RPL's OverDrive emedia, HarperCollins

Earlier today the weekly update came out with this news:

Library Acquires “Overdrive” Allowing Downloads Of Audiobooks And eBooks
On Monday, the Richardson Public Library switched on “Overdrive”, which is an online service that offers access to best-selling and classic audiobooks and eBooks all day, every day from the Library’s website.

Anyone can browse the collection, but a Richardson Library Card is required to check out a selection. The books can be downloaded to computers and many mobile devices, and some audio titles can also be burned to CD. Titles automatically expire at the end of the lending period, meaning there are no late fees. A link to the site is available in the Related Links section.

Then a few minutes ago this pops up online -- "HarperCollins to libraries: we will nuke your ebooks after 26 checkouts":

LibraryGoblin sez, "HarperCollins has decided to change their agreement with e-book distributor OverDrive. They forced OverDrive, which is a main e-book distributor for libraries, to agree to terms so that HarperCollins e-books will only be licensed for checkout 26 times. Librarians have blown up over this, calling for a boycott of HarperCollins, breaking the DRM on e-books--basically doing anything to let HarperCollins and other publishers know they consider this abuse."

A little to too arcane and inside baseball? Maybe. But electronic media will probably increase as a percentage of library loans going forward, and this kind of battle is important and inevitable.

The OverDrive service page at RPL doesn't say so, but there is one open platform
player available: an Android client is available on the official overdrive page.



[I should point out that completely DRM-free ebooks and audiobooks are available, legal, and free elsewhere online. You can help prepare free ebooks for publishing by volunteering your keen proofreading skills.]

RPL email newsletters

I attended one of the recent RPL focus groups. My tablemates indicated that the RPL had a rather extensive list of broadcast email lists.

Hmmmm. Hadn't seen those before.

Turns out they are called Bookletters on the main RPL page. The only other link to the email list page is on the left menu of the Calendar of Events page where they are called newsletters. I wonder if the lists would see more subscribers if they were called something more intuitive.

So I selected the ones I wanted and subbed. Each list sent its own "welcome" msg without requiring an opt-in. A bit sloppy, but better than nothing. I think email lists are an effective and cheap way to reach the residents.

COR Library focus group needs volunteers

If you are interested in providing input to help make RPL even better, this is your chance to donate some time.

Here's the Point of Contact info for the pre-screen:
Dallas by Definition
(972) 869-2366
Diane or Sheila. Mention it's for the Richardson Public Library study.

Early word is that they need something like 10 people in each of 7 planned focus groups.

One book: The Art of Racing in the Rain

I like the Richardson Reads One Book idea.  I read the tea book last year and got a copy of Rain from the RPL.  All of them were checked out but there were so many copies (30?) that my hold request came through in a couple of days. 

I'm about 50 pages in.  For the first couple of pages I thought it would be maudlin "marley and me" pap, but it's shaping up.  I assumed the "racing in the rain" reference was going to be about the dog running around in the rain but that misconception was cleared up in a (for me) more interesting direction.

I should point out that when I first cracked open the book in bed my own aging, graying hound was crashed out beside the bed on his own dog pillow. So I might approach the story with a bit more bias than I otherwise might. 

kudos to RPL Director

Earlier this year RPL Director Mr. Benson bravely waded into the blog comment world, and provided interesting and valuable input.

I want to point out that that there were also results, not just talk. Here was his response to one particular suggestion in the commments:

Call numbers for My Lists? I know it's possible because I've seen it done on other Horizon systems and I've asked for the change before. I'll ask again and push harder.

As the screenshot shows, Mr. Benson made good on his word. COR needs more high profile folks that listen, think critically, and take action where warranted.

So here's a public pat on the back for our library director.