they want, not really, we cannot give them books from Simon and Schuster or MacMillian or new books from Penguin or Hatchet, and not more than 26 times from HarperCollins, and probably not many books from Random House. What we can do, what maybe we should do, is spend their tax money wisely, and I am no longer convinced that spending it on the current ebook system is a wise move.

The Demand:

First let’s look at the demand. As librarians we spend a great deal of time thinking and talking about books and subsequently ebooks. But the truth is we spend far more time focusing on ebooks than the population. Reports vary on the actually percentage of the population that actually own an ereader but general consensus agrees that after the holiday season this year it is only about 19 percent of the population that owns an ereader, if you factor in tablets that number rises to 29%. Of course there is no guarantee that those tablet owners are reading ebooks on their device, but I’ll be generous and go with 29%. Ok, you say but we still have to serve that 29%.

The Supply

But what are we serving them? One only has to look at Library Journal’s A Guide to Publishers in the Library Ebook Market to realize it’s pretty slim pickings. So we’re providing a mediocre access at best.

The Process

Plus if you have the fortune to be the person at your library who is responsible for helping patrons with ebooks and troubleshooting problems you know that the process is a nightmare. In order to borrow library ebooks a patrons must have a compatible device, a home computer capable of running Adobe Digital Editions, a high-speed internet connection, and enough tech savvy to set everything up and get it to work correctly. If all goes well, wonderful! But if one thing goes wrong, woe to the librarian providing support over the phone. Honestly the process is a nightmare. The most beautiful thing to happen to the ebook lending process was the partnership with Amazon that allowed it to happen wirelessly.

A Mess

The whole thing is a hot mess. A hot mess that is consuming our time, our resources and a our money. We are in the midst of the ebook wars, just look at the number of proprietary systems and file formats.

Or look at the regular headlines about publishers fighting with Amazon over pricing, the latest being Amazon yanks 5,000 titles from Independent Publishers Group, a Chicago book distributor.

I can’t help but wonder if Guy LeCharles Gonzales is right when he writes:

Stop buying ebooks across the board, at any price, under any terms. Let publishers fight it out with Amazon, and when the dust finally settles (it will) and a viable business model appears (maybe), begin negotiating anew, on solid ground, with whomever’s left standing.

In the meantime, libraries can redirect those precious resources and finances being flagged for ebooks towards more tangible initiatives in their respective communities.

Surely every library has a service gap or three to fill that’s more valuable than overpaying for temporary licenses to files and platforms they don’t own, that may or may not work on their patrons’ devices of choice, and whose pricing can fluctuate more wildly than that of crude oil and Netflix stock.

Maybe libraries should just stop buying ebooks until there is a real, viable solution to the situation. Do not mistake me, I do not think we should stop looking for a solution or stop advocating on behalf of our patrons, but I do think perhaps we should stop throwing good money at a bad solution.

I am certainly not the only one thinking about this, Andy Woodworth offers a list of alternative uses for your ebook budgets. I have suggested it before and I will suggest it again, take a look a Library Renewal.

We need a solution to the library/ebook problem, we need a seat at the table in ebook discussions, but right now libraries (and our patrons) are just collateral damage in the ebooks war.

Karen Schneider points out in her recent post about publishers, ebooks, and libraries:

Note that publishers have had their eyes on libraries for a long time. A pioneering librarian, Marvin Scilken, led the charge to expose imbalance in bookstore/library pricing decades ago, which resulted in an agreement on library pricing that no doubt has stuck in publishers’ craws ever since. (See his Wikipedia bio, cf. the section “1966 Senate Hearing on the Price Fixing of Library Books.”) Depending on who is in office, there would have to be some similar sympathy these days. Studying those hearings and their arguments might be useful. (Just like studying librarians of yore is valuable. Definitely at least one entire week in my Fantasy Library Class.)

How Marvin proceeded, and succeeded, might be a very useful research question to pursue in the ALA library and ALA archives — and could be a great class project for that class I don’t have time to teach. But one thing’s for sure: the good work Marvin did in 1966 is now being upended. Then again, maybe, in its own way, it can be repeated.

I have been thinking for a while now that we will not find a solution by politely saying “please, sir, I want some more“. After all we (as a society not libraries) did not get the first sale doctrine out of the goodness of someone’s heart, it came from a court case. Maybe we need to stop asking. It wouldn’t be the first time.

