Prompt Response - E-books and Such

Helping patrons with e-books and audio books is part of my job. Along with helping with computers and printing I also help with tablets and laptops. In part, that is helping with the Wi-Fi connection, and in part that is helping patrons load apps to use library services. This includes the Overdrive app, the Zinio app and the Kindle app. Part of the process with Overdrive is to pick a book to check out.

Screenshot of results from a search for "philosophy" in Overdrive

For me this has become almost a ritualized part of the process. As the patron enters their information into the Adobe site (a process that takes a few minutes), I ask who their favorite author is. Generally I get an answer. Occasionally I get a response that indicates a particular kind of book or a title. I search for that type of book in the downloadable catalog. If it something unusual – I had a patron say that he likes to read books on philosophy – I also try to determine how to find that kind of book for their device easily.

If they still dodge, I choose James Patterson. Partly this is out of convenience. There are several titles; he has e-books and audio books; and he has titles in fiction, mystery, teen, science and juvenile fiction sections of our library. For middle school age kids who doge, I normally use Rick Riordan (who wrote The Lightning Thief). For younger kids, I look for The Magic Treehouse (Mary Pope Osborne).  

When the device is authorized, I help them search for their kind of book on their device. Particularly for phones, I demonstrate on my screen as they search. I have them pick a book to check out. (This may actually take time, depending on the patron. Some take this choice rather seriously for what is essentially a system test.) Note that some kinds of requests may require training on how to find that kind of book. (Philosophy, for example, might require some special searching, and searching for Kindle books available now requires special searching also.)

Generally I hear from them again only when they have a problem. For some this is when they have with the second (or third) download. Occasionally it is a conversation on how to return books to get more. So far, the help that I have been given in picking books has been when installing the app. In fact the majority of help that I have given in reader’s advisory at the library has been while helping to install the app because in my role as the computer lab assistant “normal” reader’s advisory questions (ones not involving a tablet or laptop) would be referred to the librarian.  

There have been a few special cases with tablets. Some patrons have used downloadable materials to serve a particular purpose – one that a print version would not serve.

• A family member went to Europe. She quite happily told me that when she ran out of reading materials, she checked out more books in Europe. For her, that was timely and convenient.
• I have had one or two patrons that I have helped with setting the font size on an e-reader to be large type. Currently, many of the patrons who read large type books do not have tablets, and they like books. At some point, the folks who read large type will discover that all e-books can be large type. Some have. I know that I generally kick the font up a couple of notches when I read a book. For my library system this means that the selection of downloadable large type books (nearly the entire collection of e-books) is huge.
• I have a different family member who was a route driver. She talked about downloading audio books to listen to while driving her delivery route. While I never quite figured out where her route took her, she was driving back and forth across Indy for most of the day. She listened to the audiobooks while she drove. For her, the format – downloadable audio on a phone – was what made it possible to listen to the book. She really enjoyed the books.
• Several truckers (or trucker’s spouses) have come in to check out books on CD. One asked me to put a few items on hold. While doing that, I mentioned downloadable audio books. I demoed the site. The titles he was interested in were available. Something I said must have been compelling. He told me to cancel the holds, and put the items in his hand back on the shelf. He then said that he would be back. Later that day he returned with a brand new tablet. He loaded the apps onto it, and I helped him pick out an audio book. He was back a couple days later with a couple of questions while downloading his second audio book. He was happy with books on CD, but he was excited (and willing to spend money) on downloadable audio from the library.
• I have a family member who is younger than me and who is technically able. When chatting with her about library books and formats she explained her opinion: when she checks out a print version of a book it is because she couldn’t check out the e-book version. That either means that the number of holds was ridiculously long or that the copy didn’t exist in an e-book version. In any case, for her, each print book she brings home from the library is providing good but second-best service. She prefers the e-book. A print library book requires a trip to the library, and that isn’t always easy to work in.
• I regularly download audio books. I started listening to books on CD when I lived on the opposite side of town from my workplace. It was almost exactly one CD from my garage to work and back. Over time I decided that listening to an audio book while working on dishes and laundry was more productive than reading a book while not working on dishes and laundry.

There are two other appeal factors worth mentioning, both involve kids. First, on one of the visits to a Pike High School freshmen library, the librarians mentioned that they buy non-fiction for curriculum support in always available unlimited e-books whenever possible. They bought that format because it suited their particular need: they needed books that could be checked out and used by several classrooms of kids simultaneously. (If eight classes of kids are doing a Black History Month report, how many kids will be able to actually use even 100 print books? Would the kids in the last class to visit the library even have single book on topic to share among them? Books with the correct license would serve all the kids in all the classes.)

The second appeal factor is probably something appealing, but I’m actually not sure. There are a few e-books on the library’s site that have some additional features. They are kids’ books. I’ve demoed them to parents and teachers, and I’ve received some interesting reactions, but I’m not really sure what they think of them. Again, if everything goes well, I don’t hear anything. However, I regularly have Bueno Nacho (a Kim Possible story) and one of the Cars books in my bookshelf to demo some of the features of the books. Personally, I think they would make an excellent station in an elementary classroom or a nice way to include some reading time when kids are otherwise playing on the computer. However, I honestly don’t know. I’m intrigued, but I honestly don’t know if it is useful at all.

That’s what I’m seeing.

PS: Also, one of the most interesting searches I’ve done was the one for philosophy. I’ve included a screenshot of one of the results. I will freely admit that Dr. Who, Dr. Seuss, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Downton Abby and Mad Men all in the same set of results was a bit of a shock. I had to stifle a grin (and a chuckle) while asking the patron to choose a title.