Reminder: NYS Construction Grant workshop is on June 8, 2007 in Sidney. Please contact me ASAP if anyone from your library is interested in attending. Refer to the May 4th Bulletin for complete information or contact me at ext.21; email: chendrix@flls.org
Thank you.
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MARISA IACOBUCCI, Adult Services Coordinator
Playaways
Back in April, Annette and I sent out information on Playaways – small media players that contain an audiobook – with a request to see who would be interested in receiving a deposit collection. I have heard from eight of you so far. If you think you’d like to receive a collection, please return your for by Tuesday, May 15th. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Surveys 101: The Why and The How, plus SurveyMonkey!
On Thursday, May 24, 9:30 – 3:30, Finger Lakes Library System will be hosting a workshop on surveys. Participants will learn when you need a survey, how to create them and how to report data received from them, as well as how to use SurveyMonkey – an online survey tool.
If you are interested in attending, please contact me by Friday, May 18th via e-mail: marisa@flls.org, or by phone: 273-4074, ext. 26.
Please note: We will have refreshments in the morning, but there will be an hour lunch break on your own.
9,000 NEW AUDIOBOOKS IN 2006
Bowker today released the first comprehensive statistical portrait of U.S. audiobook publishing, which found that even as spoken word audio becomes increasingly available in 21st century formats like downloadable digital files, publishers and customers alike continue to favor 19th and 20th century guilty pleasures like mystery and detective novels.
According to Bowker, 8,970 new spoken word audio titles were published in 2006, down from the most recent five-year average of 10,900. Since the introduction of the spoken word audio format, a grand total of 202,111 audiobook titles have been released and 40 percent of those titles (79,038) have been published since 2000. There are over 3,000 audiobook publishers in the U.S., with Brilliance, Random House, Blackstone, Recorded Books, BBC America, and Simon and Schuster accounting for most of the new releases.
Adult fiction titles classified as mystery and suspense were the most popular spoken word audio category, with almost five times the number of releases as romances, science-fiction, fantasy and Westerns. Overall, adult fiction was the No. 1 category in spoken word audio, accounting for 53 percent of all classified new releases in 2006.
Juvenile literature, a bellwether category in both print and spoken word audio, was the second most popular category, accounting for 14 percent of new titles. Following juvenile literature was religious and inspirational with 12 percent, and then business and economics, biography, health and fitness, psychology, political science, and new age, all with less than 10 percent.
Based on a review of industry data from 2004-2006, Bowker also reported:
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Downloadable digital audio is the fastest-growing spoken word audio format, but CDs are still king, accounting for 49 percent of all new audio releases. The transition to CDs has come at a price: Compact discs have just 60 percent of the storage capacity of cassettes, with an average running time of only 70 minutes per CD versus almost 100 minutes per cassette tape.
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Almost two-thirds of all audiobooks are released as unabridged editions. The average suggested retail price for unabridged spoken word audio was $41.26. This compares to the average suggested retail price of $27.55 for adult hardcovers reported by Bowker last year.
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Dick Hill was the most prolific reader/narrator over the last three years, and had the added distinction of being the only male in the top five.
"We see the audiobook industry poised for growth in the coming years," said Angela D'Agostino, senior vice president of business development for New Providence, N.J. - based Bowker. "The marriage of downloadable digital audio and handheld devices, like the ubiquitous iPod, finally gives spoken word audio the ideal platform to greatly expand its customer base beyond commuters and vacationers to a younger demographic that eagerly embraces the everyday choice and convenience of portable entertainment. For those scared away by the $40 purchase price of most spoken word audio titles, public libraries offer their patrons circulating pre-loaded listening devices and wireless downloading of both copyrighted and public domain content."
News release, Bowker, March 6, 2007
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JAN AGUIRRE, Specialist & Training Coordinator
Polaris Tip of the Week
When adding an Item Record it is very important to enter in the correct barcode. Polaris does NOT check to see if what you entered is a valid barcode, so be very careful that you enter in the correct barcode. Actually scanning the barcode instead of manually typing it in will reduce the possibility of an input error. Every item MUST have a barcode. We are seeing instances of negative barcodes, barcodes with too many numbers, barcodes with dashes and other characters in them, barcodes with a space in front of them and items without any barcode at all.
To find the item records without barcodes, run the “Item Records Without Barcodes” report. This report MUST be run from the Polaris Shortcut Bar.
From the “Utilities Menu” on the Polaris Shortcut Bar
Select “Reports and Notices”
Double click to open the “Cataloging folder”
Double click to open the “Item folder”
Select the report “Item Records Without Barcodes.”
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Select your library by left clicking on it from the list.
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Left click on the “All” to de-select it.