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Random House eBook Price Hike Round Up

Bobbi Newman — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:20:39 +0000

Normally I would be all fired up and writing a post of my own on this, but right now I just feel defeated. So here’s the break down.

What Random House said

Titles available in print as new hardcovers: $65- $85
Titles available for several months, or generally timed to paperback release: $25-$50
New children’s titles available in print as hardcovers: $35-$85
Older children’s titles and children’s paperbacks: $25-$45

What it looked like in reality (new prices went into effect on Thursday)

Eisenhower in War and Peace $40 Wednesday, $120 on Thursday (print version a little over $20 (it retails at $40).
Blessings by Anna Quindlen – $15 on Wednesday, $45 on Thursday

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Mea Culpa on Penguin and Libraries and An Alternative to OverDrive

Bobbi Newman — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:07:35 +0000

I feel I need to make a clarification on yesterday’s post title How to Talk to Your Patrons About Penguin & Other Publishers Not Loaning eBooks to Libraries - Penguin did NOT stop doing business with libraries. They stopped doing business with OverDrive.

As Publisher’s Lunch Points out:

As we have reported multiple times, but does not seem to have seeped out into general reports or public consciousness, multiple publishers have told us that Overdrive’s implementation of their Kindle library lending–in which library patrons are sent to a commercial, third-party retailer, in this case Amazon–is in their view a direct violation of Overdrive’s contracts. Remember that in November, Penguin said clearly it “informed suppliers to libraries that it expected them to abide by existing agreements to offer older digital titles to libraries only if those files were held behind the firewalls of the suppliers.” Not the firewalls of retailers. Also in November, Penguin said it had “subsequently been informed by Amazon that it had not been consulted by Overdrive about the terms of Penguin’s agreement with Overdrive,” which, you can reasonably infer, does not allow Kindle lending the way Overdrive was executing it.

It just so happens that OverDrive is the dominate business model for public library ebook lending. So what do we do? Yes, I still recommend the scripts I shared yesterday, I think it is important that we are explaining to patrons articulately and succinctly why we don’t have the books they want. There are other publishers on that list who are not doing business with libraries, and publishers who are regularly changing the terms of their business deal with OverDrive and libraries.

The other thing we need is a reasonable alternative to OverDrive, one publishers will work with. So I am suggesting you take a look at Library Renewal.

Library Renewal is a non-profit that is for libraries, by libraries and with libraries. Their mission is to create a sustainable, reasonable platform for e-content delivery for libraries. You can find out more about them on their about page, make a donation to support them either by purchasing cool swag or by making a cash donation. If you are a library director consider being a partner library.

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eBook Link Round Up from Internet Librarian #il2011

Bobbi Newman — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:24:56 +0000

During the two day ebook track in at Internet Librarian there were a lot of references to articles, reports and books, by myself, and others so I thought I would put together a link round up.

Content by Cory Docotrow Seriously read this. It’s free to download in the format of your choice and it will help you understand DRM better than anything else.

E-book piracy may have unexpected benefits for publishers

O’Leary makes the distinction between the instances of e-book piracy (the number of pirated e-book files available for download) and the impact of e-book piracy (the actual effect on the business of publishing). For O’Leary, the two are related, but different. He says that one way to measure impact is to pick a book, wait for it to be pirated, and then compare sales before and after.

E-reader ownership doubles in six months

The percent of U.S. adults with an e-book reader doubled from 6% to 12% between November 2010 and May 2011

Across the digital divide. Let’s talk about poverty.

…every time a discussion of ebooks turns, seemingly inevitably, to “Print is dead, traditional publishing is dead, all smart authors should be bailing to the brave new electronic frontier,” what I hear, however unintentionally, is “Poor people don’t deserve to read.”

Theft vs Piracy

Book piracy: Less DRM, more data

Q: What’s the current impact of piracy on the book publishing industry?

A: Brian O’Leary: We don’t know. Some people will tell you that it’s the biggest problem facing publishing or that ebook piracy will kill publishing. None of those perspectives are informed by solid data

Heavy illegal downloaders buy more music

A new British independent poll conducted by Ipsos Mori concluded that the people who do the most illegal downloading also buy the most music. This is in line with many other studies elsewhere and is easy to understand: people who are music superfans do more of everything to do with music: they see more live shows, listen to more radio, buy more CDs, buy more botlegs of live shows, buy more t-shirts, talk about music more, do more downloading — all of it.

