2. Program Summary
Aztec Public Library is offering a new service to our
library, E-books. Explore our resources to keep up
with technology and a growing community.
Our goal is to provide downloadable books & E-
subscriptions to our community. Aztec Public
Library will offer Kindle checkout through the book
club program.
Downloadable Audio books are currently available
with One Click Digital at the Aztec Public Library.
4. al Certification
Person t Kindle: 2 Hour
Library Director
en
Enrichm Workshop
Program Coordinator
9 to 12 hours
Training Staff
Office
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Worke
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Trainin nt
p me Book Club Training
Develo
un ity
Comm
Card Holding Patrons
6. T h e A m a z o n K in d le
Te c h n i c a l D e t a i l s
• Display
Amazon's 6" diagonal most advanced E Ink display, optimized with proprietary
waveform and font technology, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 16-level gray
scale.
• Size (in inches)
6.5" x 4.5" x 0.34" (166 mm x 114 mm x 8.7 mm)
• Weight 5.98 ounces (170 grams)
• System Requirements
None, because it's wireless and doesn't require a computer to download content.
• On-device Storage
Up to 1,400 books or 2GB internal (approximately 1.25GB available for user content).
• Cloud Storage -Free cloud storage for all Amazon content.
7. • Battery Life
A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off based upon a half-hour of daily reading
time. Keep wireless always on and it lasts for up to 3 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless
usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store, web browsing, and downloading content.
• Charge Time
Fully charges in approximately 3 hours via the included USB 2.0 cable connected to a computer.
U.S. power adapter sold separately.
• Wi-Fi Connectivity
Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n
standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication or Wi-Fi
Protected Setup (WPS); does not connect to WPA and WPA2 secured networks using 802.1X
authentication methods; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
• USB Port
USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
• Content Formats Supported
Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
through conversion.
8. Whispernet
Whispernet is the delivery method amazon uses to send books. They
are either sent through a wifi connection or a cellular connection like
3g with the latest models. They both use whispernet to deliver the
books.
Whispernet is the Kindles wireless network,
which uses the Sprint EVDO cellular network.
This means that the Kindle can be used as a
stand alone without a computer. Whispernet is
accessible through Kindle without any fee.
9. Here is a list of things to know about this Kindle.
• 1. You'll be using an onscreen keyboard with the 5-Way Controller.
• 2. NO AUDIO - If you are planning on listening to audio books, Mp3s, or Text to
Speech on your Kindle, this is not the device for you. There is not even a headphone
jack, so there is absolutely no audio support.
• 3. 2GB! This device has 2GB of storage, which is half of all the others... if you seriously
need to keep over 1,400 books or so on a Kindle, you should opt for one of the others,
all of which have 4GB.
10. 4. There's no 3G version but the WiFi works just fine.
5. There is a shorter battery life. Amazon reports the battery life is only one month of
reading, compared with the others that clock in at two months.
6. It's lighter than all the other versions. It weighs in at just under 6oz (170g
7. It has 5 buttons on the face at the bottom. In the middle is the big 5-Way
Controller button as found on other Kindles. There are two small buttons on either
side of this. On the left side, from left to right are the "Back" button and the
"Keyboard" button. The "Back" button is the same as on other Kindles. The
"Keyboard" button calls the onscreen keyboard onto the screen. On the right side of
the 5-Way Controller are (again, from left to right) the "Menu" button, and the
"Home" button. The "Next Page" and "Previous Page" buttons are the same as on
other Kindles.
11. How do you use it?
• On startup you go to the Home menu. The
Home menu lists all the books, magazines, and
newspapers we've bought or transferred to our
Kindle.
12. U s in g t h e c o n t r o ls
You need to learn only a few simple controls to navigate
around your Kindle to download and read books, magazines,
and newspapers.
To the sides of the screen are the Next Page and Previous
Page buttons. Both buttons are available on each side so you
can hold your Kindle with either hand while reading. Your
Kindle has the following buttons and a micro-USB port:
13.
14. Back button: Use this button to retrace your steps. For
example, you can follow a link from a book, then press
the back button to return to your place in the book.
Keyboard button: This button brings up an onscreen
keyboard for entering text. Use the 5-way controller to
navigate the keyboard. You can dismiss the keyboard by
pressing the keyboard button. When searching for a title or
author, press the keyboard button, enter your search string,
and select the return key on the onscreen keyboard to
initiate the search.