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Select All collection codes,
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Select All material types
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There is no need to select a creation date.
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Left click on Submit.
The report displays
Print the report by left clicking on the Printer icon.
Select the correct printer.
Remember, these records MUST have barcodes attached to them.
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LINDA BEINS, ILL/Reference Coordinator
RECYCLED BOOK (from TCPL)
Ø Kamien, Roger Music: An Appreciation, ninth edition, McGraw Hill. (Accompanied by 9 cds.)
REFERENCE COLLECTION - Atlas
The 2007 edition of Recommended Reference Books for Small and medium Sized Libraries and Media Centers notes that the Dorling Kindersley World Atlas (2005) at $50 is a “pleasure to read and study” [and] is recommended for public libraries, schools and as part of an academic atlas collection.” Lois Maki, NEW, who currently has the only copy in the FLLS, said “I like the DK Atlas and think it is nicely done. It has sections dealing with each continent, with information on the physical, political, and economic aspects. It then goes into more detailed maps of the individual countries...… I think it would be a good reference for kids.” Recommended Reference Books… Also lists New Concise World Atlas (2006) and Reader’s Digest Illustrated World Atlas (2004) for adult and younger readers and the Facts on File Children’s Atlas (2006) for young children.
Please let me know if you would like to borrow Recommended Reference Books for Small and medium Sized Libraries and Media Centers to help you develop your reference collection. I have editions going back to 2000.
DATABASE – OFFERING
Our ProQuest representative informed me of this special offer:For libraries that currently subscribe to Heritage Quest Online (which all of the Finger Lakes libraries do via the System agreement from 2005), the cost of adding a subscription to Ancestry Library Edition (Ancestry.com) will only be $869. This represents a 50% discount. This offer is only available to libraries 1) serving a population under 50,000 and 2) to NEW orders of ALE. The deadline is JUNE 30, 2007.
Ancestry.com can only be used in the library and can not be accessed remotely. If you need more information about this offer or want to purchase the database, you can contact:
Gary Katz, ProQuest CSA
(800) 521-0600, ext. 4075 (direct dial (734) 997-4075)
(800) 308-1586 (fax)
gary.katz@il.proquest.com
DATABASE TRAINING
Don’t Forget to Register for:
Ways Your Library Can Serve Local Businesses and Job Seekers
June 28 (System Meeting)
9:30-11:30 am (Sign-in and coffee beginning at 9:00)
TCPL Borg Warner Room
RSVP by June 19 (273-4074 or lbeins@flls.org)
Larry Carey, Adult Services Librarian at TCPL, and I will demonstrate how ReferenceUSA, Business and Company Resource Center, and other resources can be used by patrons who are looking for employment or starting a business.
DATABASES – Trial Reminder
We have been given a trial until the end of May 2007 to three databases from ProQuest (the distributor of HeritageQuest):
ProQuest Obituaries
eLibrary
NewspaperDirect PressDisplay
To log in: http://trials.proquest.com/ptc?userid=2262728
Password is flakes3.
Try them and let me know what you think about their usefulness and usability.
LAST WEEK’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK The 100+ passengers who set sail from England in December 1606 were seeking gold, silver, and adventure. They arrived on the Virginia shores on May 14, 1607 and founded the “James Towne” colony. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of this event (along with Queen Elizabeth), try these questions:
1. What year did Jamestown end its reign as Virginia’s capital?
2. What crop finally put the Jamestown colony in the black?
3. Who was the leader of the Native American tribes living in the Jamestown area?
4. What year were the first African Americans brought to the Jamestown colony?
Answers:
1. Jamestown remained the capital of Virginia until its major statehouse burned in 1698. The capital was moved to Williamsburg that year and Jamestown began to slowly disappear above ground.(Grolier Online web link- www.apva.org/history/index.html)
2. Around 1612 a Jamestown settler, John Rolfe, began growing tobacco, a West Indian plant. His experiments were successful. At last the colony had a cash crop that they hoped would begin returning profits to the London Company investors. Tobacco, not gold, became the real wealth of Virginia. He married Pocahontas. (Grolier Online – New Book of Knowledge)
3. Powhattan, father of Pocahontas (Grolier Online – New Book of Knowledge)
4. 32 men and women from north central Angola, purchased in 1619, were the first African-Americans. The early African Americans were treated like indentured servants; they were allowed to marry and could buy their own farms. Jamestown outlawed the freeing of slaves within the colony in 1695 and slavery became completely institutionalized in 1705. (Hashaw, Tim, The first Black Americans, U.S. News & World Report; 1/29/2007. accessed through MasterFILE Premier)
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK
What are the two major threats to the existence of the bald eagle? (Submitted by Julia, TRU)