26 Smirks

The Impact and Opportunities of the eReading Revolution on Libraries

A talk given by Tom Peters on March 9, 2011

Feb. 24, 2011

HarperCollins announces, through OverDrive, that beginning on March 7, 2011, all HarperCollins ebooks sold to libraries will disappear after 26 circulations.

http://librarianbyday.net/2011/02/25/publishing-industry-forces-overdrive-and-other-library-ebook-vendors-to-take-a-giant-step-back/

Twitter hastag: #hcod

What to do? Boycott

HarperCollins Blame OverDrive Rant and Rave Shake Head and

Wring Hands Blog, Tweet, etc. Continue to

kowtow to the Big 6 Publishers

Reinvent Libraries for the eReading Era

This Is All Faintly Disturbing

A Portable eBook Revolution is Underway Right Now

Background to ActionTECH TRAITS: What general traits are observable about how people react to tech revolutions?

READING: What is reading, anyway?

PORTABLE eREADING: What is the current situation of the portable eReading revolution in the U.S.?

TAKE ACTION: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” Henry David Thoreau

People and Tech RevolutionsWhat can we learn from history?

Revolutionary Fits and Starts

Seventies: Paperless Office

Late Nineties: Failed eBook Coup

2001: Segway

Amazing Revolutions Underway

Global mobile phone revolution. 5.3 billion mobile cellular subscriptions

in 2010. 76.2 subscriptions for every 100 pe0ple

worldwide.

Source: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/at_glance/KeyTelecom.html

Portable eReading revolution.

When We Name a New Technology, We Project the Past into the Future

Horse Iron Horse Carriage Horseless Carriage Phone Smart Phone Book eBook

(Wordprocessing may be the exception that proves the rule. Why didn’t we call it eWriting?)

These naming propensities help us in the short term, but hurt us in the long term.

A Matter of Focus

eBooks (content, file formats, DRM, etc.)

eReaders (devices, screen tech, batteries, etc.)

eDistribution (3G, 4G, wi-fi, bluetooth, etc.)

eReaders (humans)eReading (a process; a human

activity)

ReadingWhat do we know? Where is it headed?

What Is Reading?

• Gist of the Wikipedia Definition: A complex process of decoding symbols for the intention of deriving and/or constructing meaning.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_(process)

• My Tentative Definition: People interacting with texts, thus constituting

a sensory, cognitive, and emotional experience that is complete, complex, and satisfying .

Reading as Sensory Intake• Visual Reading: printed on paper or digital• Auditory Reading: analog or digital,

prepackaged, downloadable, or streaming• Tactile Reading: braille (printed or digital)

*************************************• Olfactory Reading: e.g., Olfactory Web

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/04/08/weird-wednesday-whatever-happened-to-the-olfactory-web/

• Gustatory Reading: Devouring a Good Bookhttp://www.books2eat.com

Situational Reading

1. School

2. Work

3. Avocational(Reading for Pleasure)

4. Incidental

Portable eReadingIn the U.S., with or without Libraries

U.S. Portable eReading

Devices: U.S. represents approx. 75% of world market. Q3 2010: 2.7 million units shipped worldwide Worldwide in 2010: sales $1.9 billion (11 million

units). Sources: http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/02/yankee_group_e-.html

and http://www.digitalhome.ca/2011/01/media-tablet-and-ereader-sales-continue-to-grow-at-a-torrid-pace/

Software: Gobs of apps for netbooks, tablets, smartphones, gaming devices, desktops, etc.

Content: U.S. trade wholesale ebook sales in Q3 2010 were almost $120 million. Source: http://www.idpf.org/doc_library/industrystats.htm

What Does This Portend for Libraries?

New user expectations. New sources of content. New genres and formats. New services for individual readers &

groups. New “competition” from non-library

sectors. New skill sets for staff members.

Portable eReading in the U.S.: Now a 4-Horse Race?

