Kelly Strom: At library, digital options abound

Sun, 11/08/2015

Serviços digitais são uma oportunidade ou o calcanhar de Aquiles do modelo de negocio da biblioteca?
Como não matar a galinha do ovos de outro? 
Serviços e produtos digitais um caminho de excelência e inovação radical em um novo cenário de compartilhamento  e oferta infinita. Héberle

Multiple news outlets have reported that the print book is on its way out. Many of us would argue to the contrary. Regardless of your particular preference in format, digital downloads are out there and quite popular with a lot of people. If you are one of those people, then we have some fine options for you, all free to cardholders at the Champaign Public Library.

Photo by: The News-Gazette

The Champaign Public Library has plenty of digital offerings.

E-book platforms and vendors do vary, so as a result, we have several to choose from. If you live in Champaign and have a library card, the first thing you need to do is visit our CPL homepage, which is champaign.org. Once on the homepage, look to the list of options on the right side.

Click on the Downloadables link. You'll then see a list of formats that we offer in digital format: e-books, audiobooks, magazines, music, movies and television. Once you've clicked on e-books, you'll see a new list of vendors that we have contracted with to provide this service.

If you live in another town, please go to that library's website to see what options they offer. Most libraries have at least one vendor.

By far the easiest to use is our 3M service, which was recently bought out by Bibliotheca. In this site, you'll find lots of bestsellers as well as backlist titles and nonfiction favorites.

Their user-friendly site allows readers to search for specific titles as well as browse the collection by popularity, genre and age of audience.

We have also provided a list of recently added titles for those of you who only want to read what's new. The wide variety of genres to choose from includes family life, action, sports, satire, romance, war stories and biographies.

Once you click on the book cover that appeals to you, one of two buttons will appear: "Borrow" or "Place Hold." If the book is already checked out to another patron, 3M will put you on hold to get it when available.

Champaign cardholders will just need to log in with their library card number and pin. Many other area libraries have service through 3M, so please check your home library for more information.

This service is primarily e-books, but we also have a selection of audiobooks available as well.

Another vendor providing both e-books and audiobooks is My Media Mall. This is a consortium that we belong to with over 100 other libraries in central and northern Illinois. Because it's part of a larger group, the number of owned titles is much greater on My Media Mall.

You will find a wider variety of subjects and authors on this site. The crucial component when visiting this link on our webpage is signing in before you start your search. Our library has added some additional titles available only to Champaign patrons. Other libraries in our area have done the same, so regardless of where you live, you should log on before searching for titles.

Like 3M, My Media Mall has a nice homepage listing various searchable genres. Some people enjoy the heading "Recently Returned" to see what other people have checked out and read. My Media Mall includes e-books, audiobooks and comics.

I like the option to click on "Available Now" to see only the titles that I can check out immediately. This comes in handy when I'm in a waiting room or on a trip and don't want to wait in line for a title.

Are you just looking for some magazines to read? You must take a look at Zinio on our Downloadables page.

I love this service. I can read the most recent issues of some of my favorite magazines including Us Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, ESPN, Billboard, Rolling Stone, HGTV, and Newsweek.

The available variety is fantastic, and the issue you download stays on your account indefinitely. The magazine comes up just as you would see it in print, in full color, with photographs and everything.

If you'd like to check out some audiobooks, movies, music or television shows, check out Hoopla. This vendor has a wide variety of subjects, and I've found that the music selections in particular are quite good. This week, I checked out new albums by Ryan Adams, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato.

The movie selections are generally not top box office features, but instead boast a variety of film festival titles (which are next to impossible to view in a theater in central Illinois), family flicks and a cool listing by decades. Hoopla also carries the Ken Burns documentaries as well as other PBS shows.

Comics are also on Hoopla, including Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" and "Harley Quinn."

The last one I'm going to mention today is a new service we have called Biblioboard. This one is different than the others because it features small press or indie titles. All of them have been reviewed by a professional source, "Library Journal," and have been acknowledged as a quality title.

This may be a great way to take a look at some up-and-coming authors that don't have contracts with the big publishers yet.

In addition to that, Biblioboard also boasts the Dummies nonfiction collection, as well as the Dark Horse Comics series and titles from Poisoned Pen Press, which publishes mystery novels.

Lastly, local authors across Illinois may submit titles to this source to get the word out about their writing.

So, yes, I still love holding a book in my hand too. But you can't deny the ease and accessibility of the new trend of downloadable and cloud e-books, magazines, audiobooks and other media.

I love having so many options in the palm of my hand. If you need assistance with the use of this technology, check our website for step-by-step instructions or call the Reference Desk for more information.

And by all means keep reading!

Kelly Strom is the collection manager at the Champaign Public Library. She orders books, magazines, newspapers, audiobooks and CDs.