Libraries are increasingly offering digital downloads of ebooks and audiobooks through services like Overdrive. To support patrons, libraries provide: 1) One-on-one help to walk patrons through the downloading process, answer questions, and demonstrate steps. 2) Classes to teach multiple patrons how to download from the digital catalog at once while answering questions. 3) Customized handouts with basic downloading steps tailored for specific devices to help patrons learn independently. 4) Staff training through hands-on experience with devices, checking out digital books, and getting familiar with the downloading process to better help patrons.

1. Serving Up
Downloads
Best practices in ereading customer service
Katy Dillman, James Blackstone Memorial Library
Photo: Flickr user sucelloleiloes

2. Why support digital downloads?
Libraries have a huge opportunity to attract new patrons to this and other services and
show how we continue to add value to their lives. We provide computer help, and we view
e-readers/tablets as an extension of that help.
— Judy Sparzo, Reference Associate , Fairfield Public Library, Fairfield
• Pew Research Center report on libraries and ebook
lending findings:
• Ebooks reading on the rise – 16% in 2011 to 23% in 2012
• 40% of Americans have tablet/ereader; 50% have smartphones
• Public libraries offering ebook lending: from 38% to 76% in last 5
years
• Growing awareness of ebook lending, but most people/patrons
still don’t know about it
 Of those who have borrowed ebooks, 46% likely borrow ereader
with books on it; 32% likely take downloading class

3. Why support digital downloads?
• Potential frustrations:
• Limited ebook offerings
• Device/format compatibility issues
• Book wanted is not available/waiting list for ebook
• Navigating steps to checkout/download can be tricky
• Expectations can be managed — talk to patrons
• eBook lending is still new and improving all the time
• Libraries and groups working with publishers to increase access

4. Why support digital downloads?
• eBooks new medium for accessing knowledge
• Libraries have responsibility/opportunity to provide access
 Includes helping patrons navigate process
• Patrons have different levels of tech knowledge:
still need librarians!
• Advocacy and access
• Navigating downloads
• Hands-on experience with new technology
On ebook downloading help:
• I view it as an extension of reference service.
• It’s an opportunity to bridge an information gap in the community.
• People LOVE it. It’s one of the most appreciated, referred, and in-demand services we offer.
• It shows that the library is current, relevant, and responsive to changing technology.
• It helps e-book circulation.
Ultimately I think it is our responsibility to be aware of and respond to the information needs of our
communities as a whole. We provide e-reader training because it’s information that our
community needs right now.
—Rebecca Harlow, Head of Reference and Adult Services, Case Memorial Library, Orange

5. Whatever you do…

6. Digital Books @ Blackstone
• Offer Digital Downloads
• Access to Overdrive Digital Media for audiobook/ebook lending
• OneClickDigital for additional audiobooks through iconn.org
• Support patrons with:
• Customized handouts
• One-on-one help
• Offer classes on downloading from digital catalog
• Devices for staff training/use

7. Digital Books @ Blackstone
• Handouts
• Two-sided half-sheets
• Basic steps for downloading
• Includes our website, email, & phone number
• Made for Nook, Kindle ereaders & tablets, iPads/iphones

8. Digital Books @ Blackstone
• One-On-One Help
• Try to answer questions as asked
• Can be time-consuming, but still part of Reference services
• Walk person through steps, check book out to our Reference
card while they watch, answer questions as they come up
 Put monitor on lazy susan stand so patrons can see screen
• Can’t always answer a question
 Device issue
 User/home computer error
 Patron responsible for learning device;
Library staff responsible for learning
check-out/downloading process

9. Digital Books @ Blackstone
• Downloading Classes
• Classes for Kindle check-out/downloading
 Contracted with technology instructor to offer Kindle class
• Classes for app-based devices (iPad, Kindle Fire, smartphones)
 Held by on-staff librarian, gave out more detailed help sheet
 Lasted 90 minutes, much time spent retrieving/resetting passwords
• Pros: able to take multiple people through
checkout process in one shot; answer Q’s they
didn’t know they had
• Cons: people move at different paces, levels of
help needed vary, difficult to quickly look up
answer in front of group

