LJ/SLJ's First Virtual Summit on Ebooks Draws Over 2100 Attendees
Issues tackled at the daylong online conference, which featured tracks for public, academic, and school libraries, included the user experience and libraries' role as ebook providers. By LJ Staff Oct 1, 2010Library Journal and School Library Journal's inaugural virtual summit, Ebooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point, confirmed both librarians' frustration over their exclusion from decisions being made regarding ebooks and their willingness to embrace ebook delivery and access for their users.
The event's high attendance figures and degree of audience engagement also made clear that librarians are willing, able, and eager to participate in digital conferences of this kind: over 2500 registrants and 2100 attendees stayed on for an average of five hours, participating in panels and visiting virtual exhibitor booths for demos and chats.
The eight hour-long September 29 event kicked off with the results of a survey on ebooks in libraries presented by LJ/SLJ publisher Ian Singer. The survey identifies national trends, particularly the nearly universal acceptance of ebooks in academic libraries and the expectation that ebook circulation in public, academic, and school libraries will rise considerably in the next year or two.
"Exponential" change to come
The summit's opening keynote speaker was inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil (pictured), author of The Singularity Is Near, who gave attendees a view from 30,000 feet of the impact of the technological revolution. Asserting that technological change is exponential, he said that "we won't experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century," but "more like 20,000 years of progress." Ultimately, he said, we will make smarter machines that emulate the human brain, as well as expand human intelligence through the intersection of biology and information technology.
Kurzweil gave a brief demo of Blio, the free e-reading software he developed with KNFB Reading Technology in partnership with Baker & Taylor that preserves "the rich, graphical nature of books" by enabling video and enhanced text-to-speech (TTS) capability. Kurzweil, who has been in the reading field since 1975, was the principal developer of the first TTS reading machine for the blind. That machine was the size of a washing machine. Now, he pointed out, we have ebooks that fit into our pockets.
He reminded attendees that some of his current predictions might sound as "wild, way out" there as his Futurecast columns when they first appeared in LJ, in 1992-93. In those columns, he wrote that downloadable ebooks would be "a mainstream library service" in the first decade of this century and posited not only "virtual books" but the "virtual library."
Libraries at the "Tipping Point"
In the panel "How eBooks Impact Libraries, Publishers, & Readers," attendees got a realistic take on ebooks in academic libraries, a "big picture" perspective on ebooks as yet another disruptive technology in the long history of the library, and an update on where one vendor, OverDrive, is going in supporting ebook distribution and usage.
Panelist Barbara Fister (pictured), a librarian at Gustavus Adophus College, St. Peter, MN, who also writes for LJ's Academic Newswire, said her greatest concern with the current generation of ebooks is their lack of flexibility and usability: they just don't accommodate the way students work today. What's more, digital rights management (DRM)-protected content is something most students don't have patience for. Fister also pointed to some projects signaling a positive direction for ebooks, like Hacking the Academy, an ebook created by aggregating user-generated content on the future of scholarly communication.
A whirlwind tour through the evolution of communication media-from cuneiform to DVDs-brought panelist Eli Neiburger, a librarian at the Ann Arbor District Library, MI, to the subject of digital content. If the current ebook distribution model becomes dominant, Neiburger said, then "libraries are screwed" unless "they invent a new future for themselves which doesn't involve circulating physical stuff."
He went on to state that the idea of owning a copy of media will be baffling to future generations, and that libraries would be wise to become "facilitators of unique experiences" and "publishers of local content," or else, Neiburger warned, "libraries will die." Neiburger's presentation lit up Twitter, with many librarians voicing their agreement. "Where is the applause button?" several asked.
Making connections
In the closing keynote address, Syracuse University iSchool director R. David Lankes (pictured) took issue with Neiburger's negative assessment. Ebooks are not a threat to libraries, he said. The real threat is thinking that libraries are about "owned artifacts" rather than about providing information and access.
He argued that libraries and librarians are in a unique position to take advantage of many largely untapped possibilities ebooks offer. "While part of reading is very isolating, the larger concept of reading is social," he said, noting that "in the e-world," books don't just connect to other books, they also connect to blogs, which are connected to communities, or to movies, or soundtracks, or apps-creating a way for libraries to help create innovative recommendation systems.
Ebooks also offer the opportunity to annotate using apps, he said, which opens up more opportunites for adding information. He urged librarians not to wait for others to work out the logistics of these possibilities. The library community, he said, needs to stop being disappointed in ereaders that don't do what they want, and to "stop whining about publishers." Instead, he asked, "why isn't the library community building an ebook platform?
"The future is bright"
All the necessary network infrastructure, open platforms on which libraries can create apps, and open ebook standards such as EPUB are available, Lankes said, adding that libraries already have relationships with authors and publishers, as well as access to foundational data from resources such as WorldCat, to start work on innovative ideas.
In summing up, he reiterated that when it comes to using ebooks, libraries must focus on conversation and learning, not the physical act of reading. "The future is bright for libraries and librarians...but only if we make it so," he said, exhorting librarians to take the lead.
Improving the user experience
The value of speed bumps, libraries as kitchens, and the need to move from collections to collaboration with other stakeholders were among the takeaways in the "Ebooks and the Library User Experience" panel. Josh Greenberg (pictured), formerly digital strategy head at New York Public Library and now director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Digital Information Technology and the Dissemination of Knowledge program, went straight at a core opportunity and challenge presented by the ebook and its inherent differences from print books, a theme that permeated the panel.
