Coming Attractions November 2011

Click on the book cover to reserve your copy today.

Finally - The Kindle

As my coworker David wrote about previously, the moment many
have been waiting for has arrived. The Kindle works with the Overdrive
product MyMediaMall. The long awaited collaboration with
the library ebook offering is now in sync with the ebook device
that started the explosion of ereading.

Quite frankly I'm impressed. The process of gettng a free
library ebook onto the Kindle device is pretty simple, and
Kindle users are used to simple and seamless. If you already own
a Kindle, try the service by going to MyMediaMall.net and choose
a Kindle title. If you don't own a Kindle and you are considering
the purchase of a device, there's no reason to ignore this one.

All of us in public libraries have been scorning the giant online bookseller
for years for keeping Kindle proprietary. We hate to say no to patrons,
and as Kindle users came to the library we had to turn many away when
it came to borrowing a library ebook. Maybe Jeff Bezos, the chief of Amazon,
couldn't bear our wrath any longer.

Well, that's probably not the case. More likely Amazon sees
a benefit, at this point, to giving it away for free. The library product directs
the user to Amazon.com where the ebook is loaded onto the Kindle
through the Kindle owner's account. Pretty smart marketing, but Amazon
didn't get to be Amazon by accident.

But what does all this mean for libraries? I think great things.
This new development makes the conversation about libraries
and downloadable media louder. The big huge
for-profit giant is giving a great big nod to information access,
sharing, borrowing and giving it away for free --
the mission of the not-for-profit public library.

They're here

People have been asking when they will be able to download library books to their Kindle eReader for a while now. Before this week we've had ebooks available for the iPad, Nook, Sony Reader and a number of other devices. The wait is over. Ebooks for Amazon's Kindle eReader are now available.

Ebooks are checked out and downloaded online through MyMediaMall. They get checked out for 14-days and at the end of the 14 days, they just stop working. There is no need to return anything (You might want to delete them off your device). There are currently over 4000 titles available for the Kindle and other eReaders.

MyMediaMall also has eAudiobooks to listen to using your iPod, or MP3 player.

There are a few steps involved getting your eReader set up. We can help you with that. We offer the MyMediaMall Open Lab on most Thursdays this fall (just drop in, no registration needed).

People really love their readers. They are light, easy to use and can hold numerous books. You can enlarge the print too, making them ideal for large-print users. If you would like to try using an e-reader we have a limited number available for checkout. We have both Sony Readers and Nooks. They are preloaded with a number of popular titles. Stop by the Readers' Services desk on the 3rd floor for more information (847-376-2840).