10. Digital Books @ Blackstone
• Circulating eReaders
• Started with 6 Nooks with adult titles, 6 Nooks with kid’s titles
• Kept 2 Nooks for adults, rest to Children’s (summer reading)
• Added 2 Kindle Touch, 2 Nook Touch
 5 new, fiction/nonfiction books on each
• Circ for week
 usually give more time
• With power cord
 Don’t worry about always recharging
• Check-out/return devices at Ref
• Looking to circ tablets at some point?
 Issues with user data/resetting info

11. Digital Books @ Blackstone
• Staff Training is key
• Must be comfortable/familiar with check-out/download process
• Get staff hands-on with devices, encourage use
(checkout/download)
• Kept in our Reference office:
 iPad (1st gen)
 Kindle Fire & Touch
 Nook Color & Touch
• Staff (Ref especially) encouraged to borrow/handle devices,
check-out books, get familiar with devices/processes

12. Digital Books @ Blackstone
• Need to own newer/latest devices?
• Ebook formats: Kindle & EPUB are main, also in PDF, browser
• Three ways to download ebooks:
 Kindle way (Kindle books and PDF; wireless and USB transfer)
 Digital Editions way (EPUB and PDF, USB transfer)
 App way (EPUB books; wireless transfer)
• iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, smartphones
• If familiar with these downloading
processes, do not necessarily need latest
devices
• Will depend on how knowledgeable/in-depth
you want to be about specific device

13. Other Considerations
• Frustrations with digital book availability/process
• Some books USB-transfer only or not available at all
• OK to share that we’re in struggle with publishers
 License restrictions and/or cost-prohibitive prices
 Make patrons your ally
 Stay generally aware of news/trends, read ebook articles
 Attend meetings re: digital media – fight for your patrons!
Image from The Passive Voice blog: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/03/2012/penguin-annoys-library-readers-with-usb-only-ebooks/

14. Other Considerations
• Promoting service/downloads
• Most people don’t know libraries lend digital books
• Promote on:
 Links & pictures on website, Facebook, Twitter
 Write-up in blog, local papers, email newsletter
 Flyers & signs – in library or local businesses
 In-catalog & in-person
Arapahoe Library District (CO) Facebook Post

15. Other Considerations
How about TV?
Blog about ad: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/the-first-ebook-
television-commercial-increases-circulation-for-one-library/
TV Ad link: http://vimeo.com/55612963

16. Digital Books in Connecticut
Henry Carter Hull Library, Clinton
Library Website

17. Digital Books in Connecticut
Guilford Free Library
Library Email Newsletter

18. Digital Books in Connecticut
EC Scranton Library, Madison
Library Email Newsletter
Senior Center Newsletter

19. Digital Books in Connecticut
Darien Library
Library Website

20. Service around Connecticut
Francie Berger, Reference Librarian, Hall Memorial Library, Ellington CT
Since Kindle and Nook are most common, we've developed handouts on basic
operations as well as ebook downloads from Overdrive. When patrons come
in we give them the appropriate handouts and then do a quick demo on
Overdrive. As for other devices, I try to find youtube videos that they can watch
on their own.
Louise LeClaire, Tech Svcs, Cheshire Public Library, Cheshire
We provide "cheat sheets" …as hard copies in the library and also online
through our website. These are the first things we give people when they have e-
reader questions, and is often all the help they need.
If more extensive help is needed, we offer e-Reader Help Desk sessions a
couple of times a month where patrons can sign up for an hour of 1-on-1 help
with a staff member. We try to keep the focus on how to use the device
to download library books, but there are always general questions about the
devices themselves.
Rebecca Harlow, Head of Reference and Adult Services, Case Memorial Library,
Orange
Offers ereader/Overdrive training by appointment, as well as custom handouts
covering downloading/holds/returns.
―I think no matter what type of help you offer it’s important to establish limits on
what you will provide and reevaluate your services periodically.‖
Handouts
(in person,
online)
Demos
(on screen,
videos)
One-on-one
(drop-in,
appointment-
based)

