Week 10 Prompt: Ebooks and Audiobooks

Ebooks

Pros (for patrons): 

• Remote access; no need to come into the library

• Accessible on multiple devices

• Adjustable settings to personal preference

• Automatic returns; no late fees 

• Portable, lightweight (when using a phone, e-reader, etc.)

Cons (for libraries and patrons): 

• Expensive for libraries to purchase (or rent); libraries cannot own the titles

• Publishers have enforced purchasing restrictions and limits

• Less of a tactile experience

• Not appealing to all demographics

Personal experience: 

I don’t think I had ever read an ebook (for personal reading) until I worked at a library. I started using OverDrive to read ebooks at the Information Desk when things were slow, but that was the only time I would read ebooks. Oftentimes, my loan period would expire before I was able to get through an entire book. After working at the library for awhile, I was given a work-issued iPad. Even after being issued the iPad, I didn’t really use it for quite some time. I had never used an iPad before, and to be honest, I didn’t really know what to do with it. I knew what you could do with it, but like so many of our patrons, I had no time to fuss with technology I was not familiar with. It was only when I started noticing that sometimes the print versions of books I wanted were checked out, but the ebook versions were available that I decided to download the OverDrive app to my iPad and begin reading ebooks at home. It was an adjustment at first, and I had to play around with the settings a bit due to the brightness (my eyes are super sensitive), but once I got that figured out, I didn’t mind it so much. In fact, when I am reading in bed, it’s nice to be able to prop the iPad up on a pillow, and (other than page-turning) it’s basically hands-free. I also like that I can access OverDrive from anywhere and pick up reading where I left off on multiple devices. That being said, if both print and ebook versions are available for the same title, I will often check out both, especially if it’s a book I am reading for a class. For me, print books are easier to navigate and to reference page numbers. Print books also serve as a good visual for remembering when/where certain events happen. For example, I will remember that a character had a significant revelation about three-fourths of the way through the book, at the top of a right page. Print books also have flaws which can serve as markers in the narrative. (Oh, I remember that happened right before the smudged/torn/folded page …) In the article, “E-books and Readers’ Advisory” (2011), Katie Dunneman notes, “Some e-book reading devices and software programs are able to compensate with indications of page numbers; however, this is not the same as the sensation of less than fifty pages in your right hand…” (p. 328). I like to see and feel where I am in the book which helps me with retaining and retrieving important information. 

Audiobooks

Pros (for patrons):  

• Remote access; no need to come into the library

• Accessible on multiple devices

• Adjustable settings; can speed up the narration

• Automatic returns; no late fees

• Hands-free, allows for the ability to multitask while listening

Cons (for libraries and patrons): 

• Expensive for libraries to purchase (or rent); libraries cannot own the titles

• Publishers have enforced purchasing restrictions and limits

• Less of a tactile experience

• Not appealing to all demographics

Personal experience: 

The only time I have ever really listened to audiobooks was with my daughter in the car when she was younger. She especially loved Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody and Stink. I would check out the CD audiobooks from the library and we’d listen to stories while we were doing errands and such. I definitely understand how big of a difference the narrator can make to the listening experience. When the narrator for Junie B. Jones changed, we did not enjoy the new narrator nearly as much. She wasn’t as animated and didn’t quite capture (what we imagined to be) the voice of Junie B. I found myself going back and checking out titles we had already listened to just so we could hear the original narrator. For personal reading, audiobooks do not appeal to me much. I need to see words on the page. I am a bit of a daydreamer, and I need to read the words to be able to focus and to comprehend. Visualizing what I’ve read plays a big part in my ability to recall information, so I find audiobooks inhibiting. I generally find reading aloud to be distracting. Even reading aloud in grade school, if I really wanted to understand what we read, I needed to go back and read it silently by myself. I am, however, interested in listening to a couple of the author-narrated books that Professor Cataldi mentioned in her post this week -- Tina Fey’s Bossypants and Amy Poehler’s Yes Please. I pretty much love anything these women put out, and I’d love to hear their stories in their own voices.

References

Dunneback, K., & Trott, B. (2011). E-books and readers' advisory. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(4), 325-9.