Reading: The Past, Present & Future

Last week at a state meeting of curriculum gurus, I presented on eBooks.  To us, eBooks are old news, but these people are sitting with so much on their plate that and it is one more item they have had no time to figure out.  We look at this through library eyes.  They look at this through "textbook" eyes.  They know there has to be a textbook solution, but don't know what it is.  We've been waiting in the wings, wishing they'd ask us because when we cry from the rooftops and send emails, their ears are filled with other problems. The tipping point is here. People are ready to listen.
I chose to frame the ebook conversation speaking of: the past, present and future.  

PAST
Most of use have seen this video of medieval monks figuring out the "book." Very funny as we can all relate to something new which we can't wrap our head around.  Many teachers fall in this camp and need to be reminded that technology does not move backwards.   

FUTURE:
If they complain about eBooks, show them this link at www.SpritzInc.com and they should be duly scared.  (Be sure to click in the window to see reading at 250+ WPM) 

HTTP://WWW.SPRITZINC.COM

Present?

See your librarian for present choices. Why? 

• Kids are connected 
• Devices are prolific and multiplying like bunny rabbits in Spring. 
• Titles are engaging 
• You don't have to carry a heavy load on your back 
• It justifies those "testing devices" to be used for something other than "assessment" 
• We need to keep current 
• You can search by keyword and don't have to find the page -- it comes to you! 
• You can read at night without a light on...your devices light it up  

The moral of the story for administrators was that we already have eBooks. They need to find out what is currently available.  

If your district is contemplating eBooks for eTextbooks, likely they are talking to the same textbook vendors without considering these innovative options: 

Overdrive for Fiction  

Nonfiction: 

• GALE CLIC - US History, World History, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science
  (EXCELLENT secondary eTextbook model - especially good for schools with 1 to 1 initiatives) 
• Rosen Digital Learning Center 
• Scholastic TrueFlix, ScienceFlix and more...
• Tumblebooks 
• PowerKids Life Science  
• and more...  

These provide a look into textbook alternatives.  These are options to consider. We are not talking flat PDF's or home-grown uploaded papers.  We're talking interactivity and more.  Wrap your read around eBooks and eTextbooks today.  Be ready with the answers.  Provide solutions.  Be part of the change.

eWaste and eEthics... Two (too) new thoughts

"The person next to you might not be able to read the cover on your eBook and may not know what you are reading, but Amazon certainly does...and they'll sell that information."   -- Annie Miller 


Last week in the NY Capital area we held an eBook Symposium which brought to light interesting discussions surrounding privacy, copyright, and eWaste ethics.   While some are still trying to grapple an understanding of formats, devices, and downloading, others have moved beyond to tackle more philosophical issues such as the pile of electronics that will be in a dump five years from now.  Librarians are innately tuned-in to privacy issues and we often champion that cause like a cheerleader.  The same cannot be said for eBook vendors, perhaps. Today, a great blog posting tackles the issue whether eReaders are really green.  It's well worth the read. 

http://www.themillions.com/2012/05/are-ereaders-really-green.html   

Here are some great Pro-Con discussion starters for debates in your classroom: 

• While books last for years and year, electronics age overnight. Which is "greener"?
• Is there an ethical side to being "green" that isn't measured by the non-use of "paper" products? 
• Is there an ethical issue with Amazon, Google, and vendors archiving information profiles and then using these for profitable gain? Should they be allowed? 
• Imagine and speculate that someday books will be embedded with advertising - as our airways are now polluted by advertising on TV?  Should that be permitted or defended? 

 

Reading Redefined ?

Captive on a five hour flight, shackled in an ever-shrinking airplane seat, I had a chance to catch up on journals and find a few gems hidden within the pile of paper.  One of the best articles I've read recently was Annette Lamb's  Reading Redefined for a Transmedia Universe.    Thanks to ISTE for offering this via the web! 

This article does a great job of explaining where the print world is headed to accommodate our transliterate alien culture.  If you are looking for a good read to fill-in-the-blanks on eReading as well as peek at the future evolution eBooks, take the time to study every paragraph in this article on alien print formats you may encounter. 

