Becker (2011)

Becker, B. (2011). The e-Book Apocalypse: A Survivor's Guide. Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 30(3), 181-4. Retrieved October 23, 2011, from Library Literature & Information Science Full Text database. doi: 10.1080/01639269.2011.591278.

Writing within the last few months, Becker explains why he thinks 2012 will be a breakthrough year for the emergence of e-books in academic libraries. However, the evidence he provides relates as much to public libraries as to academic libraries. The "horseman" that relates directly to the upcoming explosion of digital scholarly materials that he mentions in the introduction is the first, demand-driven acquisitions.

Horseman 1: Demand-driven acquisitions. Becker describes the DDA process in the same terms as Breitbach & Lambert and says that the ease of implementation for libraries, the ease of use for patrons, and the way the system aligns purchases with patron needs will hasten the addition of e-books to university libraries.

Horsemen 2 & 3: The Kindle and the Nook. Both Kindle and Nook have made advances in recent months (April 2011) that increase their usability.

Kindle: (1) The agreement with Overdrive to make Kindle e-books available to libraries for loan makes it easier for patrons to access e-books. and (2) improves usability of the library e-book experience. That is, patrons using the newer Kindles can annotate a borrowed book on their Kindle and retain access to the annotations if they borrow it again from the library of if they purchase it from Amazon. (3) The reduction in price for Kindles has reached the point where they seem affordable to many more consumers.

Nook: In April 2011 a "free Android OS update" became available for color Nooks that gives them the same functionality of an iPad at one-half the price. This increase in functionality should make the Nook much more popular among consumers and therefore increase the demand for e-books from library patrons.

Horseman 4: Barnes & Noble has positioned itself between college textbook publishers and university bookstores to provide e-textbooks for rent or sale to students. They are providing free PC software to read the e-textbooks; the software's high functionality accommodates the visual complexities of e-textbooks and allows readers to annotate, etc.

My thoughts
This article brings me up to speed on some of the latest developments. Although the focus is on public and university libraries, when these two segments of the library world move to the next level on e-books, the high school library world will see increased opportunities for our own development. For us it will be driven, I assume, by Follett and Mackey picking up on the achievements of other players and offering us more services. I think the students will be eager consumers when we offer them the products. Our particular issue with high school students is the e-book device question. I think we have to provide it rather than rely on students purchasing their own.

Platt (2011)

Platt, C. (2011). Popular E-Content at The New York Public Library: Seven Years of Success. Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis, 35(2), 178-182. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. doi:10.1515/bfup.2011.024.

Abstract includes interesting history in a couple of stats: 2004 NYPL e-books circulation began with 5,992 e-books and saw 5,227 checkouts. 12 months preceding March 2011: Collection over 59,000 items; circulation 387,959. Platt provides additional details of this history on page 179. The figures cited here do not include Tumblebooks or BookFlik, neither of which allow downloading.

Introduction describes the discussion HarperCollins evoked among librarians in March 2011 when they announced that each e-book licensing would endure for only 26 circulations, as which time the license would have to be renewed.

"While public libraries in the U.S. had been offering e-books for years, it was this single move by HarperCollins that galvanized all parties in the U.S. public library e-book industry to converse openly about the impact and availability of popular library content in the digital age, the needs of authors, publishers, and wholesalers, and most importantly, the future of public library collections as demand for popular content in digital format increases" (p. 178).

NYPL uses e-resources from Overdrive, Tumblebooks, BookFlik, and Freegal. Platt uses the term e-content to refer to downloadable e-books, e-audiobooks, e-video, e-music, and online only e-books.

"If thought of as a ‘virtual branch’, circulation of popular e-content over the 12 months ending in March of 2011 would rank it #2 among NYPL’s 90 circulating sites. To what do we attribute its success? Three factors: desirable content, wide-spread adoption of e-content by consumers, and increasingly easier compatibility with popular consumer devices" (p. 179).

Notes that the increase in e-content usage is related to increased availability of current, popular content from major publishers (p. 179-180).

Notes that Overdrive provides e-books compatible with all the major e-reader devices (Kindle, iPad, Nook, and Sony's e-reader). On a related point:

"The recent industry standardization to EPUB e-book format that will work across a great array of reading devices will allay some of this format spread going forward ,,," (p. 180).

NYPL doesn't check out e-readers. Patrons have to load check-outs onto their own devices. Platt notes the high level of support required as patrons access e-books for the first time; this is probably less a problem for my patrons, who are natives in the digital world and seem to me very competent in their tech skills.

The diversity of vendor sources means that at this time patrons have to re-authenticate their library membership as they switch from the resources of one provider to those of another provider. The library is working to develop a single portal through which all vendors' products can be accessed.

Platt says Amazon's recent decision to allow Kindle titles to be borrowing through libraries has simplified the NYPL's circulation process somewhat. [I'm not sure how, but perhaps I'll figure this out as I explore my own new Kindle and download books from the SFPL.]

Platt addresses the lack of e-video and e-music options for public library patrons. This isn't a large concern for my library because we don't have significant collections of conventional videos and music.

My thoughts
Platt's observation that popular reading drives library usage is a good one for me to keep in mind. It seems to support my practice this semester of patron-driven acquisition of current, popular fiction.

The issues Platt discusses are, of course, broader and more complex than what I face in the Burton library. I'm concerned mainly with his comments on e-books, and we are in more of a possible (and will have more of a need) to provide e-readers, a topic Platt doesn't address.