eBook Puzzle

After listening in on another rah-rah session about 3M's Cloud Library, I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't an even better solution out there.  Don't get me wrong - I think 3M has a great plan and idea, I'm just not sure that they aren't going to be a stepping stone to other things in the world of ebooks.  I am tired of hearing about it rather than being able to at least see how it works in real life.

As my colleagues pointed out at the webinar I attended, there is not so much a lack of content out there (ebooks) but a lack of platforms to distribute the content.  After all, public libraries have been circulating content in the form of paper, tape, vinyl, polycarbonate disks, canvas, cardboard, downloadable files, etc. for over 100 years.  In all forms save the last, we've been able to devise systems on our own.  With electronic files, librarians are largely held back by lack of computer programming degrees.  It's hard to devise a system if you don't have the expertise to develop a robust, flexible tool.


The more I think about it though, something else that was mentioned after the webinar is really puzzling.  Why haven't the companies that provide libraries with automated circulation systems jumped into the ebook arena?  They have already created highly sophisticated systems that check in and out materials, keep inventory, track users and the material they have out, track purchasing and receiving, and a myriad other tasks.  Why can't a library purchase an ebook, store it on a server somewhere, and circulate it through these sophisticated systems?  In fact, every third party ebook lending system I've seen uses the library's automation system to authenticate users of the ebook borrowing system.

Why is this thing so hard to grapple with?

There are smart people out there in the library world and in the library automation world.  While I've largely given up on my flying-car-that-folds-into-a-briefcase, I want to know:  Where is my automated library system that can circulate ALL my library's materials?  (I'm looking at you, Polaris.)

Inscrutable Amazon

OK, maybe they aren't impossible to understand, but they do seem to be sending out a number of contradictory messages these days about Kindle and ebooks.  We all know that Amazon has a proprietary format for ebooks, making a Kindle or Kindle reader the only way to access material sold by them.  We know that they only allow a very limited sharing of Kindle books between readers.

Then, they struck a deal with OverDrive, a library ematerials lending service to allow Kindle users to download and borrow books through the service.  There seems to be, to put it delicately, "a number" of steps to actually get the book loaded on to your Kindle using OverDrive.  This article shows the process as seen at the Seattle Public Library which is currently testing the service.

We had been kicking around an idea here that was similar to this way back at the start of the year.  We were thinking about simply buying a number of Kindles and building collections of high demand titles on them (as those titles were "demanded") and checking the Kindles out to people.  I know this is not what Amazon intended, but maybe they will eventually come up with something similar.

On a final note, the State Library of Kansas has a set up a news page for disseminating information about state-wide initiatives they are working on.  It is worth a look and an occasional check-in to see how they are progressing.  Ultimately, this may be a service the Hutchinson Public Library participates in assuming it gets going in the near future.

What did you do this summer?

Here's what we did.  Our amazing staff here at the Hutchinson Public Library did the following June through August:

• 550+ - the number of children hosted at our Summer Celebration party.
• 109,569 - the number of items checked out (and back in again).
• 1,333 - the number of children attending summer story times
• 3,826 - the number of questions answered in our Reference Department
• 458 - the number of children who turned in their completed reading logs
• 4,580 - the MINIMUM number of books read by those 458 children!
• 1 - the number of new reading spaces we opened (come see the new Quiet Reading Room!)
• 1 - the number of new coffee bar proprietors in the library (visit Rita's Roast!)

What will we do next?  I don't know for sure, but we have some plans... (cue ominous music)

Storytime is back!

Every year our children's department takes a little extremely well-deserved rest after the completion of our Summer Reading Program.  This year is no different, but now it is time to get back in the swing of things!

This year the fall story times will have 2 sessions of Toddler Time programs on Tuesday mornings and 3 sessions of Preschool Story Times, 1 on Wednesday morning, 1 on Thursday morning and 1 on Thursday afternoon.

Check out our library's calendar here.  The children's programs are color-coded light blue.  Hover your mouse over the event for brief information or click on the event for full details.

All toddlers, preschoolers and their parents are welcome!  No registration is necessary and the programs are all free.  Our goal is to help parents build a good early literacy foundation with their children.  Early childhood literacy is perhaps the single most important advantage you can give a child to help her or him achieve and succeed in school.  It is a particular interest of mine and one that as a country, I think, we ignore at our peril.

Marilyn June Coffey visits HPL

Marilyn June Coffey will be at the Hutchinson Public Library on Thursday, October 13th at 7pm.  She will be talking about her new book titled, Mail Order Kid, a story of a child's experience with the orphan train movement.

Ms. Coffey will present a program about her book and be available for questions and autographs.  She will also have some copies of the book available for purchase.


HPL will provide refreshments for this event - more details on this to come!

Amazon's curious twist

I have heard the rumors about Amazon's supposed "tablet" device for a long time now.  A thing that would compete with the minimum $499 iPad and the around $250 Nook all at once.  Apparently, Amazon is about ready to release just this sort of device.  An article in TechCrunch sent to me by a friend and colleague seems to provide all the information on what sounds like a beta product that's about ready to leave that status and go to production.

From the author's description it sounds like a mixed bag of hardware and software pluses and minuses,  It will only be a 7" screen device, no camera, WiFi only initially, and some other things you can read about.  But the reason for the lack of some size and features is that it will be priced to compete with the Nook Color.  It will be interesting to see what this device does to the "tablet" market.  Will it make a dent in the iPad juggernaut?  Will it roll over Barnes & Noble's book-reader-with-bonuses Nook Color?  We are so far from seeing a "settling down" of the ebook reader / tablet computer / how-does-this-affect-libraries question it's almost funny.  Almost.

HPL website changes

A few months ago we rolled out a new website for HPL.  Since that time, we have received training for a number of our staff members in order to keep it updated.  You will begin to see changes to the site and the addition of fresh content with much greater frequency.

The calendar is one of our favorites so far, allowing us to provide easy-to-access information about everything that goes on here.  You can find the calendar from the "Find an Event" link at the bottom of the home page or by clicking "Programs & Services" on the navigation bar and then clicking "Calendar of Events".

Events on the calendar are color coded and the legend is located at the bottom.  If you only want to see certain types of events, click on the event type in the legend at the bottom and the calendar displays only that type.  Also, you can hover your cursor over an event and a small pop-up will give you more information about that event.  In the picture below, I was pointing at the first TALK book discussion for this fall.

As you can see from the picture, you can also check to see what non-library sponsored events are going on.  If you have a meeting coming up and you don't know when or where it is scheduled, just click "Meeting Rooms" and find all the details.

Another great feature is the search box in the upper right corner.  This can be toggled to search the website or to search the library's catalog.  You can also log in to your library account from here to check holds lists, or find other information.

As we continue to add more to the website, I will feature the changes here.  I am excited by the possibilities afforded us by this new tool and I think it will become a trove of information useful to all.