15. 5-way controller: The 5-way controller enables you to
quickly perform many common tasks on your Kindle. It has a
center select button plus four arrows. To scroll up or down
on a page, use the Up and Down arrows. When reading a
book with chapters, you can use the Left and Right arrows
to skip through chapter by chapter. You can also use the
Left
and Right arrows to move the cursor along a line of text. To
select a menu item, press the Up or Down Arrow until the
item you want is underlined, then press the center button to
select it.
16. Menu button: This button displays a menu of options.
the menus are contextual, which means they change to
offer appropriate options depending on what you’re currently
doing with the device. For example, when you’re reading a book,
the menu lets you go to another part of the book, search its
contents, add a bookmark, etc.
On the Home screen, menu options include viewing archived
items and organizing your Kindle materials into groups
(collections).
17. Home button: This button takes you to the Home screen,
where you’ll find a list of the books and other content stored
on your Kindle.
Power button: To turn your Kindle on, press the power
button. To put your Kindle in sleep mode, press and release
the power button; the screensaver appears on the display. To
wake up your Kindle, press the power button. To turn off your
Kindle, press and hold the power button for seven seconds
until the screen goes blank. If your Kindle does not power on
or is unresponsive during use, you can restart your device by
pressing and holding the power button for 20 seconds.
18. Micro-USB/power port: You can use the supplied USB cable to connect your
Kindle to a computer for charging the battery and transferring files, including
personal documents, to your Kindle.
Charging the battery
Charge your Kindle by plugging the supplied USB cable into a power source,
such as a computer or the Kindle power adapter (sold separately). A lightning
bolt should appear on the battery icon at the top of the Home screen. The
indicator light on the bottom edge of the device will turn amber while charging
and green when the battery is fully charged.
Charging should take less than three hours. You can use your Kindle while it is
connected via USB and charging from your computer, by unmounting or
ejecting it so that Kindle exits USB drive mode.
19. Windows Vista and 7: Click the Start button, select “Computer”
from the options, right-click on the Kindle drive icon, and select
“Eject” from the pop-up menu.
•
Windows XP: Right-click on the “Safely remove hardware” icon
in the lower right-hand corner of the task bar and follow the on-
screen instructions to remove Kindle.
Status indicators
At the top of every screen, you’ll see indicators that inform you
about the status of various Kindle services.
20. Your Kindle has a strong Wi-Fi signal and the Whispernet service is active.
The more bars that are filled in with black, the stronger the Wi-Fi signal.
A weak Wi-Fi signal can also increase power consumption.
Your Kindle is checking for available Wi-Fi networks.
Activity indicator
This indicator appears in the top left corner of your Kindle screen when the device
is busy downloading new content, checking for new items, searching for an item,
opening a large PDF file, or loading a web page.
21. About Wi-Fi connections: Books, magazines, and other materials
are delivered directly to your Kindle via its built-in Wi-Fi connectivity.
You can connect to networks at home or at Wi-Fi hotspots around the
world. To view available Wi-Fi networks, from the Home screen, press
the Menu button and select Settings. On the Settings page, select
“view” next to Wi-Fi Network. Identify the network you want to use,
then select “connect.” If you see a lock symbol next to “connect,” the
network requires a password.
22. Note:
Books are downloaded to your Kindle immediately, generally in
less than 60 seconds. Newspapers and magazines are sent to
your device as soon as they’re published—often even before
they’re available in print. If your Kindle had wireless on prior to
going to sleep, it will continue to receive your regularly scheduled
subscriptions while in sleep mode. If your Kindle is not connected
to a Wi-Fi network when a new issue of a periodical becomes
available, that issue will be delivered automatically the next time
you connect.
23. M a n a g in g o u r K in d le lib r a r y ( s t a f f )
Kindle can store thousands of digital books, personal documents, newspapers, blogs, and magazines,
which are referred to collectively as “content. To display a list of content on your Kindle, press the Home
button. Pressing Menu from the Home screen displays how much free space you have available for
storing content. By default, your content is sorted by most recent first, meaning all of the new items and
the content you are currently reading are at the top.
You can change how the Home screen is sorted by pressing the Up Arrow on the 5-way controller until
the sort options are underlined, then pressing the Right Arrow on the 5-way to display the sort options. If
your Home screen is sorted alphabetically by either title or author, you can press a letter key and then
the center button of the 5-way to go to the first item starting with that letter.
