No More Overdue Books?

In a crowded program that generated lots of discussion among conference-goers, Cate McNeely of the Richmond, British Columbia, Public Library's new Ironwood Branch described how a staff team broke the rules to improve services to users. Thanks to self-service pickup of reserve items, online payment of fines, and a redesigned checkout area, users check out 85 percent of items themselves, a percentage no other library approaches. With fewer staff needed to perform circulation chores, McNeely said, Ironwood is able to use them to offer enhanced technology and reference services, as well as a daily storytime.

A session on electronic books was packed and focused on the aftermath of the wildly popular downloadable Stephen King e-novella, Riding the Bullet (see "Stephen King Surprises Libraries,"). Speakers agreed that libraries weren't prepared to deal with a bestselling e-book; if users had flooded reference desks demanding it, no library would have been ready to provide it. Yet Theresa Murphy of Baltimore County (MD) Public Library spoke of a time not far off when libraries will circulate e-books primarily over their Web sites. Users borrowing e-books will access e-book files for specific loan periods, and at the end of those loan periods the files will no longer be accessible--ending the concept of overdue books. But Murphy warned that some publishers are reluctant to let libraries circulate e-books freely, or to let users print pages from e-books, and that libraries need to tell publishers what their users want.

Hedra Peterman of the Philadephia Free Library said in another session that even if it sometimes appears that children are neglecting books in favor of computers, technology access is essential for low-income and at-risk youth. "Computers are social events for students," said Peterman. "Children whose only access is in the library need time to play, just as kids with PCs at home need time to play."

Several conference vendors demonstrated appealing new products. YouSeeMore is a software service available for Web-based catalogs that adds an Amazon.com-like dimension to records, displaying images of book jackets and tables of contents. Visit www.youseemore.com for more information.

Libraries circulating audio CDs, CD-ROMs, and DVDs and despairing of scratches and damage should check out the new Azuradisc machines (www.azuradisc.com). They're compact units about the size of a deluxe espresso maker that remove scratches; prices start at $699.

Also at the conference, netLibrary announced an alliance with EBSCO Publishing, as well as with publishers Health Communications, Inc. and O'Reilly & Associates. NetLibrary says these deals will increase the availability to public libraries of nonfiction e-books like the Chicken Soup series and O'Reilly's many technology titles.--Walter Minkel