Downloadable audiobooks; Censorship and multiculturalism; "Creating a financial plan"

News September 7, 2007 (mp3 file: 5.8 MB, 6:11 min.)
Downloadable audiobooks; Censorship and multiculturalism; "Creating a financial plan"

Southwest and Southeastern Library Service Areas are working to put together a consortium of our member libraries to provide downloadable audiobooks to their patrons. .

Users would be able to download audiobooks, for free, from the consortium’s website. The books could then be transferred to mp3 players (except iPods) and some could be burned to CDs, depending on publisher’s restrictions. So many people now are listening to books—as they drive, or work around the house, or just to relax.

Participating libraries would contribute a monthly amount to cover the providers service fee and to build the collection of audiobooks. The monthly fee is larger than any of our individual libraries could afford and the consortium will enable many more libraries to offer this service. States and consortiums around the country are offering this service, including a new consortium in Iowa, through North Central, Northeast and East Central LSAs. A link to the website for their consortium, NEIBORS, is on the blog.

SE and SW libraries received an e-mail earlier this week, asking you to complete an online survey if you’re interested. The survey also asks you to estimate the amount that you could afford to contribute to the project each month—we need to assess the interest & feasibility of the project. If you haven’t visited the survey, please do so soon. If you’ve misplaced the link to the survey, just let me know and I’ll send it again.

I hope you’ll consider the consortium—I know that audiobooks on cassette and CD are popular in your libraries and this is another way for you to provide that valued resource to your patrons.
--Karen

Link from today's podcast:

• NEIBORS Downloadable audiobooks project in NE Iowa

Books:

• Protecting the right to read, by Ann K. Symons and Charles Harmon. Neal-Schuman, 1995.
  
• Creating a financial plan: a how-to-do-it manual for librarians, by Betty J. Turock and Andrea Pedolsky. Neal-Schuman, 1992.