[Web4lib] Library Purchase/Subscription For Kindle Content?

[Tom Keays]

Where UNE-Omaha decided against using Kindles for ILL, Brigham Young
University seems to have decided for it. From a recent Library
Journal.

Faculty members at Brigham Young University (BYU), Provo, UT, have a
new alternative to interlibrary loan (ILL): the Amazon Kindle. The
Harold B. Lee Library has purchased three ebook readers for the pilot,
expecting the items chosen to be either very new or very popular
titles—titles that in some cases the library has been unable to get
through ILL.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6663967.html

BTW, I have the Kindle IPhone/iPod app myself and agree with your
assessment of it. It is the best e-book reader software I've used
(including other ebook readers on the iPod Touch and, further back,
Palm Reader on a Tungsten III) mainly because of the ease of
purchasing content. It has a readable screen even in bright light.

On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 4:10 PM, Louise Alcorn<Louise.Alcorn at wdm-ia.com> wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
>
> As Some May Know, Amazon Recently Made Available An iPhone App For
> Access To Kindle Content:
> "Kindle For iPhone App Released"
>
> [ http://tinyurl.com/dzcck4 ]
>
>
>
> I've used the Kindle app for my iPod Touch (uses same apps as iPhone)
> for some time now.  It goes to kindle.amazon.com and grabs your content,
> and has you choose a few to make "live" on your device.   I like it -
> good display, not as easy on the eyes as the e-ink tech on the Kindle,
> but fine for a lunchtime or waiting room read.
>
> There are some issues with Kindle content for libraries - mostly, they
> just don't have what we want in the way of content, though that's
> changing.  U of NE-Omaha did something rather clever and decided that,
> though they couldn't really use it effectively for ILL (their original
> thought), they'd use it for a popular materials collection, to save on
> shelf space.  They check out like wildfire, as I understand.  I saw a
> presentation on it by Joyce Neujahr, Director of Patron Services at
> UNE-Omaha, at the Library Technology Conference in St. Paul in March.
> http://www.macalester.edu/library/libtechconference/overview.html#
>
> There were some issues with subscriptions, disabling buying features,
> etc. You can have up to 5 or 6 (?) Kindles attached to the same credit
> card/account and share across them.  I think it would take some
> massaging to make it work in a less-controlled environment, like a
> public library setting.  For academic/special/school libraries, it has
> some possibilities.
>
> My 2 cents.  That said, I adore my personal Kindle and the access to it
> on the Touch.
>
> Louise E. Alcorn
> Reference Technology Librarian
> West Des Moines Public Library
> 4000 Mills Civic Pkwy
> West Des Moines IA 50265
> (515) 222-3573      louise.alcorn at wdm-ia.com
> http://www.wdmlibrary.org
>
>
>
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