Mohave County Alliance 2010

1. Hands on with E-Readers
Mohave County Library Alliance
October 2010
Dale Savage, Mary Villegas, Adele Maxson

2. E-Readers in Libraries
Considerations:
 Nuts & Bolts of e-readers (hardware)
 Different Devices
 E-book Issues (software)

3. E-Readers and Tablets
Different priorities:
Read e-books,
browse the web,
or both?
Most devices can read e-books and use the internet,
but they do one better than the other.

4. E Ink vs. LCD
Different technology:
Affects appearance, battery life, and page turns
Comparison of Kindle and iPad screens at 26x (source: http://www.bit-101.com/blog/?p=2722)

5. Size & Weight
 Weight – Plastic/metal
 Size – Read a newspaper
or fit in your pocket?
 Screens are usually 5”, 6”,
7” or 11” diagonally
Image source: http://blogkindle.com/category/kindle-reaction/

6. Internet Connectivity
iPad
 Can use apps, internet browser, e-mail
 What can iPad do offline?
Some E-Readers
 Ties your e-reader to an online store
 Is this good or bad?

7. iPad
Apple
 Touch screen
 Computer or e-reader?
 Proprietary
E-reading on iPad
A lot of books?
 iPad can:
 Access other stores through apps
 Access documents
 Use apps
Image source: http://www.apple.com/ipad/

8. Kindle
Amazon
 Popular
 Internet and some 3G
 Proprietary
E-reading on Kindle
 Amazon Kindle Store (biggest in the world)
 Users usually purchase Kindle books
 Not a lot of freedom with e-books
Image source: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-
Generation/dp/B002Y27P3M/ref=sa_menu_kdp3w3

9. nook
Barnes & Noble
 Popular
 Internet and some 3G
 New version – 7” touchscreen (iPad competition)
 Original – E Ink top screen/touch bottom screen
 Has an iPad app
E-Reading on nook
 Barnes & Noble e-bookstore (a lot of books?)
 Read with the E Ink screen
 More freedom with e-books
Image source: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/features/?cds2Pid=30197
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/?cds2Pid=35700

10. Reader Digital Book
Sony
 Different models
 Long lived
 Touch screen (new devices)
 Limited Connectivity
 Expensive
E-Reading on the Sony Reader
 Sony e-bookstore, but can use any store
 No iPad app
 Freedom
 Promotes digital libraries
 Easier to use internationally
Image source: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?
catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666257813

11. Kobo
 Simple, small, light
 New Kobo released – with Wi-Fi
 Cheap
E-Reading on Kobo
 Promoted by Borders, but can use any store
 Has an iPad app
Image source: http://koboereader.com/usd/ereaders/kobo-ereader-black.html

12.  Perceived value
‘Digital book files cost $0’
 Expected value
‘Well, there is some editing required…’
 Actual value
Agency model:
 free e-books
 cheap e-books
 e-books that cost more than hardcover
What is an e-book worth?

13. Aren’t all books the same?
Licensed, not owned:
Lending, borrowing?
Resale?
Obsolescence
Library model?
Publishing:
Price
DRM
File formats
Print-on-demand
Quality
• Editing
• Standard file type?

14. What is DRM…
And how does it Affect Libraries
The Big Companies:
 Adobe Digital Editions
 E-Bookstore DRM
What does DRM do?
 Checks the file out, returns it
 Protects copying, printing
 Publishers may prevent some accessibility (TTS)
 iPad and Kindle do not support any other DRM

15. Licensing

16. Digital Content
&
Device Software

17. "Digital Content is licensed,
not sold, to you by the
Content Provider"
Kindle License Agreement

18. Furthermore
"…you may not sell, rent,
lease, distribute,
broadcast, sublicense, or
otherwise assign any
rights…"

19. "…and may not sell, rent,
lease, lend, distribute, or
sublicense or otherwise
assign any rights to the
Software in whole or in part."

20. So What Can
Libraries Do?

21. True Story
 "I just had a lady come in who needed
help setting up her brand new Kindle.
I was able to get her registered and
start downloading books in a snap.
She was thrilled. I probably could
have muddled through it, but the E-
Summit REALLY helped!!"

22. Learn how to use
an e-reader
1 in 20

23. 194,825
(2009 Census Estimate)
9,741

24. E-Book Discussions

25. Free Books
 Project Gutenberg
 Many Books
 Scribd
 Oxford Text Archive
 Memoware
 And many more……

26. Other Activities
 E-reader 101
Purchasing
Downloading
 E-book publishing

28. What Are Libraries Doing
 Oct. 27, 2010: Howard County Library to
lend 60 Nooks
 http://columbia.patch.com/articles/howard-county-libraries-will-loan-
nook-e-readers
 Frank L. Weyenberg Library: Kindles
 http://www.flwlib.org/about-library.cfm?id=18
 Complete report available at:
http://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/tech/ebookreadersreport.pdf

29. Final Thoughts