Creating collections
You’ll probably reach a point where you want to group items for easier access. The
Collections feature lets you do this. Create a new collection by pressing the Menu
button while on the Home screen. Select Create New Collection, then use the
onscreen keyboard to type a name for the collection. You can add as many items as
you like to each collection, and you can add an item to more than one collection.
24. Removing content “Staff”
To delete an item from your Kindle, underline its name on the Home screen and press
the Left Arrow on the 5-way controller. When a warning displays, press the center button
of the 5-way to confirm the deletion.
Copies of all your books, recent issues of newspapers and magazines, and personal
documents are archived on Amazon’s servers. If you wish to retrieve content that you’ve
removed, select Archived Items from the Home screen, then choose the item(s) you
want to restore to your Kindle. Use this same method to download previously purchased
content to a new Kindle. Amazon does not store older issues of periodicals. If you want
to back up those items, you’ll need to do so manually.
25. Zooming in on images
You can increase the size of an image in a Kindle book for easier
viewing. First, use the 5-way controller to position the cursor over
the image. A magnifying glass with a plus sign will appear on top of
it. Press the 5-way controller to zoom in. To return to your
content, press the 5-way controller or any key or button except
the Home button. You can also use zoom on any web page.
26. Understanding Kindle display technology
Kindle uses a high-resolution display technology called electronic paper. It
works using ink just like books and newspapers, but it displays the ink particles
electronically. You may see a “flash” when turning pages. This is part of the
process of updating the electronic ink that Kindle uses to display text and
graphics.
Customizing the text display
Kindle provides a quick way to adjust the appearance of books and periodicals.
To access those settings, press the Menu button when you’re reading a
document and select Change Font Size. A dialog box will appear that lets you
change the font size, typeface, line spacing, number of words per line, and
orientation of the content on the Kindle screen. You can also change the
orientation when you aren’t reading a document, such as on the Home screen.
Simply press the Menu button and select Screen Rotation.
27. In t e r a c t in g w it h y o u r
d o c u me nts
Your Kindle gives you access to features that aren’t available with printed materials, such
as instantly viewing word definitions and searching for specific content. Just as with a
traditional book, you can also highlight favorite passages, add notes, and create
bookmarks.
28. Dictionary: Your Kindle includes two dictionaries: The New Oxford American Dictionary
(the default) and The Oxford Dictionary of English. Simply place the cursor in front of any
word you want defined. To see a longer definition, press the center button of the 5-way
controller and select “full definition” from the displayed options and press the center
button of the 5-way controller. To change the default dictionary, use the menu on the
Settings page. Your dictionaries may differ depending upon the language you select.
Search: Press the Keyboard button to display the keyboard and type the text you want
to search for, then press the keyboard button to dismiss the keyboard. Right click the 5-
way controller to select the find option, then press the center select button of the 5-way
controller to display the search results. You can also search other content on your
Kindle, the Kindle Store, Google, Wikipedia, or the built-in dictionary by using the Right
Arrow on the 5-way controller to scroll past “find” and choosing the type of search you
want.
29. Highlights: Place the cursor where you want to start the highlight. Press
the center of the 5-way controller and select the “start highlight” option.
Scroll the cursor to the end of the text you want to highlight and press the
center button again and select the “end highlight” option. The highlighted
text is underlined. It is also added to a file on the Home screen called My
Clippings. If several other Kindle users have highlighted a particular
passage in the book you’re reading, you’ll see that passage underlined with
a note giving the number of highlighters. You can view these popular
highlights by pressing the Menu button and selecting View Popular
Highlights. You can also hide the display of Popular Highlights.
30. Notes: You can add notes to any content on Kindle. Place the cursor where you
want to add your thoughts and press the center select button of the 5-way controller
and select “create note”. Press the keyboard button and begin typing your note.
When you highlight the “save note” option and press the 5-way to select it. Notes are
added to the My Clippings file on your Home screen. Notes appear as superscripted
numbers within the text. To view a note, use the 5-way controller to move the cursor
over the notation number.
Bookmarks: Amazon’s Whispersync technology automatically saves your place in
whatever content you’re reading. You can add a permanent bookmark by pressing
the Menu button and selecting Add a Bookmark. The upper right corner of the page
will appear folded down. You can view and delete your highlights, notes, and
bookmarks at any time by pressing the Menu button from the book you’re reading
and selecting View Notes & Marks. They are also archived at Amazon so they won’t
be lost at kindle.amazon.com.
