Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

I know, that is not the actual wording of Mark Twain's famous statement, but it is the one we all feel familiar with.

That being said, in light of a recent article in the Washington Post, and echoed in many places elsewhere, it seemed just the right statement. The article was addressing the flattening of eBook sales. Right now, after several years of double and triple percent increases, the latest figures are no more than 5%. Wow, that is a change from the many articles saying that the print book is dead. The article goes on to give a possible explanation, saying:

We may be discovering that e-books are well suited to some types of books (like genre fiction) but not well suited to other types (like nonfiction and literary fiction) and are well suited to certain reading situations (plane trips) but less well suited to others (lying on the couch at home). The e-book may turn out to be more a complement to the printed book, as audiobooks have long been, rather than an outright substitute.

It is what I suspected from the start - after being in the library business for as many eons as I have, you learn not to buy into the hyperbole. eBooks are definitely here to stay, and will represent a sizable portion of reading materials, but unlike the reports of the past few years, the print book will remain a viable method of delivering books into your hands. Now that the dust has settled, we feel more sure of how best to offer books, whether print, digital, or audio. That is why we are careful to offer access to as many formats as possible.

What will the future bring and look like - I can't answer that, but it is an endlessly exciting mystery that continues to unfold.

Oh, and try out our new Kindle that is dedicated strictly to classic books - those great books that libraries want to have, but rarely have the space for them all. Paul, our reference librarian, has been selecting and adding many titles just to make sure that we do offer the widest range of reading materials possible. This is a great use of eBook technology.

Digital Focus

The Library Board of Trustees put their money where their mouth is and kicked off a new focus on digital services here at the Kelley Library by funding the installation of a new, interactive projector system in our main meeting room. As we look forward, we are planning to increase our support of digital products and services. What does that mean? Well, we will continue to expand our funding our 3 sources for eBooks and downloadable audio: GMILCS 3M, the NH Downloadable, and our own Overdrive purchases. We have a variety of online products to replace print items that date quickly (travel information, auto repair, medical information) and are expanding these selections as well.

We have been providing one-on-one tech support for people using iPads and other devices to download eBooks, and have expanded that to provide general help and troubleshooting. Additionally we provide one-on-one assistance for people using our internet to apply for jobs, take exams, set up email accounts and so on. These services will be expanded so that everyone on the staff can provide this kind of help.

The library itself will be seeing changes that are driven by digital needs. Seating and table areas will have power nearby or as part of the furniture. There will be tablets with pre-reading apps for use in the children's room, a solution that will be expanded to encompass all ages of users.

Our website will continue to be the anchor for much of our digital services, and you should take some time now to browse through it for our current digital products. At the same time, there will be changes to the website as well as our services and support of digital products and users expands.

Will we ignore our print users - of course not! All this is just to provide right-sized services in the right format - print or digital.

If there is something you believe we should be offering - let us know! We want to hear from you. Email me directly at abaker@kelleylibrary.org, or stop by and tell me directly. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Books last forever?

It is September, and for us here at the library that means that our big annual Used Book Sale is here. Yes, it will be on Saturday, September 20th from 9-2. It is the culmination of a year's work of back-breaking work for a couple of our staff members (a big shout-out to Chris, Cindy and Natalie) who sift through the surprising number of books we are given. They decide whether to add it to the collection, keep for the sale, pass along to another non-profit, or trash.

Trash? We throw out books? On occasion we get a few books as donations that are in really bad condition - buggy, wet, moldy - and we can't sell them, and we can't donate them along, so we are forced to put them to rest.

But for the vast majority of our donations, the annual sale is a chance for fresh, new life for a book. Once we have them all out on the tables, it is like a popularity contest, a vast adoption day for books looking for a new reader to take them home. Each one has the same chance as the next, but sometimes jewels are overlooked, and sometimes a flashy cover catches the eye of an unwary reader. But there is one constant. Everyone is so delighted at their find.

I have worked the cash register at the sale for 6 years, and every person comes through the line delighted with the treasures they have found at the sale. A few whisper about how their husband/wife will roll their eyes when they find out how many more books are being brought into the family. A few will moan about not having room for another book, but unable to resist one or two more. A few gripe at the cost (it isn't a dollar a bag until late into the sale, and this year, it will be a dollar a bag on Monday the 22nd as well), but most are delighted at how many they can get for so little. We are just happy that these books have found a new home.

So be sure to be here bright and early - we have some ravenous buyers first thing who get the cream of the crop. And bring your own bag - we will give you one free book! Tell me that you read this (there will be a brief test) and I will give you your whole stack for free!

So last century

We are just back from a week with our extended family up in Maine at the family place. Family has been gathering there for over 100 years now, and there's the rub for some of the younger members, or the marry-in members - it is still pretty untouched since being built over 100 years ago. Yes, there is running water and electricity, but not much more than that. You have to be someone who can manage without cell phones, TV, the internet, et al.

