OverDrive to Streamline Library eBook Lending, Selection

Library eBook vendor OverDrive announced "OverDrive WIN" today, a major enhancement and simplification of its eBook ecosystem for libraries, which will soon face competition from 3M and others in the rush to meet patron demand for eBooks.

The service will finally eliminate the need for libraries to order or patrons to understand the various eBook or audiobook formats, needing only to select "eBook" or "audiobook". More free eBooks will be added to the OverDrive system, as will free eBook samples from publishers, and the previously announced support for Amazon's Kindle devices.

Two very interesting features were announced that would answer some of the biggest complaints from patrons about the current OverDrive system: the long reserve lists for titles in the system, and titles missing altogether. New 'always available' eBook collections would allow simultaneous access of titles (rather than requiring libraries to predict the demand for titles and scale their purchases accordingly). Finally, OverDrive WIN would include a patron driven acquisition system to allow readers to immediately borrow or recommend a title.

It all sounds very nice, but we'll have to wait for full details (hopefully including pricing) to be revealed at the ALA Annual Conference next week.

eBooks Outsell Printed Books on Amazon

Amazon announced today that Kindle eBooks are now outselling printed books on Amazon US. Coming less than four years after the introduction of the Kindle, and less than a year after eBooks first topped paperback sales on Amazon, it confirms that the book business is making the transition to electronic formats faster than the music business before it.

It's been an astonishing four years, and one can only imagine that the next four will see equally rapid change as the book market becomes centered on eBooks and print retreats into various niches.

For libraries, I think the time frame is important because this market transition is happening so much faster than many of today's cash-strapped libraries can adapt to it. If we don't want to be relegated to niche status as well, we have to re-tool much faster than we have been in the past.

Ebooks Outsell Hardbacks on Amazon

Amazon reported today that it is now selling more ebooks than printed hardcover. Over the last three months, ebooks are outselling hardback by 43% and over the last month (since the big price drop on the Kindle), ebooks are are selling 80% more than hardbacks. These figures do not include free ebooks.

Amazon notes that while the American Association of Publishers is reporting that ebook sales are up 207% over the first five months of the year, sales of it's own Kindle format ebooks are up over 300%.

Amazon Kindle for PC Application Available

Amazon's Kindle application for the PC is available now (Macintosh version still in the works), and after a brief try, I can say it does in fact open the Kindle store to the Kindle-less masses. Samples of the first few chapters can be downloaded to the reader software from books in Kindle store.

But the proprietary format used for the Kindle means that the icon for Kindle for PC sits on my desktop next to the similar Barnes and Noble application, as well as the link for Adobe Digital Editions (used for direct purchased from many publishers).

Eventually, managing books in collections segregated by vendor or publisher and accessed through separate reader software will become an obvious problem for consumers ("Now, who did I buy that book from?"). The music industry found out that consumers don't really care which music company produced an album, and I bet the players in the book business find out that book buyers are no different.

Google's announcement that it's coming Google Editions ebook system will work out of a web browser makes more sense everyday.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sony Announces Partnership with OverDrive, New Wireless Reader

Today, Sony and Library eBook vendor OverDrive are announcing a marketing partnership to bring licensed eBook content to library patrons on Sony's reader platform.

At the launch event, hosted at the New York Public Library (which announced its support of the feature as well), Sony described a new "Library Finder" function at its eBook store that will lead readers to the nearest library with OverDrive editions of the books they are searching for. Patrons will then authenticate through their local library and download the content.

Although some commentators are describing the library checkout features as a bit quaint in this digital age, most librarians familiar with publishers' licensing practices will find this easy to understand.

Sony also announced a new, high-end ($399) member of its Reader family that will have the Kindle-like ability to download content wirelessly over ATT's cell phone network.

Sony certainly seems to be moving to meet Amazon's challenge in the eBook market, and in a way that highlights the use of existing open standards and much of the existing "pBook" infrastructure, like libraries.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Amazon Announces Kindle 2

After months of leaks and rumors, Amazon announced the second generation Kindle today, called (you guessed it) the Kindle 2.

Thinner, faster, with improved controls and more features than the first generation product, the Kindle 2 is priced the same as the outgoing model.

It's interesting to compare the evolution of the Kindle with the iPod. Although storage on the Kindle 2 is greater, the company points out that books purchased for the Kindle can be re-downloaded wirelessly at any time, meaning that local storage is less of an issue. The advances in mobile technology in the years since the debut of the iPod now permit this approach, one that still isn't showing up on the iPod.