31. Viewing page numbers and progress
To view page numbers when reading books that have them, press the Menu
button. The current page and total number of pages will be displayed above the
progress bar at the bottom of the screen. Note that not all Kindle books include
page numbers. On the Home screen, a series of dots display below the book title
indicating how long the book is, with bold dots showing how far you have read. In
a book with chapters, the tick marks in the progress bar indicate the start of each
chapter.
32. When you’re finished reading
Your Kindle will automatically go into sleep mode after 10 minutes of inactivity.
You can further conserve its battery life by turning off the wireless connection
when you aren’t using it. When your Kindle is asleep, you’ll see an image on the
screen; this static screensaver uses no battery power. To wake your Kindle up,
press the power button. If you need to turn off the Kindle completely, such as
when traveling on an airplane, press and hold the power button for several
seconds until the screen goes blank, then release the button. When the Kindle is
turned off, the screen will be blank.
33. C u s t o m iz in g y o u r K in d le
s e t t in g s
To go to the Settings page, select Settings from the Home screen menu. Use the Next
page and Previous Page buttons to view all the options. The available settings are:
Registration: Indicates the Amazon account name to which your Kindle is registered.
Use this option to register and deregister the device.
Device Name: Lets you change the name displayed at the top of the Home screen.
Wi-Fi Networks: The number of detected Wi-Fi networks and the name of the Wi-Fi
network you’re currently connected to, if any.
Device Info: The Wi-Fi MAC Address, device serial number, and network capability of
your device.
Device Language: Shows the current language for menus, alerts, and dialog boxes,
and allows you to change to a different language.
34. Device Password: Allows you to restrict access to your Kindle by setting a password. You’ll
subsequently be prompted to enter the password whenever you turn on the device or wake it
from sleep. If you forget your password, try looking at the hint you entered when you created
it. If you still don’t remember your password, you must contact Kindle Customer Service.
Device Time: Lets you set the current local time to be displayed on your Kindle. Pressing the
Menu button from any Kindle screen will display the time at the top of the screen.
35. T h e S e t t in g s c o n t e x t u a l
me nu
When you’re on the Settings page, the menu offers some important functions that aren’t
available from the Home screen or book menus.
Update Your Kindle: Installs the latest software for your Kindle. If there are currently no
software updates available on your Kindle, this option is grayed out.
Restart: Restarts your Kindle. You will not lose the books, clippings, or other files stored
on the device. In the event your Kindle freezes up, you can do a hard reset by pressing the
power button for 20 seconds.
Viewing other types of files
Kindle can display several types of files, including PDF and TXT documents. You can even highlight and
annotate PDF files just like a Kindle book. To add a file to your Kindle, simply drag the file from your
computer to the “documents” folder on your Kindle via a USB connection, or e-mail it to your dedicated
Kindle e-mail address. Your converted documents will display on the Home screen. Amazon can convert
certain other types of files into a Kindle-compatible format and e-mail them to your Kindle.
36. M a i n t a i n i n g Yo u r K i n d l e
Do not use your Kindle or its accessories in rain, or near sinks or other wet
locations. Take care not to spill any food or liquid on your Kindle. If your device
does get wet, unplug all cables, turn off the wireless (go to Menu, and choose
Turn Wireless Off) and let the screen revert to the screen saver. Wait for the
device to dry completely before pressing the power button to wake again. Do
not attempt to dry your Kindle with an external heat source, such as a
microwave oven or hair dryer. Clean the screen with a soft cloth; be careful not
to wipe it with anything abrasive. When carrying your Kindle in a bag or
briefcase, keep a book cover on to avoid scratches.
Don’t expose your Kindle to extreme heat or cold. For example, don’t leave it in
the trunk of your car in sub-zero or high-heat conditions.
37. Q&A
1. Do you need text to speech capability or have the desire to listen to mp3's on your Kindle? If you can
live without that, then proceed. This Kindle does not have a speaker thus is not capable of text to speech
or playing sounds of any kind including mp3's.
2. Is color important to you? This is not a color Kindle, it is gray-scale. If you are mostly wanting to read
books then this will work for you exceedingly well. The e-ink screen is gorgeous, sharp and provides the
ability to change font size, font face and line spacing. It even displays photos quite nicely, but in gray-
scale. And you can even zoom in on images.
3. Is a physical keyboard a necessity for you? If you like to make notes and annotations while reading,
you may want to look at another model Kindle that has a physical keyboard. Although this Kindle has a
screen-based keyboard, it is tedious to type more than a few words or URL's. It works very well for
minimal typing but it's not for you if you need more than that.
