Ebooks and Public Libraries: It’s a Wild and Wooly World Out There
An Infopeople Online Learning Course
Dates: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 – Monday, July 2, 2012
Fee: $75 for those in the California library community and Infopeople Partners, $150 for all others (about payment)
Instructor: Sandy Bolek
Note: Due to the popularity of this course we have scheduled a second session.
A long time ago in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, ebooks were a technological curiosity occupying a tiny corner of the publishing world that many of us could easily ignore. No longer. In the past couple of years interest in ebooks has exploded to become one of the most exciting developments to come along in decades for libraries, and also the most challenging.
- Are you confused by the variety of ebook formats and readers available to your patrons?
- Does your library want to improve support to patrons who are clamoring to download ebooks to their phones, e-readers and tablets?
- Are you finding it difficult to keep up with the many “game changing” developments in the ebook publishing world?
- Do your collection development and circulation policies need to be fine tuned to accomodate the addition of ebooks to your collection?
- Does your library have a plan in place to promote your ebook collections and teach staff the skills needed to support ebooks?
This course is designed to help librarians in the beginning stages of supporting ebooks in their collections to navigate their way through the complexities of this emergent, exciting and increasingly important new library service. The rapid pace of change in this area shows no signs of abating, so now is the time to dive into the wild and wooly world of ebooks!
Course Description: This four-week online course will provide learners with a basic understanding of how to support ebooks in a public library setting. Through assignments and discussions you will learn about common ebook terminology, selection considerations, and will develop some best practices for promotion of your ebooks collection. In addition you will develop a training outline that can be used to teach staff the skills needed to better support ebooks in your library. The instructor will provide resources, best practices, and useful tips and techniques that can be applied immediately. Please note: The emphasis of this course will be on issues related to ebooks in public library collections.
Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:
- Week 1: Introduction to Ebooks and Selection Considerations
- Terminology and definitions related to ebooks
- Formats
- Digital rights management
- Buying and lending models
- Ebook review resources
- Week 2: Collection Development and Ebooks
- Circulation and collection development policy implications
- Selecting content
- Budget
- Customer feedback and usage reports and statistics
- Publishing trends
- Week 3: Web Access and Marketing
- The website as a library public relations tool
- Web delivery options for digital material
- Integrating digital material into library OPACS
- Vendor supplied MARC records
- Promotional efforts to market ebook collections
- Week 4: Staff Training and Education
- Role of frontline staff in supporting ebooks
- Technology competencies needed to support ebooks
- Using training programs to improve staff expertise
- Building ownership through staff education
Time Required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend two½ hours per week, for a total of ten course hours. Each week's module contains readings and various options for assignments, discussions, interviews, and online meetings. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.
Who Should Take This Course: Public library staff, managers, or administrators who are directly involved in working with and/or supporting ebooks.
Online Learning Details and System Requirements may be found at: infopeople.org/training/online_learning_details.
Payment: Your invoice will be emailed to the email address of the person who completed the registration. If that is not the person paying the invoice please forward invoice to the appropriate person. Payment is due within 30 days. If you have any questions about your invoice or payment please contact Gini Ambrosino at assist@infopeople.org.
Course Start: This online learning course starts on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to complete the course.
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