Be part of a select group!  The Free Library invites you to help us test a new, national survey designed to learn more about reading habits and the many ways people use their public library.  Starting Monday, September 17, the Free Library is participating in a beta test of Library Journal’s “Patron Profiles”  new survey form.  We are limited to only 500 completed surveys, after which we will remove the links.  Several other libraries across the country are also trying this survey out, and results will be compiled and shared.

What is Patron Profiles?  It analyzes information collected through a national sample of 2,000+ public library consumers, and is produced in partnership with Library Journal, a major periodical about library related issues, and Bowker Pubtrack Consumer, a book publishing research company. We will have access to data results from Free Library users, as well as a chance to compare our results with the other libraries participating in this survey.

We want to learn about how you use the Free Library!  Please click on the link below to get started.  You will be asked about 50 questions, and your responses will be confidential. The survey takes about 10 - 15 minutes to complete.  (If you find you can't complete it, you will need to start it again.  Sorry!)

Patron Profiles Survey Link:  https://survey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cZ9vZ1MbQZAQ1ms&Q_lang=PHIL

Please keep in mind these are questions that are being asked in several cities.  This means some of the questions may not apply to services we currently offer.  If you do take the survey, we would also like to hear from you about what you think of these questions.

Thanks for your help!

I'm pleased to report that "Get for Kindle’ for all Penguin eBooks in our catalog has been restored as of this morning. According to OverDrive, our ebook provider, "Penguin titles are available for check out by Kindle users and the Kindle format will be available for patrons who are currently on a waiting list for a Penguin title. This does not affect new releases, which remain unavailable."

Tags: ebooks

Kindle users, especially, will want to read this news flash:  the Free Library learned Monday afternoon that Penguin Publishers has notified OverDrive, the vendor through which we provide ebooks to library customers, that it is reviewing terms for library lending of their ebooks.  (Penguin published The Help, and numerous other popular titles.)  In the interim, OverDrive was instructed to suspend availability of new Penguin eBook titles from our library catalog and to disable “Get for Kindle”  functionality for all Penguin eBooks.   OverDrive staff has told us that they are actively working with Penguin on this issue and hope Penguin will agree to restore access to their new titles and Kindle availability as soon as possible. 

For more information about this ebook development, please see this blog post: http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2011/11/ebooks/penguin-group-usa-to-no-longer-allow-library-lending-of-new-ebook-titles/

We have contacted Penguin as well as OverDrive, and will keep you updated about any additional changes.  We apologize for any inconvenience

Tags: Hot Topics, ebooks

Public libraries, including the Free Library, have long been stymied that the ebooks we offer were not usable on Kindles. This was an industry issue that we ourselves were not able to resolve. So we were surprised and thrilled to learn yesterday that Amazon, which sells Kindles, and OverDrive, currently the major supplier of ebooks to public libraries, announced that will change later this year. Dubbed the "Kindle Library Lending program," Kindle customers will be able to borrow eBooks from public libraries. Details are still limited, but according to an OverDrive statement, our "existing collection of downloadable eBooks will be available to Kindle customers."  This means that Kindle owners will be able to check out a title with their library card "and then select Kindle as the delivery destination."  We will keep you posted as to when this change will occur!

Tags: ebooks

HarperCollins publisher announced a week ago that it was changing its sales restrictions to libraries that loan e-books. Previously, when we libraries purchased HarperCollins e-books, that e-copy could be checked out an unlimited number of times. As of today, that is changing: any HarperCollins e-book that we purchase may be checked out only 26 times before the license expires. Additional copies will have to be purchased before they can be made available for library customers to check out, possibly at a lower price. This change has caused a considerable amount of commotion in the library world because of the potential impact on this popular service, particularly since many libraries are coping with reduced budgets.  Recent HarperCollins bestsellers include Justin Halpern’s Sh*t My Dad Says and Sarah Palin’s America By Heart.

The Free Library “owns” a number of HarperCollins e-books whose circulation numbers exceed 26 times. Other publishers are undoubtedly watching this situation unfold and debating whether or not to limit its e-book sales to libraries. At the Free Library, on a temporary basis, we will not purchase new HarperCollins titles until we have more information on how HarperCollins and our vendor (OverDrive) will implement this change and until we know what the pricing structure will be for additional copies once the 26 number has been reached.   We are also joining discussions with HarperCollins to offer other possible options as we all attempt to figure out this new landscape. If you’d like additional information, this recent New York Times article is a brief summary of both perspectives: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/a-limit-on-lending-e-books/?scp=1&sq=HarperCollins&st=cse

What are your thoughts about e-books and publisher limitations? Join the discussion! 

Tags: ebooks