I found it especially interesting when she concludes the article with the caveats in a quagmire world of muddling fact, fiction and misinformation.  This is clearly exemplified in the last section with the heading New Opportunities, New Challenges.  Lamb says, "Traditional fiction is a representation that is invented or imaginary and not factual....  But what happens when you're in a fictional augmented or alternative reality world, but working with non-fiction materials? Or, when you're in the real world working with fictional materials?  Or, when authors develop websites that are intended to be misleading or deceptive? ... Spaceheadz by  Jon Sciszka is advertised as a work of fiction...however the book also contains pages with factual information about topics such as sound waves and electromagnetic fields.  To make it ever more complicated, links within the story take the reader to websites with fake content such as the Mrs. Halley's Comets, and Anti-alien Agency...."  

So, in addition to new transliterate formats, we need to pay attention to mixed credibility resources.

For those who haven't heard about transliteracy and the reading revolution-- take the time to think about it.  Reading is no longer two dimensional, chronological, black and white, top-down, left-right.  Reading is now multi-dimensional and multi-mediums.
(See previous blog postings on transliteracy:

Librarydoor: All's a Buzz Over Transliteracy...

Librarydoor: What is transliteracy and are you addressing it?
Librarydoor: More on Transliteracy )

The real message is that librarians need to insure we are preparing our 21st Century students well to discern the credible truth.  We no longer should just teach fact, fiction & opinion-- but rather teach fact, fiction, opinion and misinformation.  My space helmet off to Annette!  

Thirteen Reasons Why --you should care about eBook lockdown

Please convey my condolences to the Penguin marketing staff or CEO who made this awful lockdown decision-- not to allow newer titles to be sold to Overdrive customers. You may not have heard, but Penguin has just joined a growing group of Fortune 100 Companies who are pulling their title availability from online libraries.  What a shame.  Rather than retaining the availability of books for devices on public and school digital libraries, they are fortifying their financial walls.  

I understand the financial concern, although I don’t agree with this.  Penguin's Digital Marketing Director, Anna Rafferty, claims they are in the gambling business and gave a speech recently which touted how they reach out to the YA market to understand what book will be a hit.  They use the teens who hang-out on their online site to: test the market, figure out what will sell, publish it--then lock out the public?

Penguin, as the publisher of recent hits such as Thirteen Reasons Why (Razonbill) gives us reason to worry.  Other major publishers are brewing similar decisions and now is the time to express our concern.  Here are thirteen reasons you should care:

• This is one step close to supporting the American unofficial caste system. We live in a nation of Haves and Have-nots. The Haves will be able to purchase your titles via other booksellers. The have-nots will have to enjoy this in print (if they have a car to drive to the library—if they even have a library). The market we (schools who have digital libraries) predominately serve are the in-betweeners. Those with limited devices, or have school-owned devices provided to them. They do not have money to purchase these titles directly.
• To quote from Anna Rafferty’s speech below, they “are a global billion dollar business now,” and worry about your bottom line--being “in the gambling business.”   However, doesn't that support the position of all the Wall Street Occupiers?  Conglomerates are growing greedy on the backs of all the regular people and libraries.  how much is enough...To quote Rockefeller,"just a little bit more."
• If we lock down etitles, one publisher at a time, what will be left? --perhaps poor quality, self-published books?
• Steven Abrahms claimed in a paper posted at the SLJ eBook Summit,  that somehow both the publishers and consumers have to come to realize that both interests have to be protected.  I claim that via DRM, the interests of the publishers and authors are protected.   This decision makes it appear that publishers are becoming anti-library.  The publishers must want more books purchased, rather than loaned. After all the years, of keeping publishers in business, they don't want libraries.
• If the DRM that is in place, via a digital library model such as Overdrive, is considered inadequate, then what will work?  Therefore we can speculate that publishers are not as concerned about DRM as they are about loss of revenue. 
• If books migrate to digital dominance (as some say will happen), then without the ability to checkout digital books, what role will the library play?
• Students want these books--in digital form.  So, why would the publishers decide to lock them down.
• The publishers are defining the market, rather than the consumer.  This could become the de-facto standard. 
• To quote Penguin's Digital Marketing director, "They read loads online. They spent all of their time online. None of this is a surprise, I’m sure."  Therefore, if they are locking libraries out of the online market, does that mean they want to sequester that to themselves, as opposed to libraries? -- Since, that is where the teens are?
• This is a decision over money, not digital rights.
• Money decisions which impact the common good of man, will only benefit stockholders in the long term. 
• We live in a free market economy, and this is locking vendors out of the free market.
• This is another nail in the library's coffin.  As we seek to redefine what the library is for the 21st Century, we have reason to worry when publishers don't want to sell to libraries.

