This is an assignment for Youth Services Librarianship. The goal was to communicate a new library program or collection to the school board. I researched and implemented a new audiobook collection in the fictional Anytown High School library for this assignment.

1. NEW AUDIOBOOK COLLECTION AT THE ANYTOWN HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
To: Members of the District 123 Board of Education
Presented by: Natalie Sapkarov, School Library Media Specialist, AHS
RESOLUTION
The Anytown High School Library has acquired a new collection of Playaway digital
audiobooks.
BACKGROUND
When school first began this year, I had arranged a display of new fiction that had come in over
the summer in the library. Students were drawn to it, and I noticed many flipping through the
books, looking longingly into their pages. However, the majority of the books stayed on the
display and were not checked out. I asked students who were browsing these books if they’d like
to check them out, but many said that they just didn’t have enough time to read them and that
they had required reading to do for school. This initial interaction led me to investigate the
situation further.
PROBLEM
The students of Anytown High School yearn to read books for pleasure, but they have said that
they just don’t have the time. What a problem to have! The following survey results of the
student body, conducted in October 2007, illustrate this need:
How much time per week do you spend reading for pleasure?
5%
13% 0-1 hours
40% 1-2 hours
2-4 hours
42% 4+ hours
Do you wish you had more time to read for pleasure?
11%
76% Yes
13%
No
Maybe
As the school library media specialist at Anytown High School, it is my duty to ensure that every
student is able to meet the Standards for the 21st Century Learner, as set forth by the American
Association of School Librarians. Selected applicable standards include:

2.  4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth.
 4.1.4 Seek information for personal learning in a variety of formats and genres.
 4.2.2 Demonstrate motivation by seeking information to answer personal questions and
interests, trying a variety of formats and genres, and displaying a willingness to go beyond
academic requirements.
 4.2.4 Show an appreciation for literature by electing to read for pleasure and expressing an
interest in various literary genres.
 4.3.3 Seek opportunities for pursuing personal and aesthetic growth.
We are fortunate that these students are so interested in reading, but we are also in a difficult
position—how do we make more time in their days? What can we do to help students somehow
squeeze pleasure reading into their busy schedules?
SOLUTION
By developing a collection of Playaway digital audiobooks, the Anytown High School Library
will increase access to pleasure reading materials of another format. The startup collection of 30
Playaways ranges from popular fiction to the classics. The complete list of titles purchased is
attached. All titles are unabridged.
DESCRIPTION
Playaways are audiobook players preloaded with a single audiobook, with simple controls to
play, pause, and bookmark passages. Each player uses one AAA battery.
Photo credit: iamsalad, flickr.com
These new players will circulate to students and teachers for two weeks at a time. Students will
be responsible for replacing lost Playaways and will incur normal fines for overdues.
In order to promote this new collection, a display in the front of the library holds these new
audiobooks with a large bulletin board of reasons to check them out as a backdrop. It has also
been publicized on the library’s website and will be featured in the school newspaper later this
month.

3. The goal of acquiring this new Playaway collection is to reach students who are pressed for time
when it comes to pleasure reading. Moreover, as the AASL Standards suggest, a variety of
formats should be present in the school library so that students can succeed, and the new
Playaway collection has just allowed for this standard to be met by students.
ISSUES
Although audiobooks tend to actually take more time to listen to than would reading a print
book, their portability and use in unique situations makes them an ideal solution to this problem.
The majority of students at Anytown High School (over 70%) also participate in extracurricular
sports during the school year and travel to away games on a regular basis—what a perfect time to
listen to an audiobook! Students can also listen to audiobooks on public transportation, while
shopping or doing chores—all times when reading a print book may not be ideal.
As for the collection itself, earbuds will not circulate so as to avoid hygienic issues. A supply of
earbuds will be kept on hand for students who need them, but this is not anticipated to be a great
need as most students have their own from their personal electronic devices. Batteries will also
need to be purchased in bulk.
BUDGET
As the Anytown High School Library’s budget currently accounts for new collections/updates to
existing collections, this project did not require any additional funds. An initial $2000 has been
spent on the collection, with $500 set aside per year for updates, if it proves to be popular and
successful.
TIMELINE
2007-2008
 October: Gather research in support of new collection. Update policies. Select 30
titles to be purchased.
 November: Begin promotional strategies once the Playaways have arrived. Start
with display, website, newspaper, and student interactions.
 December-February: Continue promotional strategies by presenting at faculty,
board, and PTA/PTO meetings.
 May-June: Review circulation statistics of Playaways. Conduct survey to determine
student satisfaction.
2008-2009
 September-May: Continue to promote new collection by rotating displays and
interacting with students and teachers. Gather informal information (anecdotal
evidence) from these interactions.
 May-June: Review circulation statistics of Playaways. Determine new collection’s
success. Decide whether to purchase more titles.
NEW PLAYAWAY TITLES AT THE ANYTOWN HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
1. Pride and prejudice / Jane Austen.
2. Seeing Redd / Frank Beddor.

