American Libraries Live—2019 Trends in Digital Content: Evolving Patron Expectations and the Demand for Unlimited Access Content (Sept. 2019)

1. 2019 Trends in Digital Content
Evolving Patron Expectations &
The Demand for Unlimited Access Content

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Thanks for Attending
► If you stay for the entire presentation, your name
will be entered in a drawing for a free tablet
► If you would like to speak with a Recorded Books
team member about anything you have heard
today, simply type “Meeting Requested” in the
Chat box
- A team member will be in touch with you within the next
few days

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Today’s Presenters
John Shea, Chief Product & Marketing Officer,
Recorded Books
Brad Gray, Senior Solutions Engineer, Recorded Books

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• Library Market Feedback
• Changing Patron Needs
• Giving Patrons What They Want
• Affordable Unlimited Content
• Giving ALL Patrons Access
• Q&A
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Today’s Discussion

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• 5,000+ library customers—ranging from large to small…and everything in between
• Ongoing conversations with EVERY ONE about their needs
• Continuously conduct extensive market surveys and other forms of research with
libraries and patrons
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Library Market Feedback
The following is what we’re hearing about the challenges libraries are
facing and the solutions their patrons want now

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Patron Behavior Has Changed
►What they want: Strong demand for a
wide array of digital services…
audiobooks, magazines, newspapers,
educational courses, health & wellness,
video on demand
►Where they want it: All in one place and
easy to discover, access, and consume—at
home, in the car, via mobile devices
►How they want it: Unlimited models are
new normal—consumers expect to binge
►When they want it: Today’s consumers
want instant gratification—no holds, no
waits, no caps, no friction

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Importance of No Holds or Caps
2019 industry survey
(201 librarian respondents with decision-making role)
Ability to binge watch video
Interest in accessing a wide range
of digital content
Avoiding holds and caps on digital
content
8 9 10 - Extremely important
48.3%
53.2%
63.2%
Q. Please rate the importance of the following items to your patrons with regard to
digital content.

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It’s Tougher Than Ever to Keep Up
Libraries and patrons are struggling
• To avoid blowing your budget, you
have to impose holds and caps—or
limit content offerings
• Juggling numerous library apps just
isn’t working:
- Libraries spend too much time
supporting multiple apps
- Patrons only use a handful of
apps…why frustrate them with
multiple library apps?
Most vendors can’t deliver library platform solutions that meet both library and
patron demands
• Different content types require multiple library apps
• Pay-per-transaction pricing doesn’t scale
• “Unlimited” offerings aren’t really unlimited
Mobile users spend
85%of their
time
using just 5 apps
—comScore

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You Can Give Patrons What They Want
All-in-one app
►So they have every type of content at their
fingertips
Unlimited digital content
►So they can binge to their hearts’ content
Access to premium titles
►So they can dive into something that they love
Without breaking the budget
►So you can increase circulation without
escalating costs

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Library Demand for Unlimited Content
2019 industry survey
(201 librarian respondents with decision-making role)
Magazines that cover a wide range
of patron interests
Entertainment and educational
video services
A large collection of quality
audiobooks serving a broad range
of patrons
8 9 10 - Extremely valuable
47.3%
67.2%
84.6%
Q. How valuable would it be if your library could offer the following services in an
unlimited format (e.g., no holds for audiobooks) and within your current budget?

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RBdigital: Affordable Unlimited + All-in-One App
• Affordable Unlimited RBdigital—the
more checkouts, the better value
• 15+ content services—all-in-one app
- Unlimited Audiobooks
- Unlimited Magazines
- Unlimited Newspapers
- Unlimited Comics
- Unlimited Video
- Unlimited Education
• The unique power of a content publisher
(RBmedia) + an integrated library
platform (RBdigital)
The ONLY way to get very low cost-per-circ without holds or waits

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RBdigital Unlimited Audiobooks
• No holds needed: Immediate, unlimited access to over 32,000+ multi-access titles;
thousands of new audiobooks added annually—at no additional cost
• Exclusive content: Industry’s only mega-collection of unlimited audiobooks and many
titles are exclusive
• Fixed costs: No matter how many patrons check out your audiobooks, your budget
never goes up…the more checkouts, the better the value!
The largest collection of unlimited-access titles
available in the library industry

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RBdigital Unlimited Magazines
• Always available: Never any holds, with unlimited access to 3,500+ magazines—the
industry’s largest collection of popular, must-have magazines
• Automatic checkout: Patrons can opt in to get every new issue of favorite
magazines
• New and back issues: Full-color, digital editions for instant desktop reading, mobile
streaming, and mobile app download

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RBdigital Unlimited Newspapers
• Unlimited access: All newspaper content from 2,500+ newspapers—including 90
days of back issues; delivered in partnership with PressReader
• Diverse collection: Local, national, and global content from 100+ countries,
spanning 60 languages
• Feature rich: Page view, article zoom, search, conversion to 16 languages

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RBdigital Unlimited Comics
• Unlimited access: More than 1,500 of the best comic and graphic novels from
major brands, curated into one collection for patrons of all ages
• 30-day checkout: Exclusive 30-day model eliminates single-day checkouts
• Patron flexibility: Read an entire volume or checkout one issue at a time; search by
comic title and series
Hundreds of top comics and graphic novels from major brands
like Disney Comics, Marvel, IDW, and DarkHorse

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RBdigital Unlimited Video
• Unlimited usage: Seven-day unlimited access model allows patrons to binge-watch
their favorite TV shows, films, concerts, educational videos, and more
• Exclusive content: All content is exclusive, all with public performance rights
• Significant savings: Libraries can save up to 75% compared to other vendors
Unique seven-day license access model is a first of its kind
in the library market—with exclusive video content

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RBdigital Unlimited Education
• Unlimited access: Open a world of knowledge for your patrons, with thousands of
courses from the world’s most engaging teachers
• Vast array of subjects: Continuous education, language learning, test preparation,
music and art instruction, software and technical training, and more
• Multi-faceted learning styles: Audio and video, assignments, quizzes, tests, and
opportunities for interaction with other learners
New courses added regularly—with no additional cost
to your library. The more checkouts the better!

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Lowest Average Cost-Per-Circ in the Business
• Nobody can beat the cost-per-circ of
unlimited models
• You can achieve the lowest cost-per-circ by:
- Adopting unlimited models
- Offering multiple content services in a
single app
- Driving your patrons to RBdigital
first…don’t pay twice!
Stretch your budget and increase circulation…with affordable unlimited!COSTS
CIRCULATION

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Giving ALL Patrons Access to Unlimited Content
• It is critical to support Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) – for example:
- Using screen readers/text to speech
- Selecting contrast and color
- Keyboard vs. Mouse Use
• We engaged a leading accessibility company to provide technology, a managed
service, assessments, and WCAG certification
• RBdigital supports third-party accessibility software/readers for mobile and
desktop access
- Including VoiceOver, TalkBack, JAWS, NVDA
• RBdigital also includes a unique toolbar with a full range of accessibility features

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Key Items in RBdigital Accessibility Toolbar

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How It Works: Toolbar

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Time for Questions
Thank you for joining us today. If you stayed for the entire
presentation, your name will be entered in a drawing for a
free tablet.
If you would like to speak with a Recorded Books team
member about anything you have heard today, simply type
“Meeting Requested” in the Chat box.
More info available
at www.recordedbooks.com.