Mindset over matter: Timo Boezeman on the digital transition of a centuries-old analog industry.

Q: What is the largest hurdle publishers must overcome in the transition to digital?

A: Timo Boezeman: The largest hurdle in the transition is the mindset. Publishing is one of the oldest industries around and now has to deal with a transition from analog to digital at a speed that is at least twice as fast as the music industry faced.

Digital Underclass: What Happens When the Libraries Die?

Libraries will need to be replaced with digital equivalents as publishing moves towards eBooks. As a result, will a new “Digital Underclass” be created from the base of technology have-nots?

eBooks, Privacy, and the Library - Gary Price’s thought-provoking post from a couple of weeks ago.

Pew Research Center Announces New Research Initiative to Study the Changing Role of Public Libraries and Library Users in the Digital Age

IFLA Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters (CLM)

Sarah’s video rant

If you’re looking for write ups of the sessions you can find them over at the LibConf blog

There were so many I have no doubt I missed something so let me know!Similar Posts:

Is A Boycott of HarperCollins The Right Course of Action at This Time? #hcod #ebookrights

Bobbi Newman — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:15:02 +0000

In case you haven’t seen it, there is a new site organizing a boycott of HarperCollins. Conversations about this have popped up on Twitter, Facebook and in the comments of my original post about the HarperCollines Fiasco, so I thought I’d provide a venue for discussion just about this issue.

I’m inclined to agree with Toby Greenwalt on this one

But I would argue that the picket line isn’t the place for this battle. Rather, I think we need to take this struggle to the boardroom.

I’m concerned that boycotting now may make us look hysterical or irrational, not an image we want to take to a negotiation. There may come a time when boycotting is the way to go, I’m just not sure its now.

But I want to know what you think. Should we be boycotting? If not now, when? What should we be doing?

More Thoughts on the Boycott:

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eBooks and eReaders: There Can Be Only One

Bobbi Newman — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:44:03 +0000

Sarah’s recent post - Why I am a library traitor and love the Kindle got me thinking – WHY is she a library traitor? I know I know, but hear me out.

I have a Kindle.

I love my Kindle.

You know what I do with my Kindle? I buy books, books I didn’t check out from the library (the horror!).

But here’s the thing, wait for it, I’ve always bought books! Books I didn’t check out from the library (gasp!) and I’ve also always used the library. Really I have been a heavy library user since I can remember. From an early age I read print books. Later I learned to love audiobooks on CD or cassette and when movies became available I checked those out too, later still I checked out and downloaded ebooks and eaudibooks. But during all this time nothing changed – I never stopped buying books (or going to the movie, or renting movies or buying movies). In fact I buy so many books that I pay the $25 a year for the Barnes & Noble membership card because I really do spend enough for it to be worth. Before I got my MLS I worked as a clerk in a larger library system during the day and on the nights and weekends at the local Barnes and Nobles, and guess what I saw many of the same people in both places. Buying books and borrowing from the library are not mutually exclusive. As I see it I bought and borrowed books before I had a Kindle I will continue to buy and borrow books after I have a Kindle. I am not borrowing from the library less.

I get Sararh’s point and concern. IF my library had ebooks and IF they had a wide selection with choices that appealed to me, nevermind the insanely high prices they would have to pay for a service that only a select group of patrons can use, those ebooks would not work on my Kindle thanks to choices by Amazon.com. But they don’t, so I bought a Kindle, guilt free, because even with the selection available from my library there aren’t enough choices to convince me that a Nook or Sony was a better option and well, lets face it, my library still has a huge number of choices avialable as print or book on CD or cassette or downloadable audio or ebook which I can read on my computer or Android phone thanks to the OverDrive app. I got a Kindle because it allows me to take notes and highlight in my books (something the library frowns upon and part of the reason I’ve always bought books) and access those notes online (something the library doesn’t offer).

Sure OverDrive and other vendors are doing their best to provide eBooks for libraries. But the process is cumbersome. If it goes well great! But if it doesn’t the pitfalls are plentifiul and woe to the techie attempting to troubleshoot them over the phone.