4. Is compact size important for you? Then this is the one to get. It's thin, light and diminutive in size.
Slips easily into a purse, pocket or inside pocket. It is so light which makes holding and reading with one
hand for longer periods of time very easy.
38. Complete A Library Survey Feedback
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39. Some Other Places to Get Books
Some of the most popular among Kindle owners are:
http://www.manybooks.net
http://www.feedbooks.com/
http://www.wowio.com/
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Example: Feedbooks offers a book catalog that you can put
directly onto your Kindle, from which you can immediately
download books.
You can also transfer books using the USB cable.
Find your book files and drag them to the “documents”
folder.
This will work for .azw, .txt, .prc, and .mobi files.
40.
41.
42. How to return a Kindle eBook early
• 1) An eBook checked out on the Kindle is
returned through Amazon. Go to
www.amazon.com, and from the Kindle
menu on the right, select “Manage Your
Kindle”
43. • 2)Sign into your Amazon account.
• 3) Select the “Actions” dropdown menu
next to the book you want to return.(Tip:
the words “public library” will appear next
to any library eBooks
44. 4) From the menu, select “Return this book”.
(Tip: avoid selecting “Delete from library”, as
this will delete the book from your Kindle
Library but WILL NOT return it)
45. 5)Select “Yes” to return the book
6)After you return the book, it will still show
in Your Kindle Library list.To remove it from
the list, select Actions again, and from the
drop down menu select“ Delete from library.”
47. • 1. Size - 256 pages and x thousand words were mere economic parameters
that prevailed and mattered in the physical world. They become meaningless
and irrelevant in the digital world. The author is free to write as little, or as
much as they feel appropriate and that convey his story and that the
consumer can digest. One would argue that small starts to become beautiful
and large may be present a page turn too many. Short stories present a
great digital opportunity, but may only happen if they are thought through
economically and cost is taken out. After all many successful authors started
their writing with short stories and articles. We still have still to adopt and
adapt the Keitai model in the West, but if Dickens could write and sell by
instalments why are we waiting for the finished tome?
48. • 2. Price – Some would suggest that prices must relate to the physical book
and that any major price reduction on digital could cannibalise physical sales
and the market. Some also suggest that digital is a huge investment and
that the costs of the physical product are still incurred in the pre production
and marketing activities. The problem is all too often this thinking is based
on ebooks being just ‘another rendition’ and that each must stand
economically on its own two feet. Why aren’t ebooks ‘given away ‘as
aperitifs, lost leaders and to stimulate and drive physical sales? Why doesn’t
digital content adopt simple price points like other media? Finally, digital
content must be different as demonstrated by the differentiation given to it
by the vast majority of governments .
49. • 3. Age - The consumer may want the ‘latest book’ but this is often driven by
media and promotion. How many consumers do you see opening a book at
the copyright page to check when it was published before they buy it?
Amazon’s advanced search has a publication date field which is missing on
The Book Depository, Waterstones and Blackwell’s who has a ‘published
between two dates’ option. We may be thick, but we couldn’t even find an
advanced search at Barnes and Noble or Kobo. The eWorld now has to
compete with, not just the remaining books on the shelf, or in the store, but
all books ever published.
50. • 4. Rights - When you buy an ebook, it may be literally just for Christmas!
eBooks do not have a second life, no first sale doctrine and being able to
lend them to friends. Therefore, to say they are merely just another rendition
is like saying there is no difference between a taxi and a car, both get you
from A to Z, both are driven by an engine but both are very different .
5. Media - Today we see books, music, film, games, being offered separately
on some sites and collectively, as a one stop media shop on others.
Dedicated media offers will work as long as they offer the consumer value,
but when the vast majority of digital media is now supplied through white
labelled channels this makes the one stop shop attractive. As some start to
‘enhance ebooks’ the synergy between media sectors could further erode
and the one stop shop appear even more compelling. As we have seen it
isn’t difficult for supermarkets, associations or in fact anyone to sell white
label stock off their brand with no inventory cost.
51. • 6. Taste – It used to be said that you could judge a person but the books on
their bookshelf. However, when their collection is no longer visible, no judgment
is possible. Some would advocate that this merely flips into a social network
opportunity, where readers share their book experience, favorite reads and what
they have bought. However, we would suggest that this is a different and
ignoring the hype has still to be proven between strangers.
