Tinfoil + Raccoon

Loaning Kindle to Patrons a No-No for Libraries?

(Update 2/8/08: Amazon says that the Kindle can be loaned as long as it doesn't have any books on it.)

(Update 1/28/08  5:20 pm: Someone left a comment saying that they had checked with Amazon and gotten a very different response than the one I got from customer service.  Amazon!? Yeah, you! How about some clarification? Please read the comments, as some of them add to the discussion.)

(Update 1/30 10:50 am: I've submitted a request through Amazon Media Relations to get a definitive answer about Kindle, and to ask about any plans to work with libraries.)

(Update 1/31/08 8:38 am: Here is an earlier post, at LibraryLaw Blog, questioning what Kindle ToS meant for libraries.)

I've been reviewing the library's Kindle since it was placed in my hands last week. Most of the review has focused on the machine itself--features and usability. But today, I had some questions about the service itself, so I called the Kindle support line at Amazon and thought that this warranted a separate post.

Right around the time Kindle was released, I read the Terms of Service, curious to see if or how Kindle readers could be used in public libraries. My interpretation of the TOS said "NO,"

You may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to the Digital Content or any portion of it to any third party

Shortly after the Kindle came out, I saw a few posts about libraries that were loaning the Kindle to patrons. I've been waiting for follow-up posts saying that Amazon had come down on those libraries for violating the ToS, but haven't seen anything. 

This past weekend, I took our library's new Kindle home to test drive it, and found that it was very easy to add new content, via Amazon's 1-click order service.  When I got to work this morning, my phone was ringing--it was our business manager asking if I had made purchases for the Kindle.  When I said yes, she wondered how I was able to do it. Her assumption was that anyone else who played with the Kindle would have to enter Amazon/Kindle account information (email and password) to download new material. This made me further wonder how the libraries loaning it were able to keep borrowers from downloading stuff, so I called Kindle support.

I only had to wait a few seconds to get to a live person, and was immediately asked for my email address. Since I have an account with Amazon, my address was verified.  I was then asked to answer my security questions before getting help with the Kindle presumably registered to me.  At that point I interjected that I did not have a Kindle, but was reviewing one that was owned by my library and just had some basic questions.   The support person was more than happy to take my general questions.

I explained that the library where I worked ordered one just to play around with, but that we had no plans to let patrons check it out, as I understood the ToS prohibited that sort of "distribution." When I asked for a definite answer, he verified that libraries who loaned the Kindle were violating the ToS.

That response more or less explained my second question, which was about how easy it was to download content.  Since the Kindle is, legally, only supposed to be used by one user, the ordering/content-getting process was made as easy as possible. The support guy indicated that there was a way to prevent others from downloading, but I think it entails disabling your payment method in your Amazon account, which also prevents the owner from downloading content.  My question is, what if you buy a Kindle and share it with your kids, but don't want them downloading stuff to the machine?  It seems that there should be an easier way to be able to lock and unlock this feature.  Or, does Amazon literally expect customers to adhere to their non-transferable ToS, even within a cohabiting family?  Are we, as a library, in violation of the ToS, even though we're not loaning to patrons, but sharing the machine for educational purposes?  Can we demo it to patrons at the desk or at library outreach events?

The questions I really wanted to ask, and which probably would not have received straight answers are: How hardcore will Amazon be about ToS violators?  Will public libraries be getting cease and desist letters?  Or is it more of a don't ask/don't tell deal? It's kind of hard to fly under the radar when you are applauded for innovation in Library Journal. If you have seen any stories about public libraries getting a smackdown from Amazon, please send along!  (updated 1/29) Or, if you are in a library that circulates Kindles, please let us know how it's going and whether or not you had/have concerns about being able to circulate the machines.

Bottom line: The Kindle has no application for public libraries. (updated 1/29) Jury is out on whether Kindle can be circulated by libraries.

