Prompt Week 11

I personally love ereaders. I was very cautious then I got my first one (a hand me down from my sister who wasn’t using it) and I slowly started to enjoy having any book I wanted at my fingertips. I loved having it on trips that I would otherwise pack 3 or 4 books because I didn’t know what reading mood I would be in. It was pretty convenient. However, it started to wear out and was slow at downloading and starting to be a pain. It was a Nook, so when Barnes and Noble updated their service terms with outside apps, I wasn’t able to update my library’s Overdrive app when they rereleased it. I wasn’t too torn up about it, because I still used physical books for the majority of my reading. I would forget about my Nook for weeks or months at a time and never touch it. I was fine without one. Then, for Christmas, my husband gets me a Kindle Fire. I was a little disappointed because I had been through two hand me down Nooks that just sat gathering dust. I didn’t want this to join my pile of technology I didn’t use. However, I’m mildly obsessed with it. I have noticed that I am reading way more than I ever have, because it is so easy to use. When I am at lunch or on a break, I can whip it out without fear of getting food on the pages or trying to balance it awkwardly while I eat. This was definitely a game changer for me and I know that several patrons enjoy their ereaders.

One thing I really like about Overdrive (one of the ebook services we offer) is that there is a dyslexic font as well as a high contrast mode so that readers can read materials easier than a physical book. Readers are also able to modify the font, so it opens up a whole new world to people who have trouble reading regular print books. Not all books are printed in large type, so ereaders give more options to those who prefer large type materials.

Ebooks/audiobooks through Overdrive are still put in collections just like books are placed on display. On our Overdrive homepage, we have sports books featured for March Madness, Women’s History books, books that feature police and law, as well as books that were popular several months ago, but are now available again. We are able to showcase books that we think our patrons think are important or interesting. Another wonderful thing about the Overdrive is that you can browse by subject, which is a little more difficult to do in an actual library. If you want “Classic Literature” the books are going to be all over the place in a library, but they are all found in one place on your ereader by pushing a button. It is more user friendly to those who don’t like to browse.

While I don’t use audiobooks (it is faster for me to read a book than listen to it, although I would be more inclined to listen to books written/read by comedians because it would be like listening to 8 hours of stand-up), the patrons who do check out or use audiobooks don’t really seem to care about who is reading it or the way it is read. They want the big name authors like James Patterson, Debbie Macomber, or Stuart Woods. Our collection isn’t very large, but we do offer Playaways, which are portable. They require a AAA battery and headphones, but they are the size of an MP3 player, so these are popular choices for those who are on the go.

Our library also offers ereader classes for a variety of devices. The patrons are taught in a one-on-one setting to discuss the specific questions they have when using the device. This ranges from the ereader services we offer at the library (Overdrive, Hoopla, Zinio) to how to turn it on and connect to the internet. This encourages our patrons to feel comfortable using our services. There are several times that an item is only available as an ebook  or eaudiobook, so instead of waiting for weeks for an interlibrary loan book to come in, they are able to utilize these services and immediately get the item they are looking for.