May I suggest we boycott one of Penguin's titles to show our dismay?  Let's not purchase  Thirteen Reasons Why AT ALL.   Nada -- no print, no digital.   Let's show them the impact that a bad decision could have. 

Other online curators for digital libraries such as myself, have a set budget (thousands annually) to spend. It is a shame that Penguin titles won’t be in that bundle. I will have to use that money to purchase Random House, Scholastic, McMillan and other publishers’ titles for our patrons. Penguin has hurt their own our own bottom line many times over. It’s not like we digital librarians won’t spend this money. I will spend it, but now it can’t be on new Penguin titles.

We will sail out this storm as publishers get their act together and realize that this is a growing behemoth market. By stepping outside the food chain, they may go hungry. The music industry fought this initially, only to realize that they had to sell online to everyone. In turn their market share eventually grew huge. I would ask you to reconsider your decision. You are apt to lose your “relationship with [your] target market,” Anna. Sorry… but some of that market won’t be able to read your books at all.  There are my Thirteen Reasons Why you should reverse this decision.


Here is an email to which you can express your objection to this decision:


 Erica.glass@us.penguingroup.com.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Sources:  http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/insight/the-big-rethink/redesigning-business-summit/penguin-books/
Digital Marketing Director Anna Rafferty knows that consumers want more active engagement with the brands they love. At the Redesigning Business Summit 2010 she outlined how Penguin books is working to meet this demand.
Read the transcript  from Anna Rafferty, Digital Marketing Director, Penguin

"Hello, morning everybody. I’m going to talk about working for Penguin Books. I hope you’re all very familiar with Penguin, but just in case you’re not, we’re a global billion-dollar business now. We’re a trade publisher and we’re part of the Pearson Group....

But one of the things that did strike me was that I’m very lucky. Because even though I do work for a group that is part of a FTSE 100 company, risk taking is part of the DNA of trade publishing, because actually we’re a gambling business, and in the 150 books that we publish every month, maybe 20 will really work, and you don’t know, necessarily, which ones they’re going to be until it happens...." 


http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/01/ebooks/penguin-further-narrows-library-access-suspending-availability-of-audiobook-titles/
_______________________________________________________________________________

Penguin's Polar Suppression

What did Penguin Publishing Group expect when they announced that they would not be selling to digital distributors? What a polarizing decision.  It's no wonder they backed down a bit.   Do they believe that by denying the digital format that people will marching down to their library to check out the print version?  Digital readers will just choose a different book that is available as digital users are generally married to their device.

Our digital library holds Penguin titles and they include hot best sellers, Pulitzer Prize titles, ChickLit, and more. They are successfully loaned to owners of Nooks, iPads, generic readers, and generic MP3 players, placed on hold, and sometimes sit idle. Most of our titles were purchased 2010, long before the Kindle format accommodations with Overdrive. Overdrive is caught in the middle of this because they are the biggest player--as a purveyor of digital content trying to equip libraries with a great solution for the masses.

We can look at history get a hint of how this will play out. It was only a dozen years ago that we had the same issue with music files, DVD's and the birth of digital piracy. Billions of files were transferred and the software pirates often sold their software to corporations who then developed legitimate products. Teens such as Norwegian Jon (dubbed DVD Jon) became wealthy. He makes a great claim when asked about "piracy":

"As far as I'm concerned, it has nothing to do with me," he says. "I support fair use, which means that when you actually legally acquire content, you should have the right to use that content on any of your devices, using any application." [Grossman, L. (2010). The Men Who Stole the World. Time, 176(23), 54. ]

As Steven Abrams put it at the NYS SLMS conference this past summer, "reconciliation has to be reached. Publishers have to be able to turn a profit, and users have to be able to use products they purchase. If publishers are circumvented, then where will the money come from to support development and publication?" He warns that if the publishers don’t make money, they will start to embed advertising within the book, and who wants that? Hyperlinks to a setting could lead to a travel advertisement for example.