Assistant Branch Manager position in La Crosse

Admit it. You are dying to live and work in the beautiful Upper Midwest as an Assistant Branch Manager slash reader's advisory warrior. Well, today is your lucky day!  La Crosse Public Library has two charming, well-loved branches and one s t r e t c h e d thin branch manager who needs a second mate to help her with daily operations and programming and who is a passionate booktalker with broad cultural literacy and solid reference skills. It's a salaried, non-management position and the benefits are quite good. Here's a link to the job posting.  Pop me an email if you have any questions about the job, the library or the community.

(update 1/28/08: My newish colleague in Youth Services, Hedgehog Librarian also posted the job and added this: "We've got a hedgehog and a raccoon-- what can you add to the mix?"  Any other self-described animal-like librarians out there?)

(Quasi) Liveblogging the Kindle

The library's business manager was very pleased to hand the Kindle to me yesterday. I started playing with it immediately, and took raw notes in Google docs and decided that's how I would report my inaugural Kindle experience.  I'll keep updating this post as I continue to poke and play with it.  I should note that I haven't read any extensive reviews of the Kindle since I wanted to have a new user experience with it. 

Thurs. Jan 24--at work

Crap. I was hoping to be able to unbox it, but it's been unboxed, with books loaded already. (update 1/26: I just learned that these books came preloaded and that I was, in fact, the first one to download fresh content.)

Trying to figure it out without looking at user's manual. Giving it the Toaster Test.  That is, "Is it as easy to use as my 1959 Sunbeam toaster?"

Trying to mess with it and do a bunch of other things. Probably should just wait til I can focus on it. Don't feel much more initial enthusiasm for it than for any other ebook readers I've tried, including Cybook, REBsomething and a Tungsten.

Oh, swell. Stephen King came out with a ringing endorsement of Kindle today. Who cares what I say?

Putting aside for when I can focus on just Kindle and not have to multitask

Thurs evening

I keep wanting to use it as if it has a touch screen. It doesn't. (*poke* *poke*)

Okay, so I read the manual, since Kindle was not as intuitive as I thought it would be. I think if I were more clear-headed and in play mode, I might have gotten farther without looking at documentation. The documentation is VERY readable, though, and relatively jargon free. It is, in fact, pretty excellent. This brings a tear to my eye.

Now that I know not to poke things to make stuff happen, I find that navigation is not too bad. Only problem so far is the "back" bar. To me, this means "go back one page," but it means go back to last document (I think). So, if you are in a document and click "back," it will take you back to last document you looked at before current one.  "Previous page" which is on the left side of the screen, is what you click to go back one page. Since I have the machine in its case, this is cumbersome placement. But, maybe machine was not meant to be kept in case while reading.

Not crazy about content that's been loaded. I want high motivation to keep playing and learning, so I decided to download a book I've already started and am anxious to keep reading: Sabriel by Garth Nix. I stopped to read documentation about wireless since I am getting a message about not being able to access Amazon store.  I see that the high speed EVDO wireless is not available to me, but I do have a good signal to the slower network.  After a few tries, I finally get to the Amazon store. I clicked on some of the broader categories and was surprised to see that there is a lot more non-fic than fic available. Decided to use search function to find Sabriel. Wow! There it is--and it's less than $5! Surely I am allowed to download this on the library's dime, in order to become a Kindle expert.

Download was pretty quick. Although the resolution is really good, and there are five text size settings, something isn't quite right. I'm thinking that it would be better with backlighting, but maybe just better contrast. I am reading in bed, with a not-great table lamp. It's readable, but I don't like the darkness of the background. "Muddy" is the word that comes to mind.

Because I really want to get going with Sabriel, I'm just going to try and have a good, ol' fashioned reading experience.

*****

OMG. I think I am going to have to admit to not hating the Kindle. Managed to read a couple chapters without thinking that I was reading from a machine. Also, when I fell asleep, and book fell on my face, I did not get a black eye as with other, heftier readers I've had.  ;-)  Wait...I just called the Kindle a "book."  More tomorrow.