7. Device – The ebook evolution was born out of a combination of digital
content and reading devices both being widely available. Today we have now
passed that stage and replaced the device with a device agnostic platform.
Importantly mobile devices have not stood still and we now have smart phones
with sufficient power, Amoled screens, apps and broadband connectivity to
challenge e-readers, games machines, laptops, and even the emerging tablet
itself. Multi media devices have arrived to your hand and technology is going
only one way – smaller, cheaper and smarter. We would suggest that the ereader
device is fast becoming irrelevant.
52. • 8. Leadership – The largest players always dictated the game and the book
market has been no different. Amazon has established itself as the largest
driver and influencer in the market today and will be for some years and the
largest retailers are no longer defined by square footage or constrained
physically. Will tomorrows leading retailer be that with the best mailing list
and management? As the retail internet offers become somewhat
indistinguishable does this open the door for smaller specialists and
innovators to survive and thrive? We also assumed the largest publishers will
drive the market but is this a given? Will again the innovative and agile score
over those who will find it hard to tack and change course in what will be
choppy seas?
9. Re reading the novel - People often say that they re read their favourite
books and its true, but they often do this after a long period of time. Guess
what, the e-book format, device, technology may have changed by the time
you get round to re reading it! It may be like going back to cassette, vinyl
and eight track.
53. • 10. Metadata – We used to cringe when the dreaded ‘m’word was raised
and often found ourselves in the uncomfortable position of having to use a
word which itself was an instant turn off. Great strides have been made to
rationalise the communication between trading partners and improve the
physical supply chain and standards and metadata where pivotal to this.
However, when you have all the content digitalised and the associated
material and information is fully indexed the game starts to change. Some
80% of what you need to know about the book is retrievable from the digital
content itself and some other information exists in real time. This must
change how we communicate and what we communicate as we move from
a transactional and physical supply chain to one that is driven by media
content and social interaction. The library world has finally accepted that the
old MARC record is past its sell by date and maybe it will be followed by
others we regard as essential today. We now have to radically rethink
information, access and retrieval and equally who is best to lead us through
this revolution.
54. • 11. Rental and the public Library - We strongly believe that e-book sales
are going to move from downloads as we know them today to online and
cloud based rentals. Netflix, Last FM, Pandora and our favorite Spotify are
among those leading the way. Many may see this as a huge threat but is this
real or more based on the challenge it poses to the existing business model .
We have written much on this radical change and on the redefinition of the
library tomorrow. Some may resist the move to online and rental, but it will
happen and it may well not be a top down driven but a bottom up
revolution.
12. External agents –5 years ago, when we wrote the Brave New World
report, we recognised that the digital world was going to be heavily shaped,
not from inside but from the outside. Today we have all seen the impact that
the likes of Amazon, Apple, Google and others continue to have on the
market and the evolution of digital publishing. These new entrants have
bothered to invest in the physical channel and when some suggest that they
should acquire Borders, B&N etc the answer is obvious and negative.
55. P u b lic L ib r a r y e B o o k s o n
t h e A m a z o n K in d le – W e G o t
S c re w e d
• new concerns have started to creep in as I think through the long term
implications for this deal. Amazon is getting access to a LOT of information
about libraries, even if it is anonymized, and it is making me wonder if we
should have done a better job negotiating our deal. I applaud OverDrive for
working with Amazon to get ebooks on the Kindle (and Kindle apps);
however, I can’t help feel they should have worked a harder deal for the
information we will need to ensure that libraries have a future in the ebook
business
By Bobbi Newman September 28, 2011
56. • Amazon will know exactly how many Kindle owners are library borrowers. This is huge
information as we advance in the evolution of ebooks. Libraries should have access to these
numbers. Amazon won’t even confirm the exact number of Kindles they’ve sold. Yes OverDrive
should be able to tell us numbers and percentages for how many of our borrowers are Kindle
owners. But what I would really like to know is how many Kindle owners also borrow from their
public library.
• Amazon will know exactly what percentage of library checkouts lead to purchase. We know that
borrowing books from a library doesn’t hurt sales, and in fact it improves them. There has been
research. But now Amazon will have the cold hard numbers that show what percentage of people
borrow a book from the library then buy it from Amazon. They might even know if you borrowed
an ebook then bought a print copy. This is so important as we (and Amazon) move forward in
negotiating our place in the ebook world.
