As the OverDrive Bookmobile criss-crosses the country, it’s often interesting to read the reaction it gets from both ibrarians and users. Yesterday and today the Digital Bookmobile visited the Volusia County Library System in Florida.

Here are some quotes from an article in the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Make sure to read some of the comments reader’s have submitted.

“This is the library keeping up with technology,” said Suzan Howes, librarian at the Deltona Regional Library.

Akpabio Akpabio took time off during his lunch hour as a county system-support analyst to inspect the computer-filled tractor-trailer parked outside the new library complex.

“I haven’t used the system yet,” he said. “So I took my lunch to get a tour.”

Akpabio said he loves e-books and their audio counterparts not only for their convenience, but when part of a system likeOverDrive’s, they are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“I don’t see a downside of this technology,” he said

Children’s librarian Cindy Carson believes the service will be a “boon” to her department.

“I am in favor of anything that stimulates thinking,” she said.

When asked if such downloads would be the final chapter for the printed word, Howes said if a reader had made that query when she started her career a quarter century ago, she likely would have said yes. But now she looks at such advancements as good for libraries.

Howes said the most frequent users of the OverDrives digital download system, which costs the county $1,650 a month, are middle-aged women and the most popular type of book checked out are romance novels.

Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal

This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 and is filed under E-books, Information Industry, Libraries and Librarianship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.