1. 26 Smirks The Impact and Opportunities of the eReading Revolution on Libraries A talk given by Tom Peters on March 9, 2011
2. Feb. 24, 2011 HarperCollins announces, through OverDrive, that beginning on March 7, 2011, all HarperCollins ebooks sold to libraries will disappear after 26 circulations. http://librarianbyday.net/2011/02/25/publishing-industry-forces-overdrive-and-other-library-ebook-vendors-to-take-a-giant-step-back/ Twitter hastag: #hcod
3. What to do? Boycott HarperCollins Blame OverDrive Rant and Rave Shake Head and Wring Hands Blog, Tweet, etc. Continue to kowtow to the Big 6 Publishers Reinvent Libraries for the eReading Era
6. Background to Action TECH TRAITS: What general traits are observable about how people react to tech revolutions? READING: What is reading, anyway? PORTABLE eREADING: What is the current situation of the portable eReading revolution in the U.S.? TAKE ACTION: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” Henry David Thoreau
8. Revolutionary Fits and Starts Seventies: Paperless Office Late Nineties: Failed eBook Coup 2001: Segway
9. Amazing Revolutions Underway Global mobile phone revolution. 5.3 billion mobile cellular subscriptions in 2010. 76.2 subscriptions for every 100 pe0ple worldwide. Source: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/at_glance/KeyTelecom.html Portable eReading revolution.
10. When We Name a New Technology, We Project the Past into the Future Horse Iron Horse Carriage Horseless Carriage Phone Smart Phone Book eBook (Wordprocessing may be the exception that proves the rule. Why didn’t we call it eWriting?) These naming propensities help us in the short term, but hurt us in the long term.
11. A Matter of Focus eBooks (content, file formats, DRM, etc.) eReaders (devices, screen tech, batteries, etc.) eDistribution (3G, 4G, wi-fi, bluetooth, etc.) eReaders (humans) eReading (a process; a human activity)
18. U.S. Portable eReading Devices: U.S. represents approx. 75% of world market. Q3 2010: 2.7 million units shipped worldwide Worldwide in 2010: sales $1.9 billion (11 million units). Sources: http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/02/yankee_group_e-.html and http://www.digitalhome.ca/2011/01/media-tablet-and-ereader-sales-continue-to-grow-at-a-torrid-pace/ Software: Gobsof apps for netbooks, tablets, smartphones, gaming devices, desktops, etc. Content: U.S. trade wholesale ebook sales in Q3 2010 were almost $120 million. Source: http://www.idpf.org/doc_library/industrystats.htm
19. What Does This Portend for Libraries? New user expectations. New sources of content. New genres and formats. New services for individual readers & groups. New “competition” from non-library sectors. New skill sets for staff members.
20. Portable eReadingin the U.S.: Now a 4-Horse Race? Amazon Kindle Apple iPad Barnes & Noble Nook Color Google eBooks (cloud reading)
21. Mike Shatzkin’s New Big Six of North American eBook Distribution Amazon Apple Google Kobo Ingram Overdrive “Contendas”: Barnes & Noble, Copia, Blio http://www.idealog.com/blog/ (Feb. 19)
35. Who and What is at Risk? If portable eReadingbecomes an unbundled, commercial enterprise serving individual readers, the at-risk groups include: Bookstores Libraries Have Nots Students, Scholars, and Researchers Voracious Readers
44. Librarians Move Boldly into the eReading Era How to overcome our fears and anxieties concerning the future of public libraries in the mobile eReading era?
45. Understand the Stakeholders Authors Agents, Rights Holders, and other Inscrutables Publishers Booksellers Librarians Library vendors IT companies Readers
46. Action is Needed, but What Type is Not Self-Evident Painting, mowing, and shoveling snow produce immediate, discernible results. Libraries need to undertake “murky work” for continued success in the eReading era.
47. Action Plan: General Strategy Gain experiential knowledge of the various portable eReading experiences. Imagine how existing library services and new ones could enhance these experiences. Beef up the collection of eBooks. Streamline the process for the user. Pay attention to all stakeholders, but focus on readers and authors.
48. What You Can Do Later Today Get Thee to a Tech Petting Zoo: Pick up these devices and play with them. Download some free eReading software and content to your PP ICE of choice. Begin at least one complete portable eReading experience. Read and talk about this portable eReading revolution with friends, family, colleagues.
49. Library Call to Action Individually, Libraries must: Become actively engaged in market developments Work on building up our eBook collections Sweat the details: eReading is a complete thing Collectively, Libraries must: eReader Bill of Rights Develop a library-friendly PP ICE? Federal legislation to protect and promote the library lending model for digital content? Community Publishing Platform
50. eReader Bill of Rights: Just One Plank… The reader controls how a book is experienced as a sensory experience. Not authors Not rights holders Not publishers Exhibit A: The tussle over the text-to-speech function on the Kindle. http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html
51. What Are Library Orgs Doing? COSLA Study (first half of 2010) http://www.cosla.org/documents/COSLA2270_Report_Final1.pdf ALA Office of Info Technology Policy eBook TF (first half of 2011)
52. COSLA Report on Portable eReading and Public Libraries Consolidate/leverage Pub Lib purchasing power Consolidated access point for Pub Lib content Develop a device certification process Document how Public Library use contributes to a culture of reading (and book buying) Help local authors. Support self-publishing More leadership about reading’s future Public Libraries as labs for new reading experiences
54. Thank You for Your Time and Attention Tom Peters Founder and CEO TAP Information Services tpeters@tapinformation.com 816.616.6746 www.tapinformation.com Twitter: TAPintoIT FB: Thomas A. Peters Blog: http://tapintoit.wordpress.com/