The truth is this the ebook readers that are out there were created to make a profit for the creator – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Borders etc. Sure some of them have allowed library ebooks to be loaded, but its not their primary purpuse and they sure as hell aren’t gonna help you figure it out. They are gonna sell you an ereader and put a boot in your butt on the way out the door. Need help with a book you bought from our store? No problem. Need help with a free book from the library or somewhere else? Too bad you’re on your own mate, nevermind that we lured you with that promise when we sold you the device. Unhappy? Angry? Gonna leave us for another ereader? Go for it! Just remember your books wont work on their devices.

This annoys me like crazy but is it really a problem? I mean I don’t expect my Play Station Games to play on an Xbox. So why should my Kindle books work on a Nook? Except that I can sell my PlayStation and the games if I decide to get an Xbox. And I can’t sell my ebooks. Except the truth is I seldom sell my books and never loan them. Bobbi doesn’t loan things, not books, not movies not games (judge all you like). So how big of an issue is that I can’t lend my Kindle books? And as for selling them I have a pile of hardback nonfiction I’ve been trying to sell for a reasonable price on Amazon.com for 6 months now and they aren’t moving, so apparently while I could sell them, they aren’t selling either.

I don’t know how the ebook/ereader wars will play out. I do know this – I am leery of anyone who claims to. I am leery of anyone who claims there will be only one winner (we all drive different cars, why can’t we have different ereaders?)

But there is a problem and this one I am certain of – the ebook market is still playing out. Will they replace books? Supplement them? Fail all together? No one knows. But what we do know is that libraries are being cut out of the equation. That is a problem. I believe libraries are the key to closing the widening digital divide and participation gap we see. Are ebooks are part of that solution? Maybe. And for that reason alone we need a voice.

Old Spice, New Spice and Libraries

Bobbi Newman — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:50:16 +0000

Check out this awesome library parody of the Old Spice Commercials from The Harold B. Lee Library Multimedia Unit. I’m seriously impressed with the idea behind and the implementation of this video.

And this video from Old Spice in response to my friend Andy Woodworth and others on Twitter.

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Its Privacy Week!

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:44:23 +0000

Its the first ever National Privacy Week

The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom has established Choose Privacy Week, May 2-8, to help libraries work with their communities around these complicated but vital issues. Privacy has long been a cornerstone of library services in America and a freedom that librarians defend every day.

Choose Privacy Week invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age. The campaign gives libraries the tools they need to educate and engage users, and gives individuals the resources to think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy.

Choose Privacy Week Video from 20K Films on Vimeo.

Resources:

Choose Privacy Week Resource Guide includes school library lesson plans.
Civic Engagement Materials: Tools for libraries to moderate community discussions on privacy.
Promotional Materials: Purchase posters, bookmarks, buttons, and resource guide
One-page Privacy Handout
Word Search: Free downloadable PDF word search, focusing on “Computers and Privacy.”
Programming Ideas
Web Banners and Graphics
Position Paper and Press Material

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KLA Libraries and Transliteracy Presentation

Bobbi Newman — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:27:22 +0000

I had the honor of presenting about Libraries and Transliteracy at the Kansas Library Association today. Thank you to Beta Phi Mu for bringing me in! As promised here is my presentations and links.

Libraries and Translitearcy KLA

View more presentations from Bobbi Newman.

Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age. Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, 2009.
Opportunity for All How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, Seattle Washington: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2010.
LITERACY for the 21st Century An Overview & Orientation Guide To Media Literacy Education, second edition Center for Media Literacy, 2008.
Don’t Touch That Dial! A history of media technology scares, from the printing press to Facebook.
The Six Magic Words
Libraries and Transliteracy Blog
Defining Transliteracy
Libraries and Transliteracy Slideshow
Transliteracy.com

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Librarian by Day » Libraries

Working with eBooks? Please Take this Pew Survey

Survey One

Survey Two

Background Information

Should Libraries Get Out of the eBook Business?

Read More

Random House eBook Price Hike Round Up

Read More:

Mea Culpa on Penguin and Libraries and An Alternative to OverDrive

eBook Link Round Up from Internet Librarian #il2011

Is A Boycott of HarperCollins The Right Course of Action at This Time? #hcod #ebookrights

eBooks and eReaders: There Can Be Only One

Read More, Learn More, Get Involved:

Old Spice, New Spice and Libraries

Its Privacy Week!

KLA Libraries and Transliteracy Presentation