1. What does E stand
for Anyway?
Navigating the new Electronic
Library World
Sara Figueroa, MLIS
Youth Services Librarian
Indian Valley Public Library
Telford, PA

3. What does E Stand for?
E stands for electronic.
Some "E" things in the library world:
• E-books
• E-readers
• E-devices
• Smart phones
• Tablet Computers

4. What are E-books.
An electronic book (variously, e-book, ebook, digital book) is a
book-length publication in digital form, consisting of
text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and
readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the
equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born
digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an
electronic version of a printed book," but e-books can and do exist
without any printed equivalent.

6. Fast Facts or How does this affect
me?
* "A survey conducted by the Pew
Research Center's Internet &
American Life project-found that the
number of adults who own either a
dedicated e-reader or a tablet doubled
during the 2011 holiday
season...overall 29% of adults own an
e-reader." Charting the Transition
Publishers Weekly 1/30/12

7. Devices
E-books are readable on digital devices including:
• Computers
• Smart Phones (higher end mobile phones with computing
capabilities that go beyond basic telephone calls, often internet
enabled)
• Tablet Computers
• Readers

8. Tablet Computers
A tablet computer, or a tablet, is a mobile computer, larger than a
mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch
screen and primarily operated by touching the screen rather than using
a physical keyboard. It often uses an onscreen virtual keyboard, a
passive stylus pen, or a digital pen.
Some Popular Tablets:
• Apple Ipad
• Samsung Galaxy Note
• Kindle Touch
• Nook Tablet

9. Apple iPad

10. Samsung Galaxy Note

11. Kindle Touch

12. Nook Tablet

13. Readers
E-Readers are devices that store several electronic copies of books.
It's similar to a computer storing files.
How do they work?
Most readers consist of a screen and several buttons.
E-Ink Technology
o Many readers use this technology which incorporates a
monochrome screen with black text on a white background.
o These are not small computer screens, but electronic versions
of paper, so they are not back lit. They require a reading light to
read in the dark, but will also work in direct sunlight.
LCD (liquid crystal display used in computers) or TFT
o Screens used on computers
o Can make use of color

14. Either type of reader present you with one page at a time on the
screen, and when you have read that page, either by means of a
button, or sort of a swiping action you move on to the following page
(if it has a touch screen – which means that you control your ereader
by means of a touch sensitive screen, rather than buttons).

15. Cool Features
• An easy to use Gadget (mostly)
• You can carry around a lot of books in one small, light weight
device
• Text on most E-readers can be adjusted to your preference. Text
can get very large, and very small.
• Some e-readers provide an audio function and can read to you.
• Most readers will remember and store your last page
• You can bookmark pages
• You can add notes to pages, just like a real book
• Some readers have other cool functions including games, internet
access, and more.
• You can check out library books to read with your device.
• Different devices have different size screens
• Some devices use touch screen technology
• Built in dictionary look up features

16. Types of Devices

17. The Nook
NEW! Breakthrough E Ink® display –
25% faster than any other eReader
NEW! Best–Text™, ultra-crisp, reads
just like paper – even in bright sun
NEW! Longest battery life – read for up
to 2 months based on 1 hour of daily
reading1
Over 2.5 million books, get them in
seconds w/ built-in Wi-Fi®
No annoying ads
Always free NOOK support in-store
Borrow books from your public library
Nook color is $199 and uses LCD
screen
Nook Tablet is $249 and is a tablet
computer and reader
Compatible with epub and pdf formats

18. The Kindle
o Range in price from $79-$380.
o wi-fi and 3G compatible
o 6", 7", and 9" displays
o millions of books
o battery life of 8 hours- 3 months
depending on use and device
o uses E-ink
o touch screen and keyboard
available
o can store 1,400- 6,000 books
o Supports kindle format books but
some devices can download aps to
be compatible with other formats

19. Kobo
• Kobo Reader
o $99-$199
o uses e-ink
o wi-fi enabled
o touch screen options
o different color options
o can download applications
to make device compatible
with all formats

20. Sony Reader
• Sony Reader
o Wi-fi but no ads
o uses e-ink
o one month of battery life
o $99-$230
o compatible with e-
pub, pdf, and text formats

21. Some draw backs...
• E-Readers can be expensive. Some are more affordable than
others.
• Not all books are available in digital formats. Some are expensive
to buy and there aren’t billions of books available to borrow from
your library (yet).
• Not really for young children. In my opinion (and I can only base
this on my feeling and experience), the physical picture book
works better with young children.
• Lots of digital rights issues when considering lending in a library
• Libraries can lend e-readers, but they can't easily lend individual
e-books without a lot of complication or money
• Publisher Limitations: some publishers do not allow libraries to
lend, or they have rules about how many copies, or how the book
can be downloaded or shared

22. How can Libraries lend e-books?
• Create your own server to host e-books.
• Use a vendor such as Overdrive, Baker and
Taylor, Netlibrary, Recorded Books One Click Digital, Ingram
Ilibrary, Gale Virtual Reference
• Free sites available like Project Gutenberg and Google Books
which have books in the public domain.

23. How does it work?
• Library website links to Overdrive
• Use your barcode
• search for the book title or format you want
• download book (steps change based on type of device)
• Let's practice!

24. Why should Libraries get involved?
• so you can continue to teach your patrons
• so you can stay relevant
• so you help develop and change the technology
• because it's coming whether you like it or not
• major appeal for senior and teen patrons

25. What do you think?
Comments, questions, etc?
Contact Sara:
email: sfigueroa@ivpl.org
blog:
www.mssaramakingnoise.wordpress.com
twitter: @mssarafig
facebook: Sara Figueroa