Harper Collins harpooning the libraries

News has flooded twitter and the blog-o-sphere regarding Overdrive being forced by the publisher Harper Collins to put an expiration on ebooks.  An expiration?  How does an item made essentially from binary code all 1's and 0's expire?  Harper Collins books will have a cap on the number of times the book can be check-out from the library.  After the maximum of checkouts (in this case 26), it will be locked or some such, and the library will have to purchase another copy.  This is in reaction (or maybe dawning realization) that the public libraries will not have to purchase replacement copies that they normally would due to lost books or wear and tear.

Several of the blogs that I have read such as Agnostic, Maybe (love the blog btw), suggest that the libraries have power to object by not purchasing the books.  In an ideal world, I would agree, and as long as Harper Collins is the only publisher with these restrictions it remains a valid option.  However, this type of strong arming by publishers is not new - just ask those in academia.  Case in point are the "Big Deal" publishers such as Elsevier.  They have a strangle hold on the science journal publications or so they like to brag.  They are also extremely pricey as in I could buy a nice new car for one journal title, and I am not talking Ford Fiesta.  They also have cancellation clauses in their contracts to where you cannot cancel more than say 1% of the current year subscription cost.  Their competitors do the same thing.  Not buying is an option, but is it the best service for our users?  Perhaps, if we can find alternatives.  Did I mention that contributors to scientific journals do not get paid?  Talk about a double whammy.

It terms of the glass is half-full, it could always be worse.  According to Library Journal, there are still two major publishers that don't allow their ebooks to circulate in libraries - Macmillan and Simon & Schuster.  The publishers have a legitimate concern, their bottom line.  The library concerns are being a good steward of public monies and making content/information available to our users.  It seems like their should be a middle ground, and we need to start a dialogue with the publishers.

HaperCollins library.ebook@harpercollins.com
Macmillan:  http://us.macmillan.com/splash/contact.html
Simon and Schuster:  http://www.simonandschuster.com/

I think what publishers are missing is that while we may not be replacing titles due to wear, we will still be spending the same amount of money on materials.  We will simply purchase additional titles that we may not have been able to purchase before.  I would be curious to know how much of library spending is for replacements.  At my last library it was a miniscule amount.  I do not have access to those budget figures here.  Just as libraries need to adapt to changing technologies and investigate how they need to change their services to fit the users' new needs, so does the publisher need to adapt.  This may mean a completely new business model.  Marketers Test Ads in Ebooks  It will be interesting to see what the future holds.

I'm a Nerd, Are you a Nerd?

Yesterday when I checked-in on Foursquare for our library I was awarded a Bookworm Badge and called a nerd.  According to Joe Murphy on his blog this is a new feature of Foursquare.  I had just thought that they were trying to tell me something in a not so subtle way.  One might forgive me for making that assumption as I have been accused of nerdom a time or two before.  Ok, maybe three.  I had also thought myself as nothing short of brilliant as I had left a tip promoting the Overdrive app to check out and use library ebooks and audio books on iPhone and Android phones.  Turns out I am not the only clever one.  Joe suggested using Foursquare to promote library programs and to award users for becoming mayor.  I like the way he thinks!  My only question is how to coordinate this in a large library system of which we are but a humble part.  Since Foursquare is a location based app, it would seem to make sense for each library in the system to go about this individually with occasional coordination for the central office.  Something to ponder.  How do you use Foursquare in your library?

Agnostic, Maybe - Dream Big

I was reading Andy Woodworth's post on Dream Big and his tweet which asked what are our dreams for libraries?  My dream is for libraries and librarians who are not afraid to try new technologies.  I would like to see libraries who are not afraid to be trendsetters instead of waiting to see what technologies will last long term.  With the technological landscape changing so rapidly in the last twenty, heck, even ten years, can we afford to wait a decade for applications to 'work out the kinks' before we adopt it?  If we are willing to try new things, we are better able to meet our customer needs.  Many of our users are tech savvy, and they expect the library to be on par with them.  If we are not, they will stop coming to us.  They will find the information and fulfill their needs somewhere else.  Instead of trying to force our users to adapt to what we feel are the proper protocols perhaps, and this is just a thought, we should adapt to our users' needs.  Revolutionary I know.

Looking at the other side of our customer base, if the librarians are tech savvy they are better able to help the customers who are being left behind by the digital divide.  Those who write or teach about reference often propose that use the reference interview as an opportunity to teach the patrons how to find the information rather than just hand them a book.  I propose that we also teach them how to use technology.  Many libraries have created a start by offering basic computer classes or computer tutoring, but let's embed it into our reference interview process.  As librarians, we should not be on the bottom or even in the middle of the digital divide.  After all, information is our business.

Reference Librarians and library staff, never the twain shall meet?

Public libraries are seeing a gain in the number of non-MLS reference librarians. In addition more and more library staff members such circulation clerks, pages, and public computer specialist are answering reference questions or ready reference questions.  This has caused some resentment amongst various staff members as librarians feel that reference questions aren't adequately being addressed, and non-librarians feel as if they are being unfairly criticized.  The librarians are also feeling that their degree is not being utilized.  We are also looking at moving to a combined circulation and reference desk which will only excaperbate the problem.

To address these issues we have decided to develop a training program with written guidelines for all library staff.  For example, the program will address what type of ready reference questions can be answered by any staff member and when a the question needs to be referred to a reference librarian. A further extension of this will be reference training for the librarians - both those with MLS and without a MLS.  

There are four main areas in which I want to focus on for the reference librarian training.  One area I want to exam is how we are using information resources at the desk.  Are we just finding books for consumers, or are we also utilizing our databases, websites, and other forms of media.  Also, how do we provide utilize all of the sources without overloading the user with information?   The second area is how we are presenting the information to our customers.  Are we expecting them to learn to adjust to library lingo and methods, or are we adjusting to our changing customer needs?  If we are, how can we continue to improve in that area?  The third area is emphasizing good customer service.  This begins with a proper reference interviews and includes getting up and walking the customer to their resource.   The last area I want to investigate is what technological tools we can use to help us and to help the customers.  As I love to play with new gadgets and apps, this will be a fun one.

How do you handle reference in your library?  Is your circulation desk allowed to put a book on reserve?  At what point do they refer questions to the reference librarians?  In what areas do you recommend training?