It is becoming more and more scary for all of us to take that trip back in time to a quieter, slower-paced time and just appreciate the moment, the beauty of nature, each other. But by the end of a visit, as much as we are looking forward to getting back to the mod cons, no one ever regrets going on that journey back to the last century.

And what really is the standby for all of us during these visits? Besides cards, board games, and conversation? Yep, books. Being someone who has forgotten power cords a number of times - the simple pleasure of printed books and magazines never fail.

Can I pay with my debit card?

About a year ago, we started tracking everything we said no to at the desk. The plan was to identify what people expected to find at the library, what service we should be offering. We wanted to try and get to the yes. We have done just that with the vast majority of the no's - this is why we offer faxing, for instance.

But the no we had to say the most, and the most difficult to turn into a yes, was "Can I pay with my debit card (credit card)?" It seems like it should be an easy thing, after all we pay with credit/debit everywhere it seems. Why shouldn't we be able to at the library? Well, it turns out that it isn't that easy. Providing this service involves seriously complex forms, reporting, costs, training, and much more. So we explored some solutions. There are some simple solutions which unfortunately can't be used for fines rather than purchases. And then a great solution came up as a result of our membership in GMILCS and the circulation system we use.

So we now have made that no a yes. You can now pay your fines from the comfort of your home (or anywhere you have secure internet access), just by logging into your account. Click on Fines and Fees on the left menu, select the transaction you want to pay, and click on Pay Fines Now! Yes, there is a convenience fee that will help to defray the costs everyone who accepts debit/credit cards gets hit with. If that seems too much, you can always pay with cash or check at the library.

It is always good to have options. But it is great to be able to say Yes!

Sometimes there is that event . . .

It is easy to lose confidence in our fellow man. For every Boston strong story there are several stories about a child being killed by a family member. For every person that waves you into a line of traffic, there are 10 bozos that cut you off pulling out of the mall. For ever person that cleans up after their dog, there are 50 people who drop their trash wherever they want. So you get my drift. Sometimes the world seems to be just sliding into a negative place, with jaded people who no longer can care.

Perhaps you have heard of crowdsourcing - where you put up a plan and ask for donations to make it happen. Much of the support is in small amounts. Zach Braff of Scrubs fame got his film funded, small and micro businesses get crowdsourcing for equipment. There is a huge variety of options.

But this isn't an advertisement for crowdsourcing. It is about a recent success story and the heartfelt thanks shown in this great video. Levar Burton and some friends wanted to expand the reach of a rebooted Reading Rainbow and put it up on Kickstarter. Watch the video to see what happened.

Now I am not recommending (or not recommending) this product. Sadly there are already criticisms being leveled against it - we can't seem to get ahead of that reality of "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". I am asking you to note the genuine feelings being shown, the fact that a man familiar with all that celebrity can bring, can still be moved by a notion that we need to make reading appealing to children, and that there are lots of us that believe it is important.

The passing parade

I was reading my brother's blog today (he is a great, witty writer)and he was ruminating about his time with Ma Bell - Bell Telephone - and rubbing elbows with the creative types at Bell Labs (whose researchers developed radio astronomy, the transistor, the laser, C and C++ programming languages). He wrote about how he knew everything about how telephones work when working there, and kept up with the all changes, while the older researchers kept up only in their slice of work and were quaintly fuzzy about modern phones. He remembers being very judgmental about it, until he retired and now realizes he hasn't a clue about modern telephony, as much as he continues to purchase and tinker with the most modern gadgets and electronics.

And that is the thing of it. It is easy to focus on the details of living each day, and suddenly realize that the parade is passing by - or has passed and is out of sight around the corner - and you realize with a jolt just how out of step you are with things many people take as vital parts of their lifestyles. We see that every day here, people changing jobs and suddenly having to be adept with navigating complex, online application processes and online training modules. We see that with people coming in asking us to help them with their new phone, new tablet, new reader. And we keep up with the times, we make sure we can meet these needs as always. We are glad that people think of us when they need help - it is what we are here for.

But that said, we suddenly woke up to a parade whizzing by and we needed to do some running to get to the front again. What parade? Well, we realized that our public computers are all running Windows XP and not able to support some important upgrades. While we get new computers each year, we have a lot, and the rotation is at least 7 years per computer - a long time in computer years.

So, we just want you to know - we see the parade, and we know what we need to do, and we are starting with our next budget cycle with a new focus on the physical side of the digital world here inside the library. We have been keeping up with the virtual side of the modern library (ebooks, remote access to information, etc) and now we will match that internally.

I will keep you posted with developments. Before the parade passes by Hello Dolly