We are not holding polar opposite views. The producers and the consumers need to both be comfortable with the solution. The music industry has worked this out to everyone’s benefit. It’s hard to believe that the print industry will boycott this need, as they will lose their market share. Someone else will rise to the occasion and will publish books. Where there are crooks, there will be a way to circumvent any law or DRM system that is implemented. Perhaps the current DRM model has flaws, but I still have faith in Americans and believe that most people are not into “stealing” access from the public library. They know they can just wait in line and read the book eventually.

Digital Omnivores ?

Transliterate teens are consuming information in obese quantities with multiple utensils.  In education circles we are now dealing with digital omnivores-- I love that term used this past week by a CNN blogger.   It goes hand in hand with our transliterate MO.   Not only do they read and react across multiple platforms (media, text, song, print, etc.), but their tools for the job are now more than one.  We can call this a soup-to-nuts approach: phones, desktop, iPods, iPads, and more.  Most teens are utilizing multiple tools to carry out multiple tasks.  Therefore, we must be at the banquet table with information worth consuming.  It is more imperative than ever to have your digital platform polished, easily accessible, and full of credible consumption. 

These teens might be tech-savvy, but they are not as information literate as they need to be.  Until they get there, it is imperative for CARS (credible, accurate, reliable, & supported) information to be in their face.  That's akin to mothers wanting to feed their kids good food as opposed to junk. CNN Blogger Amy Gahran claims that publishers are going to be offering more multichannel cross-platform platforms in the future.  We see that already with behemoths such as Google stating they are concentrating on their mobile market.  We see this as our database and e-providers email their APP announcements daily.

Growing up on Long Island, we were always cognizant of the changing tides.  Most people in my town knew the tide tables either for fishing, swimming, or flooding.  It was common knowledge.  The mobile device tide won't officially change until 2015, according to the Horizon Report which states in three years the majority of the students will walk into school with their own device.  Right now we are experiencing a slow in-coming tide.  Educators should have ample time to prepare for the change and get their digital platform content ready for the consumer.  Educators will need to take on the role of the digital producer and provider for the digital hunter-gatherers.  

We just temporarily come off the SLJ eBook Summit, but the conversation shouldn't end.  As cybrarians, keep the administration abreast tools we have.  We should be doing our best to keep the banquet table replenished and well-stocked.  Don't keep your digital food in the cabinets, but add to the digital obesity.  Your admin has enough to worry about with APPR, CCSS, RTI, and more.  If you can take care of this for them then they'll thank you.  Here are a few places to start:

• Assess which databases have APPS, and list these on your site with a link to the download
• Create bookmarks with directions to download database APPS. 
• Start a campaign for a digital download library  - use data to drive the need
• Create a Voki or Xtranormal or other avatar who could advertise your library's information is available in Cyberspace. 
• Embed marc records in your catalog with URL's for access to all digital content you own accessible on the web.  
• Define what your main channel of "discovery" is going to be in this digital tsunami. 

 Whatever method you choose....enjoy the feast!

Ebook Solutions - Sustainable as well as obtainable?

In response to the many questions we fielded after the EBook Summit from SLJ, there are a few poignant thoughts to share that will help others create their solution for addressing the exploding need to embrace digital content via a virtual platform.    

There are many models and when you talk with each vendor, each solution will sound like an appealing, viable option.   If you survey your needs, and create a plan ahead of time, your plan will determine the solution, rather than the convincing voice of a salesperson.  I've met most of the vendor sales people and I love them all.  However, all the models have their own nuances, strengths and weaknesses and only you will determine which ebook models match your needs.  

As you plan for funding, you need to address not only where to obtain your funds, but also whether the annual fees are sustainable.  If you do your homework and plan accordingly, it is likely that annual fees can be budgeted for, if the tool is being used effectively.   The annual fees we pay to certain vendors range from $50.00 per site to a many thousand.   However, we are maintaining a number of eBook, virtual models for 84 libraries, 32 districts and over 30,000 students.  

When crafting a plan for funding, keep in mind the following: 

• Your plan should be framed to support student achievement 
• Data should be provided from reputable sources, regarding the 'capacity' of the market to access the ebooks.  The Horizon Report, for instance, says that we are within three years of students entering our buildings with their devices in hand. Make it a goal to have the virtual presence to accommodate their access with CARS (Credible, Accurate, Reliable and Supported) data and eBooks. 
• Align your eBook library presentation with district goals. 
• Align your eBook library plea with building or the Principal's goals.   
• Do your research and get some parents on your side.

