A recent study of the Pew Internet & American Life Project found a striking increase in ownership of e-book reading devices and tablet computers during the recent holiday gift-giving season.
The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to e-book readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period. The number of Americans owning at least one of these digital reading devices jumped from 18% in December to 29% in January.
Not surprisingly, purchasers were younger (18-39), more educated, and of higher household income brackets. The entire report can be read online or downloaded as a PDF.
In November of last year, Penguin suspended, then reinstated, downloadable audiobook availability from our downloadable media vendor OverDrive. However, as of January 18, 2012, Penguin will no longer make available to OverDrive any audiobook titles Penguin publishes. This decision is retroactive to titles published after November 14, 2011.
The Holocaust Museum & Education Center of Southwest Florida is sponsoring the Boxcar Transportation & Education Project at the South Regional Library. The boxcar will be at the library and open from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 14, Tuesday, January 17, and Thursday, January 19.
More information about the boxcar exhibit is available on the Center’s Boxcar web page.
Brilliance Audio, which supplies many bestselling fiction audiobook titles to the Library’s downloadable media vendor OverDrive, will stop all library purchase of titles as of January 31, 2012.
OverDrive announced the decision by Brilliance in a message to its library partners, including CCPL. The move will not affect currently held Brilliance titles.
Brilliance sells audiobooks by bestselling authors such as J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts, Nevada Barr, Tom Clancy, Robert Crais, W.E.B. Griffin, Dean Koontz, Jayne Ann Krentz, and many others.
Brilliance Audio is owned by Amazon, which recently launched its Kindle Lending Library on OverDrive.
The Naples Daily News covers the surge in popularity of downloadable ebooks at the Collier County Public Library. Includes a photo gallery of a library instructional program on how to download OverDrive™ digital media and read ebooks on popular devices like Kindle and Nook.
Osceola County has become the first Florida county to outsource its public library system. In a 3-2 vote, County commissioners voted to implement a 5-year contract with Library Systems and Services, Inc., which has sought contracts in Florida for several years.
The County indicated that hours, services, and staffing will remain unchanged, but staff must reapply for their jobs. A drop in recent years of property tax revenues supporting the library was cited as the rationale for the outsourcing. Opponents argue that LSSI’s proposed savings to the county will not materialize over time.
In a Naples Daily News article, Carla Grieve, District 2 Library Advisory Board representative and member of the Friends of the Library, offers a preview of the Library’s busy upcoming Winter/Spring 20012 programs.
Program brochures and website info will be available on Monday, December 19, which is the first day of registration for all programs.
Early voting in Collier County for the 2012 Presidential Preference Primary will be available from Monday, January 16, through Saturday, January 28, excluding Sunday, January 22.
As in the past, several library locations will serve as early voting sites. Participating library locations are Golden Gate, Headquarters, Immokalee, and Marco Island. For library addresses and directions, visit the Locations & Hours page.
Hours of voting will be 10 AM to 6 PM. Note that hours may not correspond to library branch hours for library patrons. In such cases, the location will be open and available only for early voting.
Penguin announced earlier this week that it is pulling Kindle versions of its ebooks from OverDrive (CCPL’s ebook vendor). As of Wednesday, November 23, however, the existing Penguin ebook titles were restored — until the end of the year.
Penguin also announced that it is suspending release to OverDrive of all new titles in ebook format. The original announcement cited security concerns. This move was reaffirmed Wednesday.
These measures have taken effect without advanced notice to libraries.
Both Penguin and OverDrive indicated that Penguin’s concerns are under review, but released no further information. Amazon made no public statement.
Penguin’s move places it in company with other publishers and authors concerned about the economic model of ebooks. Simon & Schuster and Macmillan already do not allow ebook library lending. HarperCollins limits total library lending to 26 per eboook.
Due to area telecommunications upgrading, the South Regional Library will be without telephone and Internet access (including public computers and wireless service) on Saturday, November 26.
The library will open regular hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for checkout, return, and other regular services.
Full service will resume Monday, November 28.