Libraries don't have to treat ebooks like print books, Greenberg said, but can rethink the "landscape" they want to create for users. User experience, he continued, facilitates access, and thinking in terms of speed bumps can help librarians think about what kind of order we want to provide to help patrons in the currently chaotic digital environment.
Most patrons currently experience roadblocks to electronic content at libraries, noted Aaron Schmidt, the digital initiative librarian at the District of Columbia Public Library and LJ's User Experience columnist. These roadblocks take the form of clunky delivery for access to ebooks and emedia, as was made all too clear by Brad Colbow's cartoon of a user giving up on the process to download an audiobook at Cleveland Public Library.
In fact, Schmidt argued, libraries have missed the ebook boat and are currently not influential in the process of how ebooks get delivered. Practically, that means librarians need to think about how to help users access what we're going to get from publishers, he said, which requires less focus on the library as a grocery store and more focus on the library as a kitchen.
Toward a constructive future
In fact, the very concept of the collection is worth reconsideration, according to panelist Jean Costello (pictured), a library patron who blogs as the Radical Patron. A constructive future lies in the potential of looking beyond the collection, first to prioritizing collaboration with key stakeholders in the ebook world, meaning players from publishers to device makers to software developers and users. Libraries can use their vast reputation and network to drive such influence.
All this high-level thinking plays out down the line in service to the user, and in device and software development. Baker & Taylor's Michael Bills, who is involved in the design of a library circulation platform for the e-reader application Blio, which launched on Sept. 28, described that product's foray into addressing users' needs, citing research that found that ebook use would be increasingly device agnostic.
Readers' advisory and ebooks
How will ebooks transform one of the core services of libraries, readers' advisory? The panel "Should Your Next Read Be an eRead?: The New Readers' Advisory in the Ebook Age" offered an overview of how electronic texts will change RA, an argument for the use of OPACs as the main means of delivering RA, and a strategy for beginning an e-collection.
If the response on Twitter was any indication, librarians are clamoring for online collections to emulate. LJ collection development contributor Cindy Orr, formerly of Cleveland Public Library, offered up ideas—among them, Lee County Library System's (FL) Download Depot—and others joined in. The ethics of recommending resources not accessible to libraries because of licensing, etc., lingered in the background.
Panelist Duncan Smith, creator and founder of NoveList, EBSCO Publishing's electronic RA service, said he believes that "access to readers" is the most crucial aspect of electronic RA—and online catalogs, the most optimum means of getting that access.
RA expert and LJ columnist Neal Wyatt (pictured) then broke down how ebooks change the whole concept of appeal; first and foremost, pace. She also argued that in a sense, all ebooks are "enhanced" because of how they've changed how we approach text, though librarians should gird themselves for the proliferation of audio- and video-embedded stories.
Katie Dunneback, consultant with East Central Library Services, IA, where she is one of the lead providers of RA and technology continuing education, closed with an empowering mantra: "Be loud. Be proud. Books are our brand and we can't lose them."
Ebook what ifs
While most would agree that libraries face some enormous questions as they consider how best to adopt ebooks and e-readers, few have perhaps considered some of the more fantastic hypotheticals on offer at the "Ebook What Ifs: Issues That Impact Scenario Planning" panel. There, LJ's Josh Hadro, who served as moderator, posited three scenarios covering access ("What if there was a Google Terminal in every library?"), e-readers ("What if the price of e-readers were to drop to $0?"), and rights/restrictions ("What if the DRM issue were to go away tomorrow?").
Sarah Houghton-Jan (pictured), blogger (Librarian in Black) and digital futures manager for the San Jose Public Library, CA, said in response to the first scenario that, while the terminals would likely be used for research in academic libraries, she really didn't see a major compelling case for them in public libraries: "I just don't think a Google terminal will get used." In fact, she said, the idea of a designated "public-access license" terminal could cause a number of problems, "harkening back to the days of the single-purpose CD-ROM stations." Houghton-Jan also said that privacy concerns about the kinds of usage data being sent to Google and the Book Rights Registry may prevent a number of libraries from opting in at all.
Matt Hamilton, IT manager for the Anythink Library System in Colorado, said he saw a flood of cheap or no-cost e-readers as "a possible death knell for libraries" (echoing Eli Neiburger's earlier comments), since cheap or free content subsidized by advertising is sure to follow. "The democratizing role that public libraries play, our commitment to intellectual freedom, makes us more relevant than ever," he said, urging American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom and other library organizations to step up and help libraries, as tax-funded entities, to preserve their essential public-good role.
Content formats that vary by device remain a barrier as well, he said. Libraries still struggle to support the growing variety of new e-readers currently on offer, with new hardware and software e-reader options available every few months. "We're ill-equipped to handle any change quickly," he said, lamenting the ability of library staff and collections to keep up.
And what would happen if DRM were to disappear entirely? For starters, existing poor interfaces to content would remain, said Bobbi Newman (pictured), digital branch manager at Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, GA, though demand for content would likely rise to a level unsustainable by any library.
She added that many patrons have already been burned by poor experiences attempting to borrow materials onto proprietary devices, and that libraries bear the brunt of that poor experience. "Libraries have to be the ones to break the news to people that our e-content won't work with their devices," she said, "which is beyond our control. But we sound like the bad guys."
Register for access to all of the presentations and materials available at the live event.
For more LJ coverage of the summit, see:
- "Ebook Summit Webcast Tackles Google Books Project"
- "Tipping Points and Moments of Zen"
- "Ebook Summit Kicks Off with Library Ebook Survey Results"
- "Ebook Summit: Academic Acquisition Models Reconsidered"
See also SLJ's coverage.