We eventually chose Overdrive as a download library to support digital content delivery and they have been wonderful to deal with.  This library is not isolated, but the marc records can be embedded into our specific library catalogs as well as our union catalog.  That way the books are accessible and the marc record points them directly to the URL of the book.  

Last year, I heard our former Commissioner of Education for NYS, David Steiner, say, "I am so tired of visiting schools and seeing their professional quality football fields.  Why am I not seeing wonderful libraries?"  (NYLA Conference Nov 2010)

If districts can find an extra million in their budget for a new artificial turf field, then why wouldn't they spend the money on a virtual library that will support instruction for every student?  That would place us all on an even playing field.  Let's go and try to get into this eBook game! 

Growing Pains with EBooks ?

Today is the day of School Library Journal's webinar: Ebooks the New Normal.  We trust you can join us and attend one of the "tracks" (K-12, Public, Academic).   If you can't, please inquire about the archived version to view at your convenience.  It is likely that many topics will be discussed in detail, or from a different operating viewpoint then you currently have. 

As I walked through the presentation with my co-presenters, I was excited to hear suggestions and I gleaned many new ideas and applications that I had not considered.  Here we are operating in different parts of American, with common curriculum, common tools, and yet we all are applying devices and content in different ways.   This is the benefit of tapping into a national webinar.  It is an opportunity to share successes, discuss details, and envision how this would work in your own environment. When you tune in, you leave with take-aways to improve your program.  For instance, I learned from a virtual colleague how they were creating content which could (in theory) be added to our collection.   

In our library system here in upstate New York, we have a large virtual library available to our member school districts that is powered by Overdrive, packed with both popular and non-fiction information titles, available 24-7, and compatible with most all mobile devices. During our preparation for this webinar, I realized that I could help others avoid some of the growing pains which we encountered when we first entered this virtual playing field.  I realized in the discussion that there is a plethora of knowledge that we have learned the hard way--our growing pains.  If you are looking to get a grip on eBooks, now is the chance. Here are a handful of basic eBook vocabulary terms you may want to become familiar with, if you haven't yet:

• DRM = Digital Rights Management  This is the procedure that a virtual library needs to accommodate so that publishers will sell you eBooks.   You can purchase your own privately for Nooks, Kindles, Sony Readers and other devices, but if you anticipate loaning these out...you better be able to accommodate the DRM.   Chances are you can't.  That's where you need a digital provider such as Overdrive Download Library.  The entire cloud-based platform is to give you (the library) a place to host your books, stream your content, manage authority files, and manage digital rights. 
• Format   -- File formats are important to consider when purchasing eBooks.  You have to know what formats your devices will read.  These file formats are about the only consistent thing in the eBook platform.  They are also evolving, but have basically evolved into a standard few that are sold and downloadable.  Popular file formats include:  ePub,  .MP3 (audio files), Kindle format (formerly known as MobiPocket - now having subtle differences), .PDF, .WM.  
• eBook -- an electronic form of a book that is an alternative to print. 
• ePub - standard format emerging for digital print
• Adobe Digital ID's are necessary to download an ePub.  Open and account today.  AND-- if you are working with a class initiative, or 1-to-1 ipod initiative, you will want to track the number of devices attached to a particular ID.  There is a limit of 10 devices attached to 1 ID.  So, I could personally use my Adobe ID for my iPod, my iPad, my desktop, my eReader and my smart phone.  That's five.  However, if I loaded that Adobe ID onto  a bundle of iPads for my library... the app will not work.   It's all about tracking usage, digital rights, royalty payments and more.  
• Project Gutenberg and public domain - freely available eBooks in the public domain market that you can take advantage of today. Wonderful initiative that began years ago by the late, Michael Hart (who was worried about the common man who might not have money to purchase anything--and more).  
• Transfer - The act of moving the digital content from a desktop to a reader or .MP3 player (i.e. device).  Transfer rights are tracked also via a digital download library such as Overdrive.  
• App -- a software program downloaded to a device (usually via the iTunes store or Android Marketplace) which will enable the user to access, play, or perform some function.  Apps for eBooks are usually free, but point to content that may cost or be managed. 

• More to come as we  discuss today and I add to this list!