Thing #22-- Media and Book Downloads

I really think it is cool to have books available online, though I cannot personally see myself using this feature that much.

I like reading short stories on my PC, but I have a hard time reading a long time and looking at the screen. I love the feel of an actual book, and I find it easier to have a book with me rather than having to sit down to the computer to read.

That said, I still think that this is an excellent option for patrons...anything to get them reading...and if they want to read the books on their PC or download them to their iPod or Kindle, I think that's awesome!

Accessing Overdrive was easy. I had never tried it before, but I found the proccess to be quite self-explanitory. I practiced by downloading a Spiderwick book. I think it would be really easy to explain to a patron how to use it. Maybe the library could hold short forums or classes explaining this service to customers and reminding them what they can do with it.

Again, I think this is an excellent service for our patrons, as long as e-books don't take over on a whole, lol. Just like some of our patrons like to listen to audiobooks, I think this service gives them just one more option, which is great.

Offering movies is also good, as long as we don't try to compete with the rental companies. I think many of our patrons use our library to search for DVDs and CDs, and if we don't provide movies in the same way that many rental places do, we are losing customers and doing them a disservice.