4. 3. Wuthering Heights / Emily Bronte.
4. The Da Vinci code / Dan Brown.
5. The mysterious affair at the Styles / Agatha Christie.
6. The complete adventures & memoirs of Sherlock Holmes / Arthur Conan Doyle.
7. The lost world / Arthur Conan Doyle.
8. Anansi boys / Neil Gaiman.
9. Babe Ruth : an American legend / by Geoffrey Giuliano.
10. The goose girl / Shannon Hale.
11. The rolling Stones / Robert A. Heinlein.
12. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen.
13. Seabiscuit : an American legend / Laura Hillenbrand.
14. The King of Slippery Falls / Sid Hite.
15. The secret life of Houdini : the making of America's first superhero / William Kalush and
Larry Sloman.
16. The secret life of bees : a novel / Sue Monk Kidd.
17. Boy meets boy / David Levithan.
18. Life of Pi : a novel / Yann Martel.
19. Pinned / Alfred C. Martino.
20. I am Legend / Richard Matheson.
21. Bloody Jack / L.A. Meyer.
22. A wild sheep chase / Haruki Murakami.
23. The time traveler's wife / Audrey Niffenegger.
24. Eldest / Christopher Paolini.
25. Eragon / Christopher Paolini.
26. Inspiring figures : jazz greats / Andrea Davis Pinkney, Ntozake Shange.
27. The fall of the House of Usher ; : The pit and the pendulum & other tales of mystery and
imagination / Edgar Allan Poe.
28. Dress your family in corduroy and denim / David Sedaris.
29. Romeo and Juliet / William Shakespeare.
30. Frankenstein / Mary Shelley.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arkans, Joanna. "[LM_NET] HIT: Playaways (resend)." 20 Feb. 2007. 1 Dec. 2007
<http://eduref.org/lm_net/archive/LM_NET.html>.
Compiled list of replies from school librarians currently using Playaways in their libraries,

5. including reactions from students, problems with the technology, circulation, and more. Many
success stories from practicing school librarians! Search the archive for "playaway" for more
hits.
American Association of School Librarians. Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Chicago:
American Library Association, 2007.
<http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/learningstandards/AASL_Learning_Standards_2007.pdf>
Newly created standards for school library media specialists intended to update the standards
long-used in Information Power. All standards are linked off this PDF, where the cited standards
may be found. These standards address the skills, “dispositions in action,” responsibilities, and
self-assessment strategies to be acquired by every student in the information literacy curriculum
of the school librarian.
Johnson, Denise. "Audiobooks: Ear-Resistible!" Reading Online 6.8 (Apr. 2003).
<http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=webwatch/audiobooks/index.html?>.
While the goal of this project is to meet the personal needs of students by providing pleasure
reading in another format, this article illustrates the additional benefits for all students of
including audiobooks in the school library. Also includes links to reviews of audiobooks, free
audiobooks, and articles on audiobooks.
Taylor, Dave. "The Playaway Audio Player: Marketing Can't Overcome Economics."
Web log entry. 02 Oct 2006. The Intuitive Life Business Blog. 3 Dec 2007
<http://www.intuitive.com/blog/playaway_audio_player_marketing_versus_economics.html>.
This blog entry is written by “an expert on both technical and business issues,” reviewing the
initial release of the Playaway in 2006. It is included in this bibliography because it not only
describes the Playaway from a user’s perspective, but the wealth of comments to this post also
exemplifies school librarians’ success with this product.