The next big thing occuring AS WE SPEAK is the development of PBCLS's audiobook collection via Overdrive. You can check out the collection here. Audiobooks and ebooks are a rising interest which will continue to increase demand in the wake of new technology and competition between companies like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Between the hightened popularity and competitive pricing of the Sony eReader, the Nook and the Kindle, libraries are feeling the pressure to increase their ebook collection. The PBCLS is adding hundreds of new items a day to their Overdrive collection.
The system is very easy to use. simply download the Overdrive Media Console and select material on the webpage to download. Because of Digital Rights Management, the library purchases licenses, rather than items. This way, the license acts as the physical item that is checked out. Only one person can access the license at a time. So for each item there could be 5 (or more, or fewer) licenses. This is kind of a pain for the patron because it means that when you select an item to download, you may have to wait for several days for the item to be available. It's just like putting a book on hold through the online catalog, except you don't have to go to the library to pick up your item.
It's hard to tell how much of this trend in e-materials is a fad and how much of it will stick with us. There are so many people who still enjoy reading from a book rather than reading from a screen. However, the newer generations are born in front of a computer and may prefer reading from their electronic devices rather than a dusty, smelly, and sometimes sticky book. For now, we can relax with the knowledge that not all items and materials are available electronically. So people will still have to come into the library for certain things.
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