Digital audiobook services through libraries

From PLN

Leslie Dillon, Leader's Digest April 2007

If you haven't seen or heard about it yet, the January/February 2007 issue of Library Technology Reports "examines in some depth digital audiobook services that can be purchased or leased. It also looks briefly at a few free online digital audiobook sources." "The purpose of this report is not to convince librarians to implement a digital audiobook service, but to help librarians make an informed decision." Among the areas that author Tom Peters covers:

The popularity of audiobooks and the demographics of the users who consume content in digital audiobook form;
Major library vendors for digital audiobooks and free sources of digital audiobooks;
How the interaction with audiobook content is understood or perceived by librarians: "As you consider a digital audiobook service," Peters notes, "it may be beneficial for librarians and other library staff members to discuss how users will interact with the content... Do users 'listen' to audiobooks, or are they 'reading' the book? This is not a merely semantic question. How your librarians answer may reveal the value they place on using audiobooks."
Current digital rights management (DRM) issues (such as the "The iPod Impasse") impacting audiobook services for libraries;
Content comparison and decision points, e.g., content characteristics; cost components; purchase, lease, and licensing options; circulation models; integration with other library services; and technical support;
Methods for implementing and sustaining digital audiobook services in your library;
Reports from the field (e.g., The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center's field tests); and
Potential new vendors of audiobooks this year and beyond

(ALA TechSource blog via Shifted Librarian, Mar. 31, 2007.)