21. Service Around the Nation
Main Concerns:
• Teaching patrons
 US libraries offering similar services to CT
• Staff training
 Libraries have highlighted 2 key points for staff:
• Know what you need to know
• Get hands-on with devices

22. Staff: Know What You Need to Know
Twinsburg Public Library (TPL), Ohio, created a Core
Competencies list.
• Two levels of competencies, including device-
specific troubleshooting
• List will vary depending on library size/staff &
patron needs
• Created suggested Core Compentencies list
based on TPL list - Use these as a guide to
―know what you need to know.‖
http://libraryrenewal.org/2011/11/08/helping-staff-help-themselves-ereaders-and-training/

23. Staff: Know What You Need to Know
Suggested Core Competencies – Should Know:
• Know main devices available & compatible with digital books.
• Know the difference between tablets & e-readers.
• Know the difference between Wi-Fi and 3G.
• Know what an ―app‖ is and how to download one on the tablet
vs. the computer.
• Know basic FAQs: why there are waiting lists, how to explain
publisher licensing.
• Know how to check out an item, return an item early, download
software associated with digital books, and how to transfer a file.
• Know the basic difference between file types.

24. Staff: Know What You Need to Know
Suggested Core Competencies – Helpful-but-not-
necessary-to-know
• Know how to uninstall software and reset devices.
• Know how to purchase books online on each device and how the
process compares to the checkout process for OverDrive.

25. Hands-On Experience for Staff
Douglas County Libraries (DCL) in Colorado and La Crosse Public Library
in Wisconsin developed programs to get their staffers hands-on
experience with ereaders/tablets. They feel the best way to train staff is
with hands-on experience.
• DCL’s Foundation provided staff members with $50 toward the purchase of
one of six preselected ereaders or tablets. Rebate counted as
compensation, employees received the full amount after taxes.
• 104 employees took part.
• Director Jamie LaRue wrote, ―It was cheap, effective, and quick. It moved
the whole staff rapidly forward in tech savvy.‖
http://libraryrenewal.org/2011/11/08/helping-staff-help-themselves-ereaders-and-training/

26. Hands-On Experience for Staff
La Crosse Public Library provides ereaders (Nooks or Kindles) to staff
on an extended loan.
• The devices remain the property of the library – for duration of
employment, staff members can take device home for personal use
(with the expectation that they will use Overdrive).
• Expected to share the skills that they have gained by using device in
some capacity with the library.
• Along with the loan of the device, they get an annual stipend of $50 to
spend on ebooks.
…ebook/ereader training [for staff] ―tends to be expensive and slippery.
It costs a lot – in equipment, presenter time, or staff time – to give a
solid introduction to all the issues, and unless a staff member USES
that particular device, it all fades away fast.‖
—DCL Director Jamie LaRue
http://libraryrenewal.org/2011/11/08/helping-staff-help-themselves-ereaders-and-training/

27. Things to Do
• Know what you need to know
• Get staffers hands-on with devices
• Purchase some basic devices
• Routinely check out digital books
• Offer training
• Classes: Overdrive App & Dedicated eReader (Digital Editions-based
and/or Kindle-based)
• One-on-one: drop-in or sign-up
• Offer hand-outs
• Personalize with library info
• Specific enough to be helpful, general enough to be relevant
• Available in library, online
• Use web, Facebook, Twitter, blogs to remind people about
digital offerings from library, start conversation about
downloading
• Make it as easy as possible to checkout digital media!

28. Collaborate & Share
http://digitalhelp.weebly.com/
• Created website to share documents, handouts, program ideas, etc.
• Email me to share ideas, files, etc. Let’s build a great support site together!