The Brief Wondrous Life of the Syracuse Kindle

Academic Librarians Conference 2010

Melinda Dermody

Suzanne Preate

Nancy Turner

Scott Warren

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Pilot Charge

New technology Patron reactions Curricular Resource Support Kindle “back-end” Data/Statistics  Inform changes

Pilot Overview: Initial Timeline

Mid-July 2009: Pilot Team assembled; Charge developed September 2009: Implementation Develop Project Plan December 2009: Pilot ends; Review findings

Collaboration

 Administration — Heads of LIT — Copyright and Information Policy Adviser — Organizational Services: Supplies  Acquisitions and Cataloging — Acquisitions Supervisor — Electronic Resources Librarian   Research Collections and Scholarly Communication — Bibliographer for the Sciences and Technology — Subject Specialist Librarian, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science  Digital Programs and Systems/ Library Information Technology — Head of LITS — Digital Initiatives Librarian — Scanning Technician — Data Systems Administrator  Program Management Center — Senior Program Officer for Research and Analysis  Access Services staff — Head of Access Services — Access Services Librarian — Access Services staff Communications and External Relations — Director — Intern

Projected Costs and Staffing

 Kindle DX (2): $1,000  Accessories (e.g., bags, skins, screen protectors, chargers): $100  E-books: $500 - $1000  Staffing: Collaboration $$ priceless 6

The Parallel Work Universe 7

Planning : Devil is in the Details

 Square Peg/Round Hole  Finding solutions to several unique & interconnected problems — International students — ILL & expensive textbooks  Forcing a possible new technology solution into a structure that exists but doesn’t necessarily support the new answer

Book Selection – Engineering Textbooks

 Curricula looked at: CIS, CPS, CSE, ECS (all EECS)       Doctoral to undergrad  Course numbers from 101 to 675 30 texts total in 22 courses 5 available on Kindle!

 One turned out to be a prior edition 1 was a reserve title (a 2 nd was on perm. reserve) Kindle cost = $134 Bookstore cost = $230 9

Book Selection - ILL

 Top 50 titles checked  11 on Kindle  8 in similar subject areas (mostly EECS)  1 also used for a current course  So 7 ILL titles possible for Kindle 10

Book Selection Results

Textbooks

Programming in C Computer Architecture Elements of Style Inviting Disaster

ILL

Comprehensive functional verification the complete industry cycle Essentials of electronic testing for digital, memory, and mixed-signal VLSI circuits Advanced strength and applied elasticity Pro C# 2005 and the .NET 2.0 platform Algorithms in C++ Essentials of electronic testing for digital, memory, and mixed-signal VLSI circuits The C++ standard library : a tutorial and handbook The design and implementation of the FreeBSD operating system 11

Implementation: Devil is in More Details

 Acquisitions  Cataloging  ILS  Access  Policy (external)  Procedural (internal) 12

Project is Live!

 Publicizing and marketing  Went live on Sept 23  First Kindle checked out on Sept 24  Usage monitored through circulation stats  Everything went smoothly – planning paid off 13

But wait… there’s more!

The

Brief

Wondrous Life of the Syracuse Kindle

 The Beginning of the End The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) — Internationally renowned “organization to advance civic, economic, and social participation of persons with disabilities.”  As the project began, we learned of identified problems with Kindle’s accessibility to those with disabilities — Has text-to-speech capability, but only if enabled — Amazon selectively disabled text-to-speech capability — Menus have no audio option  Other lawsuits and national efforts occurring at the time: — National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) filed suit against Arizona State University — The NFB and ACB also filed complaints against five other universities

Opportunity is not a Lengthy Visitor

 Library works with BBI to take a leadership role on this issue  Library makes decision to reject the Kindle and other inaccessible technologies  Releases joint AP press release with the University of Wisconsin and the NFB to reject Kindle

Post-Implementation Timeline

September 23, 2009: SUL circulates Kindles November 11, 2009: SUL joins AP press release rejecting Kindle October 11, 2009: Library + BBI + NFB December 2009: SUL stops Kindle circulation

Making a Big Impact…Serendipitously

 We made a positive difference in trying to keep up    December 7, 2009 Amazon announces: • …will develop audible menus, which would let the Kindle speak menu options out loud. It's also working on an extra-large font for people with impaired vision.

Affecting newly forming and evolving technology Using purchasing power Collaborating to create change 19

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Original Assessment Plans

Original focus areas: — Title selection and availability — Price, including cost savings vs. print — Functionality — User experience — Standards development for eBook file formats and reader platforms — Kindle account and “back-end” functionality, statistics gathering, ordering, content and personal information protection

Data Gathered: The Reality

 Circulation — Statistics: checked out 37 times  Feedback — 10 user feedback registrations — 5 completed comment cards — 2 online survey responses

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User Comment

 “I found the Kindle to be surprisingly hard to use. I had trouble accessing and using the menu, and it took me a ridiculously long amount of time to get it to turn off. And Elements of Style was formatted poorly…making it very hard to read.”  “Better than reading a book on the Library website!” 24

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Assessment: Those Original Questions?

Original assessment areas: — Title selection and availability — Price, including cost savings vs. print — Functionality — Standards development for eBook file formats and reader platforms — Kindle account and “back-end” functionality, statistics gathering, ordering, content and personal information protection — User experience

So What Did We Learn?

 Plan for assessment activities at beginning of project  Match assessment questions to design of project  Articulate how tool will provide solution to perceived user needs  Expectations for e-book lending program may be higher than Library can meet

Great expectations….deferred!

 Unrealized phase 2 plans: Incorporate different/additional: — Tools / devices — Discipline(s) / broader content — Service offerings — Feedback mechanisms and policies — Promotion and communication methods

Questions & Answers

THANK YOU!

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