Entries from March 2009
I’m thrilled to be able to announce that the Maltese Falcon will be available as an Always Available download from the Sno-Isle website in time for the Big Read Our Always Available titles are provided by Blackstone–the only publisher to allow unlimited downloads on titles. The Maltese Falcon will be available in both the WMA and MP3 formats. 
About WMA (Always Available) & MP3 (iPod) formats.
WMA titles are compatible with pcs and windows devices. Though we have a large collection of WMA titles, only one audiobook publisher has been kind enough to offer them as an always available title. These titles are available any time you want them. The always available collection is a mixture of classics, mystery, suspense fiction, & romance fiction. Classics in the always available collection are great for students with reading assignments.
MP3 titles are compatible with iPods, iPhones, & Macs. The MP3 collection is growing rapidly, but is currently smaller than the WMA collection because we have been able to purchase for only a few months. The library maintains a 5 to 1 hold copy ratio for downloads as we do with all other materials.
posting by jim
Categories: Book groups · Books to Film · Downloads · Hold to copy ratios · OverDrive · holds · iPod
Tagged: NEA, NEA Big Read, Maltese Falcon
The Library of Congress has begun distributing portions of its audio and video collection on YouTube and Apple’s iTunes.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said in a statement that the new agreements “remove many of the impediments to making our unparalleled content more useful to many more people.”
LC has already distributed thousands of historic photographs on Flickr as part of a two-year pilot project.
(via School Library Journal)
post by Lorraine
Categories: Internet · Media · News · Research
Not That Innocent by Jaid Black, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kresley Cole and Roxanne St. Claire has finally been cancelled by the publisher. We first ordered this title in March of 2008. We will notify all of the people who requested this book. We will then remove the title from the catalog.
Posted by Becky Buckingham
Categories: Adult Fiction · holds
Tagged: Adult Fiction, holds
The living dead are heading toward Longbourn and all of the characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice had better look out.
Author, Seth Grahame-Smith altered the text by Austen and interpolated Zombie attacks throughout the story. Grahame-Smith was interviewed on NPR on Sunday. Madhulika Sikka, executive producer for NPR’s Morning Edition wrote an Opinion piece: Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Oh My! Entertainment Weekly reviewed it in this week’s edition.
This book is on order at this time and holds can be placed.
Aliens will soon be headed towards the Bennet Family as well. Sir Elton John’s Rocket Pictures will produce a film called Pride and Predator.
post by Lorraine
Categories: Adult Fiction
Holds notifications: a primer (72, originally uploaded by duncan.)
When a customer places a hold on a download they are asked for their email address. Once their turn in the queue comes up, the customer receives an email that the title is available for checkout. Customers have 72 hours, (up from 48 hours) from the time the email is SENT to go in and check out their holds. For those customers who use their work pcs with faster Internet speeds to manage their downloadable accounts this has occasionally meant that the hold expired before they got to work on a Monday morning. Customers are understandably frustrated when a hold they’ve waited weeks for expires before they can check it out. The 24 hour extension of holds will help to reduce the number of missed holds by our customers.
What you can do to help customers.
Customers often tell us, that they missed their hold because they didn’t have time to download the title. Depending on the length of the audio book, downloading a title can take an extended period of time. However, to keep their hold from expiring customers need only check out their material. Once checked out the customer can then download the title when they have time. Checking out materials usually can be done in less than a minute. Should customers ask about holds on downloads, be sure to point out the difference between checking out and downloading digital material.
posting by jim
Categories: Downloads · OverDrive · customer service · holds
Tagged: hold notifications
Did you get a pretty little package from Playaway in this week’s mail?
I know at least two of our libraries did because they asked me what to do with them. Playaway it appears is sending each of our libraries a cute little set of orange earbuds. So check your mail for a little orange box of earbud deliciousness. Feel free to deal with them as you like.
This fine set of deluxe of earbuds will make you look fabu as you walk down the street.
Categories: Sno-Isle Libraries
A recent study of men’s reading habits in the UK found that men have a casual approach to books. In the Guardian’s book blog, Jean Hannah Edelstein gives suggestions to turn men into readers. Publishers need to make a concentrated effort to re-masculate reading:
One option, I suppose, would be to publish special gentlemen’s editions of books that are currently targeted at women, but might actually have male appeal. Female protagonists could be given male names, and romantic plots could be tweaked slightly to be more about football. My editor was not a fan of my suggestion of a special manned-up print run of my (quite feminine) book with a cover featuring a tractor and a pint, but I am holding out hope for the second edition once the trend catches on.
She also suggests a television series (and book tie-in) starring a handsome, profanity spewing librarian to make men realize that books aren’t that bad…
(via Shelf Awareness)
post by Lorraine
Categories: Pop culture · reading research
sure, the answer is probably ‘no,’ but this gadget looks pretty cool, a color ebook with a touch screen, Wi-Fi, and more. not surprisingly, the Japanese are the first to unveil the Flepia by Fujitsu. oh Kindle, you are looking more and more beta.
(via boing boing)
posting by marin
Categories: Formats · ebooks
A film version of Where the Wild Things Are will be coming out on October 16th. USA Today has some nice movie stills. Maurice Sendak told Max Records, the young actor who plays Max, “Good job.”
Categories: Uncategorized
