From Sue Polanka’s No Shelf Required blog:
I’m really curious about this, and reading a blog post from the Librarian in Black, which summarized a library futures event has gotten me even more curious.
Most public libraries who are lending eBook readers (at least those in the news) are loaning Kindles. Why aren’t they lending nook, Kobo, COOL-ER, and SONY readers? Kindle readers are not compatible with any of the library eBook aggregator content and require that libraries purchase titles again, in the Kindle format. But nook, Kobo, COOL-ER, and SONY readers ARE compatible with some OverDrive and NetLibrary titles because they are in Adobe Digital Editions or PDF formats. Am I missing something here? Isn’t is plausible that a public library with large OverDrive and NetLibrary collections could pre-load already purchased content onto a compatible device and lend the device and the title to the patron? The Kobo reader comes loaded with 100 free titles. Many free eBooks can be loaded onto these devices as well (even the Kindle is open to some of these).
Is it the fine print? Is it the content? Or is it lack of knowledge on devices? Your input on this issue is much appreciated.
I vote lack of knowledge. There are a good number of people who think the Kindle is the only option out there. I’m sure there are Librarians in those ranks. Amazon has done a good job of making its own device synonymous with ereader, so that even at Barnes and Noble we had people come up asking about the Kindles we sold.
In my opinion the Kindle is probably one of the worst options for libraries, considering how strict the format is and how tight Amazon’s grip is on how consumers use the devices they paid for.
the answer is “titles” I suppose, users wants to read those books sold by Amazon and the only way to read them is purchasing a Kindle…
One of our local suburban libraries lends both Kindles and Sonys, so some are doing it. The Kindles are by subject matter, i.e. Fiction, Non-fiction, Leadership, Mystery and Suspense, History.
With respect to local libraries my experience is of people with very ‘limited skill sets’, let’s say. Sticking to one model would makes things greatly easier to manage.
I would love for us to have ebook device to lend out to patrons. But until recently the prices have been too high for us to consider it. And now that the prices are starting to come down, we’re in the middle of a budget that was written last spring. Maybe at the end of the fiscal year, if there’s money left, we could consider it.
But that’s just my library.