In March, Deb Clark, SMLD Consultant, Laurel Parker from Windham Public Library, Annika Black from Norway Memorial Library, and Mary Beckett from Edythe L. Dyer Community Library in Hampden attended the one-day conference in Worcester, MA of the New England Roundtable of Teen’s and Children’s Librarians (NERTCL). This year’s conference focused on “Kids and Technology.” The following series of blog posts are reports from each of the attendees.
E-Books and Publishing Workshop presented by Noreen O’Gara, Bedford (MA) Free Public Library.
A great history of systems using computers for storing texts, electronic ink, reading devices, and where we are today was presented. In 2007 eReaders became available with content from Amazon and sold out in 5 ½ hours. Backorders were finally filled in April of 2008. When iPads hit the market in 2010 it was the end of the boom years for dedicated eReaders. 2011 saw Penguin refused to sell new content to libraries. HarperCollins placed a 26 time check out limit on library eBooks on March 7, 2011. Random House tripled the cost of eBooks to libraries in March 2012. More tablets than eReaders were being sold in 2012, with android almost doubling the sales of Apple. Getting content is now complex with considerations including publishers, printers, device makers, and content providers. Be leary of subscription services stating that they are “fabulous” and “hand-curated” (movies, apps, books, etc.) such as Kindle Free Time ($2.99/$4.99/$9.99 per month), Oyster ($9.95/mo) Scribd (8.99/mo) Entitle (2 books/month, $9.99).
The Minuteman (MA) Consortium buys an Overdrive shared collection. 80% of the titles are for adults, 20% for children. Studies show that 28% of adults have read on an electronic device and 46% of kids have read on electronic devices. In looking at the Maine Info Net Overdrive a breakdown of adult vs. children’s titles is not readily available. James Jackson Sanborn did pass along to me, “In terms of new YA or child content, the apparent lack of that content could be due to the lack of requests coming through the system coupled with the availability or lack thereof in ebook or e-audiobook format. Although we have a few people who make selections with an eye toward YA lit, most of our collection is built by responding to direct user requests that are made through the search system.” Children’s and Young Adult librarians…let’s get involved!
Laurel T. Parker
Children's Librarian
Windham Public Library
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