Message to
the community from Luren E. Dickinson:
Shaker Library hosted Overdrive’s Digital
Bookmobile July 18 in our newly repaved Main Library parking lot. The “Digimobile” is actually a full size
semi-trailer with “bumpouts” and awning-covered entrance steps that is filled
with widescreen TVs, laptops, and a variety of the latest digital devices to
educate the public on the availability of downloadable e-books, audiobooks,
music and videos through our library website.
According to a recent study by the Pew Research
Center, 62% of survey respondents did not know whether their local public
library provided access to e-books. Well,
the 225 people who braved the hot weather that day now know that the Shaker
Library provides e-books and a lot more!
Kathy Fredrick, Director of Library and Technology Services for the
Shaker Schools, was also in attendance because the school libraries will soon
be offering the services of Overdrive—now based in Valley View and moving soon
to Garfield Heights.
In terms of educating our library customers, the
Shaker Library has also been partnering with a statewide group, Connect Ohio,
through the federally funded “Every Citizen Online” or ECO program. Since the fall of 2010, classes have been
held across the state, giving 6 hours of training in basic computer and
Internet use to more than 23,000 people through June 2012. 82% of those who completed the work said in
surveys that they intended to become broadband “adopters” by signing up for
Internet service.
213 people have
taken the training through the Shaker Library, or about 1% of the state total.
Refurbished computers at low prices and discounted Internet service are being
offered as incentives to those who complete the program. Desktops are priced as
low as $119.99 and laptops as low as $189.99, plus shipping, with a choice of
Windows XP or Windows 7 operating system. Our ECO classes are scheduled in
three 2-hour sessions over a three week period. For a list of these classes along
with other events and activities at Shaker Library this month, download our August flyer.
To learn more about the ECO computer incentives, go to: Connected Nation.
Another interesting thing Shaker Library has done
this summer is the beta testing of a new item, called the Playaway View, which
can be checked out like a book or DVD.
We have been circulating the original portable Playway audiobook
devices, produced by the Solon-based company Findaway, for a number of
years. The View is a similar type of
portable device for video, which can be used by a customer to watch a movie
with or without a headset.
Shaker Library
also subscribes to OneClickdigital, a service that provides downloadable
audiobooks from Recorded Books, one of the leaders in the audiobook industry. A
customer can create an individual account with a library card number and begin
downloading to a PC, laptop, iPhone, iTouch, iPad, or Mac. An app for android
devices will be available later this year. To see what is currently available,
go to: OneClickdigital.
Finally, the Shaker Library continues to be a
“hotspot” for computer users, pun intended!
More and more of our customers are taking advantage of our free wireless
Internet access on their own laptops or handheld devices. And our new Computer Center at the Main
Library continues to see increased numbers of people visiting with a 30%
increase during the first half of 2012 over the same period of time last year. Use
of print materials is down about 3%, but that is only about half the rate of
decline in video use. Visits to the Library have held steady, attendance at
library programs is up over 12%, and downloadable use is up 80%!
Luren E. Dickinson,
Director
dickinson@shakerlibrary.org