Friday night

Turned on Kindle and it took me back to where I'd left off the night before, so I just started reading. I only got a few pages when the phone rang, so I put machine down to get the call.  When I came back, I fully realized one of Kindle's biggest design flaws. It's difficult to pick up the machine (outside of its case) without clicking a next/previous page toggle. The page toggles are right on the edge of the machine, running about 3/4 of the length on both sides, so that if you need to change hands, readjust position, or pick up the machine, it's pretty easy to lose your place. It's easy enough to get back to where you were, but it's a nuisance and hopefully something that will be addressed with next the iteration.

Saturday afternoon, at the ref desk

The reading experience has been pretty seamless, aside from occasional toggle bump, so now I'm trying to figure out how to make annotations or notes, if that's even possible. When you are in a book or document, there is a ""My Notes & Marks" link in the menu. I've used the bookmarking feature with no problem, but have not figure out how to make notes. May have to cave and look at user's manual for this. (Update 1/28: Sometimes, it pays to read the manual. You can make notes, and clippings and create bookmarks.)

My coworker at the desk was asking about it, so I did a quick demo for her. She asked if font size was adjustable, which it was. Her observation was that even if font within a given text was adjustable, the keyboard would difficult to use for people with low-vision or mobility. But, that's a problem not exclusive to Kindle, but to any phones or handhelds with full keyboards.   

Library Skills and Attitudes--5th grade, 1973

Library report card--5th grade
Originally uploaded by rochelle, et. al.

Back when I was a whippersnapper and had to walk 3 miles over hot coals to get to school, we got library instruction in school. This was in the late 60s and early 70s, when technology meant filmstrips, overhead projectors, thermofax machines and 16 mm projectors and when Bill Gates was still a slacker nerd flunking out of Harvard.

When I visited my mom recently, she gave me all my grade school report cards from Hudson Grade School. There were lots of extras tucked into them, but I got all giddy when I saw my 5th and 6th grade library skills reports from my first librarian role model, Mrs. Hanson.

I had always remembered that I loved our school library and Mrs. Hanson, and most of what I know about how to use a library comes directly from that instruction. But, I had forgotten just how much I loved it and that I was an aide. So, here it is, evidence of my librarian pre-destiny. If you click through to Flickr, you can also see my 6th grade library report card. Even though I was on bed rest with Rheumatic Fever for the entire 2nd half of 6th grade, and had a tutor who came to the house, Mrs. Hanson still filled out my report card, indicating that she was pleased that I had kept up my reading and saying that she had missed having me as a library aide.

My girls were with me when I opened the report cards, and regarded Mrs. Hanson's comments as near Nostradamus-grade portents of my future. They also saw my 6th grade autograph book and wondered why in the world everyone was calling me "Fuzz," including my teachers. I still don't have an answer for that one.

Blyberg Speaks: Safe to come out of hiding

Hey kids, it's time for some uncritical me-tooism from the Raccoon. Yesterday, John Blyberg rocked many of our worlds and was able to beautifully articulate what many of us have been thinking and trying to write about, with his post Library 2.0 Debased. (A big huzzah to Kate Sheehan for her inspiration.)

I’ve been feeling, for awhile now, that the term Library 2.0 has been co-opted by a growing group of libraries, librarians, and particularly vendors to push an agenda of “change” that deflects attention from some very real issues and concerns without really changing anything. It’s very evident in the profusity of L2-centric workshops and conferences that there is a significant snake-oil market in the bibliosphere. We’re blindly casting about for a panacea and it’s making us look like fools.

There are a lot of reasons I haven't blogged in a long time (and for Pete's sake, NO, I am not really the Annoyed Librarian). Chief among them is that I have been rediscovering just how crazy I am about Mr. Raccoon and I am enjoying more of his company in an almost junior high-giddy way. Another reason is that I have been enjoying and getting what I need from the relationships I've developed via Twitter and the Library Society of the World (LSW) Meebo room. Sure, some of it is purely casual and personal, but it also feels like I'm part of this incredible librarian posse that I can take up with any time I need them, day or night. I can't wait to meet many of them at CiL in April. It will be like the Justice League, with all these specialized superheroes coming together to create a maelstrom of librarianish awesomeness.

I also stepped away from library blogging because I felt responsible, in some tiny way, for helping to cobble together the lumbering 2.0 monster.  I don't mean to imply that it's not relevant at all.  But from where I was sitting as a public library reference manager and front-liner, it seemed like tech.0 was getting a lopsided helping of attention from other bloggers and the established library press.   

