Week eleven prompt

The inability to physically hold a book does impact the reader as there are no clues other than the title or author and the research the reader does about the book to aid them in deciding whether to read it. Our library preloads Kindles with titles and circulate them. Upon discussion of the patron’s inability to tell what they were going to read and with patrons distaste for certain types of books, we compiled lists of the books and the genre they would be categorized as. This has been a non-issue as the “adult fiction” is a very popular reason why the Kindles are circulating but serves as a good general guide. The research on the romance genre and eBooks seemed to mirror what I hear from patrons and friends. Romance novels are enjoyed more than any other genre as eBooks. 

I think that one of the biggest advantages of eReaders is the ability to increase font size. I have never increased the font to a size that affects the pacing and tone.  I had not thought about this leading to an issue. However, according to the article, E-books and Readers' Advisory, “Pacing is also affected by how much text is visible on the screen, so the larger the text, the less there is to indicate how quickly the story is moving. As the layout of the page changes, this can also affect the tone of the story.” (Dunneback, 2011)  I can understand how the story can be affected, but feel as if an individual has to increase the font that much that they are probably grateful to just be able to read at all. I definitely agree with the insight given in the article as I am a “fan and scan” reader and “Richly detailed books may also not be the best type of book to read on an e-book reader, especially if the reader is one who likes to do what I call the fan and scan to check for previously revealed information. It is not easy to jump between points in the book if you do not know exactly where you are going.” (Dunneback, 2011) That is valuable advice to remember as I would personally not enjoy reading, “A game of thrones” on my Kindle and will be able to advise others.

Audiobooks have always had an appeal to the patrons who utilize them. Whether it is the patron who gets to listen to them at work, can’t drive their car without one, or listens to them while ironing (yes, I actually have heard that!) the appeal seems to reach a diverse audience. I have noticed that patrons who like them seem to love them! Multi-tasking is made so easy while listening to a book. The evolution of audiobooks would be the downloadable format. I have assisted a few patrons with downloading an audiobook, but generally see circulation of them in the physical format. I love the MP3 on CD which greatly reduces the number of discs. 

I have worked in a public library long enough to see eBooks really evolve. I am excited to see how libraries have embraced them and how they will continue to grow.

Reference

Dunneback, K., & Trott, B. (2011). E-books and Readers' Advisory. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(4), 325-329.