1. Amazon Kindle

2. Apple iPad

3. Barnes & Noble Nook Color

4. Google eBooks (cloud reading)

Mike Shatzkin’s New Big Six of North American eBook Distribution

1. Amazon2. Apple3. Google4. Kobo5. Ingram6. Overdrive

“Contendas”: Barnes & Noble, Copia, Blio

http://www.idealog.com/blog/ (Feb. 19)

Portable eReading and Libraries Amazon Kindle (doesn’t exhibit at library conferences) Apple iPad (doesn’t exhibit at library conferences) Barnes & Noble (doesn’t exhibit at library conferences) Google eBooks (doesn’t exhibit at library conferences)

OverDriveAdding more mobile appsAdding content Simplifying the circ processCertifying devices as library-model-friendlyUsing the same DRM system as Google eBooks

Blio (Baker &Taylor, Kurzweil, and NFB)Launched (to end-users running MS OS) on 9/28/10. Library-lending module sometime in 2011

eBook Lending Services

BooksForNooks.com BooksForMyKindle.com BookLending.com (formerly

KindleLendingClub.com) Booklends.com (still in private beta) eBookFling.com, powered by

BookSwim.com

Who and What is at Risk?If portable eReading becomes an

unbundled, commercial enterprise serving individual readers, the at-risk groups include:

Bookstores Libraries Have Nots Students, Scholars, and Researchers Voracious Readers

Consider All PP ICE Devices• PP ICE = Personal, Portable

Information, Communication, Entertainment

– Mobile Phones– Dedicated eReading Devices– Portable Music/Media Players– Netbooks– Tablet Devices– Portable Gaming Devices– Devices for Kids

Future of Devices and Libraries For millennia (until about last year)

libraries had to be in the device business.

From now on, most (but not all) library users will provide their own PP ICE’s.

Implications for the right of first sale. See http://www.idealog.com/blog/ (Feb. 12)

Libraries will be free to concentrate on content, services, and communities.

Librarians Move Boldly into the eReading EraHow to overcome our fears and anxieties concerning the future of public libraries in the mobile eReading era?

Understand the Stakeholders Authors Agents, Rights Holders,

and other Inscrutables Publishers Booksellers Librarians Library vendors IT companies Readers

Action is Needed, but What Type is Not Self-Evident

Painting, mowing, and shoveling snow produce immediate, discernible results.

Libraries need to undertake “murky work” for continued success in the eReading era.

Action Plan: General Strategy Gain experiential knowledge of the

various portable eReading experiences. Imagine how existing library services and

new ones could enhance these experiences.

Beef up the collection of eBooks. Streamline the process for the user. Pay attention to all stakeholders, but

focus on readers and authors.

What You Can Do Later Today

Get Thee to a Tech Petting Zoo: Pick up these devices and play with them.

Download some free eReading software and content to your PP ICE of choice.

Begin at least one complete portable eReading experience.

Read and talk about this portable eReading revolution with friends, family, colleagues.

Library Call to Action

Individually, Libraries must: Become actively engaged in market

developments Work on building up our eBook collections Sweat the details: eReading is a complete thing

Collectively, Libraries must: eReader Bill of Rights Develop a library-friendly PP ICE? Federal legislation to protect and promote the

library lending model for digital content? Community Publishing Platform

eReader Bill of Rights: Just One Plank…

The reader controls how a book is experienced as a sensory experience. Not authors Not rights holders Not publishers Exhibit A: The tussle over the text-to-

speech function on the Kindle. http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinbl

ack/2011/02/ebookrights.html

What Are Library Orgs Doing?

COSLA Study (first half of 2010)http://www.cosla.org/documents/

COSLA2270_Report_Final1.pdf

ALA Office of Info Technology Policy eBook TF (first half of 2011)

COSLA Report on Portable eReading and Public Libraries

1. Consolidate/leverage Pub Lib purchasing power

2. Consolidated access point for Pub Lib content

3. Develop a device certification process

4. Document how Public Library use contributes to

a culture of reading (and book buying)

5. Help local authors. Support self-publishing

6. More leadership about reading’s future

7. Public Libraries as labs for new reading experiences

Dive Into the eReading Revolution

Thank You for Your

Time and Attention

Tom PetersFounder and CEOTAP Information Servicestpeters@tapinformation.com 816.616.6746www.tapinformation.com Twitter: TAPintoITFB: Thomas A. PetersBlog:

http://tapintoit.wordpress.com/