I've been in and out of the 2.0 stream for awhile. It was like a life preserver when I first grabbed hold of it several years ago, after feeling like I'd been dog paddling far too long. I needed something to re-engage me, to keep me interested, to make me feel relevant. It was a the perfect flotation device. Eventually, I threw off my floaty, went into the deep end and became an enthusiastic supporter of all things 2.0. Then, I left my reference librarian position and became a reference library manager.  I was tossing out 2.0 at my new colleagues like beads at Mardi Gras (if I may abandon the water metaphor). Some of it stuck and has become a seamless part of how we work, like Meebo IM.  There's a gaming program here that's the purview of Teen services. It's regularly scheduled, well attended and means a great deal to a miniscule and static portion of our users (you know, like book clubs).   

After about six months in my position, I was able to step back, breathe, and realize that 2.0 in the tech sense was not a service priority for adult reference or, really, for the community we serve. We deployed Flickr, a blog, MySpace, even a YouTube account, most of which ended up being inexpensive experiments that had zero impact in any direction. On the other hand, our internet access is probably one of the least restrictive I've heard about in a library environment and I love that our IT folks understand that it's crucial to be responsive. At any given moment, I'd guess that 70% of our public access terminals are being used for social networking: MySpace, various IM clients, Runescape, eBay, etc. Our help or involvement is not needed or welcomed (unless time is about to run out and a patron wants an extension). Those folks don't want to interact with us. They don't want us in their space.

Our community still appears to want fairly traditional library services, slightly tweaked for the 21st century. Our circ has continued to climb, largely due to a significant increase in AV checkouts. We are buying just about every new series that comes out on DVD, and we're buying multiple copies. (Green Acres, Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD has checked out 62 times in two years. V. 1 on its own, 118 times in 4 yrs).  The reference desk is hopping. We're not reaching for print reference as much, but we still reach for it. The phone rings steadily for phone number look-ups, crossword answers, and holds for good reads. Like the rest of you, we get a little tired of explaining how to print 50 times a day or telling patrons we feel their pain about Office 2007. But, that's our job. 

A few months ago, I decided I needed to minimize outside influences about how we serve our patrons. I stopped reading about library stuff. I stopped writing about library stuff. I'm not sure I remember my Bloglines log-in information. I went underground into Twitter and Meebo where I felt I was getting a more rounded view of the library landscape. 

In November, I made my first hire: an emerging tech librarian who has no MLS and, really, no library experience. Why? First, he was, hands down, the best candidate. I also wanted to hire someone who would challenge me, who had an outsider perspective. Librarians spend too much time listening to themselves. This. Is. Not. A. Good. Thing.  My decision raised some eyebrows, inside and out, but boy, am I glad I listened to my gut.  He'll be building a new website, and has launched an intranet. But he, my emerging tech dude, is slowing our my ass down. He's questioning everything and looking at it through non-librarian eyes.  No more wholesale slinging of half-baked hot new things/ideas on shellshocked staff or a mostly could-care-less public.  (Well, not much anyway.)   

We are working toward a long-range plan. It's in the early stages, but I think we're heading to the conclusion that we need to hear more from our community.  Not from folks who walk in the door and and love us already.  Not from pundits and trendsetters in the field.  And I think we've learned enough that it's time to hush our mouths and just listen for awhile. 

No terrorists...just Methodists

Found this email when I got in to work this morning and nearly had coffee come out my nose:

There's a funeral happening across the street at the Methodist Church at 11:00 am.  Afterwards, around 11:40 - 11:45, there will be a three gun military salute in the church parking lot.  So, if you hear shooting, please know that it is not a terrorist attack, just some Methodists.

It's okay for me to laugh at this.  I was a devout Methodist until 8th or 9th grade when me and churchiness parted ways. Mostly what I remember were lots of highly perfumed and powdered church matrons with warbly voices. Oh, and the year we had a Harper Valley PTA poster-mom as a Sunday School teacher. She had early-70s era Dolly Parton hair, was a smoker AND a divorcee, and wore miniskirts. Scandalous!