The Kindle 2 adds an "experimental" text to speech feature. The device saves the user's place in the book and allows users to switch between reading a text and listening to it. Depending on how well, or seamlessly, this works, it could truly be a revolutionary feature.

It looks like Amazon paid attention to the complaints about the original Kindle and is also trying to drive innovation in the e-reader market. With cheaper readers like the Foxit's e-Slick coming to the market, Amazon looks to be taking steps to maintain it's place atop the high-end of the e-reader market.

Kindle as E-Textbook Reader?

In the same way that campuses have gravitated to the proprietary iPod system for podcasting academic content, there is a move to embrace Amazon's Kindle as an e-textbook platform.

As reported by the Christian Science Monitor, Princeton University Press will publish e-books in the proprietary Kindle format (joining the Oxford, Yale and University of California Presses). Inside Higher Ed reports that publishers are not revealing the financial arrangements behind this (which reportedly involves revenue sharing).

It's also interesting to note that the ebook versions are only slightly less expensive than printed paperbacks, but the real (and probably compelling difference) is that printed books often take two to four weeks to ship, while ebooks are downloadable immediately. I can see this as driving students into ebooks in a big way. There's still the $359 price of the Kindle-- it would take saving a few bucks each on an epic quantity of textbooks to pay for the reader.

There's also that proprietary format that locks students into Amazon's world. The money can be tempting, and the convenience of relying on others to make tough decisions for us can be seductive, but I don't think our interests are identical with these large corporations who view our students as customers. We would do better to promote a non-proprietary format which will not threaten to strand our students at the flip of a marketing plan.

Amazon's Kindle Ebook Reader - the Next iPod or the Next Newton?

By now most everyone will have heard about Amazon's Linux-based Kindle ebook reader, either from the fawning Newsweek story (the future of reading!) or the thousands of other blog posts over the last 24 hours.

In case you haven't heard of it yet, the Kindle is a 10 ounce ebook reader with an electronic ink screen, rudimentary thumbboard, enough memory to store 200 books, and wireless connectivity to Amazon's new Kindle store (using Sprint's EV-DO cellular network). Books can be purchased and downloaded from anywhere within reach of Sprint's network in just a few minutes, according to Amazon. Amazon is starting with about 90,000 books in the Kindle store, many priced at $9.99 each. For an additional charge, certain newspapers and blogs can be subscribed to through the device and will be automatically delivered to it. All this for $399, with network access included in the initial price.

Interestingly, there's an experimental live reference service called "Ask Kindle NowNow". Hmmm, you can use this device to get books to read, and answers to reference questions... What existing institutions does this compete with?

Here's my take. As a consumer product, Amazon is trying to imitate Apple's iPod and iTunes experience, making it all "just work" by creating a closed system with Amazon very much in control. The Kindle supports documents in Amazon's proprietary Kindle (.azw) and non-DRM'd Mobi (.mobi & .prc) formats, as well as text (.txt) files. It does not support the industry standard .epub format. Documents in some other formats (including HTML and Microsoft's .doc) can be run through a conversion service (apparently for a 10 cent fee) and be added to the Kindle. PDF support through this process is described as "experimental".

I liked the iPod when it first came out. It lacked features of other digital music players (no radio, for example), but the product had a sort of tactile likability that appealed to me. The closed system, DRM'd content and the prospect of having your music library hostage to the whims of a large corporation, well, these things did not appeal to me. But I could definitely see why people liked it-- like taking a packaged tour, letting someone else make decisions often makes things easier.

But the Kindle does not appeal to me on an aesthetic level. It's bland retro 80s styling and awkward looking keys don't make up for the e-ink display. And on a practical level, putting money into building up a book collection in proprietary formats worries me more than ever. The iPod got away with it in part because it was introduced six years ago. I think the tide is turning away from proprietary formats and closed systems-- just look at Apple's unsuccessful attempt to keep the iPhone closed. The price also seems too high-- although it includes the wireless service, how many people really buy enough books to justify a $400 reader? Say you save $10 per title buying the electronic version, that's 40 books just to break even on the reader. That price will limit the appeal to anyone outside the book hyper-buying classes.

So is this the "iPod for Books" we have all been looking for? Not version 1.0, anyway. In fact, the Kindle reminds me of another Apple product that came to define a product that could not break out of a niche market due to high price and compatibility issues, the Newton.

Powered by ScribeFire.