• Amazon is going to have access to a LOT of stats about library user habits, both borrowing and
buying. These are just two examples. This is very valuable information as we advance with the
development of ebooks, and the role libraries play. This is information libraries need and should
have. While I am thrilled personally that I’ll be able to use library ebooks on my Kindle, and
professionally that I’ll no longer have to tell Kindle owners that they can’t borrow ebooks from the
library because Amazon doesn’t allow it, I can’t help be concerned that in the end we have made
a very uneven trade
57. • Here are a few points I want to highlight
• Is Amazon collecting download information?
• Is Amazon saving library download info permanently?
• If not, how long will they keep it? Is there a retention policy?
• Can you provide any info about privacy as it relates to OverDrive/Amazon?
• Will the library books you borrow be used by Amazon to provide recommendations of
books for you to purchase?
• Is there a link to scrub all of your personal “library” data from Amazon.com’s servers
with a single click?
• Do OverDrive and Amazon.com have any suggestions about how to make the entire
process clearer to users?
• How would they respond to the issue that, since the service is being marketed by
libraries, users might incorrectly think library privacy policies may still apply?
58. e B o o k s , P r iv a c y, a n d t h e L ib r a r y
Q uIse s t i o n s download information?
• Amazon collecting
• Is Amazon saving library download info permanently?
• If not, how long will they keep it? Is there a retention policy?
• Can you provide any info about privacy as it relates to OverDrive/Amazon?
• Will the library books you borrow be used by Amazon to provide
recommendations of books for you to purchase?
• Is there a link to scrub all of your personal “library” data from Amazon.com’s
servers with a single click?
• Do OverDrive and Amazon.com have any suggestions about how to make
the entire process clearer to users?
• How would they respond to the issue that, since the service is
being marketed by libraries, users might incorrectly think library privacy
policies may still apply?
P osted on September 27, 2011 by Gary D . P rice
59. • If there is one thing all libraries and librarians are proud of — and with very good reason — it’s a
strong commitment to user privacy. Users appreciate this.
• Once a user takes advantage of this new Kindle/Overdrive service, his or her library card number
and eBook checkout history (if they’re using a Kindle) becomes part of Amazon’s database.
Whether this is a good thing or something to be concerned about is up to the library and the
individual user.
• My main concern here is that we need to make all of this clear to our users. They browse for
books from their libraries’ websites, but do they understand that in using the service they are
sharing what they download with Amazon.com, whose privacy policy might not be to their liking?
• Although users are downloading the actual eBook from Amazon.com, they’re searching for
titles via their library’s website, not Amazon’s, and libraries are promoting the service. We
need to make sure users are aware of what is or is not going on rather than instructing the
user to contact Amazon.com with questions and concerns, as one library did to me the other
day. WE should be doing the explaining.
• My point is not whether this particular service is good or bad, but rather that we need to be
providing clear and accessible disclosure and transparency with users for the service (and all other
services) where an individual’s data leaves the library’s control. I think we’ve all seen what happens
when a privacy issue suddenly comes to light, generating all manner of negative publicity. We
share books, serials, audio, video, and other information. And we must be sharing as clearly as
possible what happens to a user’s data — and let our users know when any service may
compromise the level of privacy they’ve come to expect and appreciate from their library.
60. • Amazon.com does not require a user to enter a library card number at any time.
• If you have access to OverDrive from more than one library, how do you enter another card number? Do you need
to create a new Amazon account?
• The Public Library Books for Kindle web page on the Amazon.com has no info about privacy as it relates to
downloads of library materials sent via OverDrive.
• You can only discover and add items to your cart from your library’s OverDrive page. This makes sense but at the
same time some library promo might be helpful.
• Example: If you’re browsing Amazon’s Kindle store, there is no information about a specific book possibly being
available for loan to you via your local library/OverDrive, — even if your library has the title and it’s available to
download at that moment.
• 7. To return a book (if you want to return it early), you have to do it from the Amazon.com “Manage Your Kindle”
page.
• 8. If you want to download the same book again at a different time, you can’t do it from the Amazon.com Kindle
Management page. You are provided with a link to purchase.
• 9. If a library user decides to purchase after borrowing from a library, does the library get an affiliates commission?
• 10. After you return a book, it appears that it remains listed in your Amazon library unless you click again and
delete it from your library. Remember, if you make notes in the eBook, Amazon.com automatically retains this
information, so they do need to know (and store) what you borrowed in the past.