I also got two memorable pen pals out of the Methodist youth publication that was distributed to us: a college student rock critic who wowed me with her brushes with fame (Warren Zevon, Kim Fowley...) and fabulous letters. She was the first real writer I ever connected with.  She blew off a spot in a master's program for English and moved to NYC to become a writer for the soap opera Ryan's Hope.  The one year she wrote for them, the team won an Emmy.  I believe she is now in Idaho, happily writing Buffy fanfic and copy for Coldwater Creek. 

The other was a guy in a juvenile detention facility in Indiana who my mom was none too happy about. Even if it was church-related.

 

Remington Quiet-Riter: Vintage Manual

Remington Quiet-Riter: keys
Originally uploaded by rochelle, et. al.

I am now the proud owner of a Remington Easy-Riter typewriter, with case, purchased for $5.00 this morning. It's in very good shape and it looks like you can still buy ribbons for it. Juniorina was with me when I picked this up at a garage sale (passing up a newish Huffy bike for $40) and wondered what I would do with it. Juniorette asked if I bought it to write my novel on. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Oktoberfest 2007: Maple Leaf Parade

  Tom Sleik 
  Originally uploaded by rochelle, et. al.

Last year was our first Oktoberfest in La Crosse and we didn't do any "festing."  I was still sort of shell-shocked and exhausted from the move and new job, and figured I could drink beer on my own, minus the crowds.   This year, a bit more rested and less dazed,  I decided to check this Oktoberfest thing out.  We haven't made it to the Fest grounds yet and I'm not sure we will, but Juniorette and I did go to the Maple Leaf parade.  The Maple Leaf Parade is the largest of several O-fest parades. I had been led to believe that it was a total mob scene and that it was hard to get a good viewing spot, but decided to give it try.  Mr. Raccoon dropped Juniorette and I off a couple blocks away from the parade route, and we headed down to 2nd street, noting that nearly everyone else heading to the parade was toting chairs, coolers and open, frothy beverages as if heading for a campout. 

We found a perfectly fine viewing spot--Juniorette even found an abandoned chair to sit in.  It was sort of a rowdy crowd, but not the off-the-hook revelry I had expected.  Folks were 2-4 people deep on each side, but everyone had a great perch or seat.    I didn't see any streams of beer flying through the air and no one was falling-down drunk.  (Someone, who shall remain nameless, told me about attending an Oktoberfest parade in the early 70s, when youth unrest had just made its way to the Heartland, during which lots of frothy beverages were tossed at that much-loathed enemy of the people, that tool of the state, Kate Smith.)

I'd been told it was a realllllllly long parade. It was a pretty standard-issue parade, dressed up in lederhosen and dirndls, but fun nonetheless.  After an hour or so, and about the time it started sprinkling, Juniorette started asking if we could go.  I kept urging her to stay for one more marching band, which kept us there for quite awhile, as there are a bunch of marching bands in the parade.  It eventually started to rain in earnest, and it appeared that the parade was over (maybe 90 minutes into the start), so we left to go find some lunch, pleased that we'd made the effort and that we stuck it out for the entirety.

It wasn't until our Tuesday morning team meeting that I learned we'd missed around half of the parade!  I guess we left during a really big lull. I was a little disappointed, but felt like our 90 minutes gave us a positive view of Oktoberfest as a fun, community-building event. 

I also enjoyed just being out in the community during the first few days before and during Oktoberfest--just walking downtown or stopping into Quillin's for groceries.  Last Saturday, while getting groceries, an older woman asked, "Are you festing?" She nodded approval when I said the extent of my festing was that I had a crock pot full of pork and sauerkraut waiting at home. I heard countless other local folks talking with each other about how they were  Festing (or avoiding the whole deal).  Oktoberfest does, unquestionably, pull in tons of tourists, but it truly is a community event.  There's a part of me that could write sort of bratty post focusing on the negative aspects of Oktoberfest, but this year, I decided to go along for the ride and found it quite...festive.   There are plenty more pictures from our parade experience at Flickr--just click on the photo at the top of the story.

Guest Blogger: Selecting non-reviewed Titles

Noreen Fish, who manages our electronic resources at La Crosse Public Library, does monthly training meetings for reference staff.  This month, she went over some sources for finding titles that would likely be great choices, but aren't reviewed.  I asked her to write it up so that we could share it with a bunch more folks (thus making it look like I tend to the blog more often than I actually do, these days).  Please share additional sources if you have them! Thanks, Noreen.

*********
I ha€™ve been selecting non-fiction for most of the 600s in our library for about eighteen months now. One of the problems I have experienced is getting out timely orders for materials that are reviewed well after publication, if they are reviewed at all. Such topics include collectible toys, firearms, building/remodeling, woodworking, pets and agriculture. In discovering some tools to find these non-reviewed items before they'€™re published, I'€™ve found ways to make selecting in general easier and more timely. I recently shared these tips with the other non-fiction selectors in the library and Rochelle asked me if I cared to be a guest blogger on Tinfoil Raccoon.

ipage.ingrambook.com (subscription)

www.booksinprint.com (subscription)

  www.bloglines.com

  www.technorati.com

Using the subject tools on iPage, I started by identifying publishers that put out a lot of materials in my subject areas. I put their websites in my favorites and checked their new offerings periodically.

Then I discovered BIP Alerts on Books In Print. I could search by subject, by publisher name, by publisher and keywords, and save all the searches. BIP asked only for my e-mail address and a password and they send me alerts every month for new titles that fit the criteria. 

I had been introduced to Bloglines last year and used it for a number of library blogs. But I was checking a publisher'€™s website one day and discovered an RSS feed for their new books. I added it to my Bloglines account and went looking for more. Unfortunately, it seems not many publishers have caught up with this opportunity yet.

I started adding blogs on food and cooking because they'€re of personal interest to me, but found that they often reviewed cookbooks. So I used Technorati to look for other subject blogs that included book reviews.

Then I discovered that I could get the reviews from Publisher'€™s Weekly, Library Journal and School Library Journal sent to my Bloglines account, too. I can even do complicated searches in EBSCOHost and create URLs to paste into Bloglines for regular updates.

As you can imagine, the list of my feeds is starting to grow a little unmanageable. But I'€™m sure that some of them will prove to be less useful than others. If I'€™m not getting useful information after a month, I can delete the feed.

Electronic Resource Metrics: Appropriate cost-per-search?

We recently finished a good healthy weed and evaluation of our print reference collection, and I promised a similar evaluation of our electronic resources at the close of the print ref project.  We do keep track of database use, with vendor statistics, some more reliable than others.  We've kept these stats for the past few years, so we have a relative idea of raw use--sessions or pages or log-ins per month.  Then we divide cost by use, and come up with a per-use/search/page view cost.  Year-end price-per-use ranges from a few pennies per search to a cost-per-search that comes out to about the price of a new hardback  before discount).   

What we're looking for now, are guidelines for what an appropriate cost-per-search is.  So far, all I've been able to do is compare our results with the few annual reports for other libraries that I've found on line.  I've also queried lots of my online colleagues, most of who are academic librarians. High cost-per-search is an accepted part of academic libraries' budgets, when a specific database, regardless of how little used, is essential to support the work of a particular program.  Someone said $5/search was high and $10, astronomical.  Someone else said $10 was not so bad. 

The few responses I've gotten, while appreciated, have not really given me a solid answer.  When I posted to wispublib, mostly I heard from other folks who would like to know what I learn, including our largest public libraries in the state.

Someone pointed me to this E-Metrics Instructional System (EMIS)  which has a bunch of tools about how to get data and a way to generate reports with it, but I didn't find the specific bit of information I was looking for.  (EMIS is an IMLS-funded project developed by Florida State University.)   The same person also pointed me to OPLIN (Ohio Public Library Information Network). I've browsed the site a bit, but nothing has jumped out.

So, I come to you, Raccoon readers, to mine you for your endless and collective cleverness and wisdom.  Your assistance is greatly appreciated!