It should be no surprise that with the popularity of the internet, video games, and social media, readership of books has suffered in the 2000s. In the last few years, electronic books have also gained popularity with the increased production of machinery such as the iPad and the Kindle. In order to encourage the tradition of the story telling tradition, libraries have to adapt to include non-traditional mediums in order to survive in the new technological age.
The Indianapolis Marion Country Public Library is one library who is attempting to provide new resources for their technologically advanced patrons. The IMCPL does not only offer literary stories in the traditional book sense but also includes a section that I frequent on the website called the downloadables found at http://ecollection.imcpl.org/965ECD0E-20CE-4739-B15E-5C1FFABAEA0E/10/376/en/Default.htm. There are two different types of books available for download on the website. Audio downloadables are similar to audio books but with one drastic difference. The book downloadables are adobe files that can open on most all computers and some e-readers, although not the most popular in the Kindle. My most favorite characteristic of the section is how easy it is to find a book to read. A patron does not have to leave the comfort of his or her own household to have a brand new story to listen to for free. Unable to find time to read that book you've been interested in? Why not download it to your iPod to listen to while you're working out or driving in your car?
The downloadables portion of the website offers library patrons with the opportunity to check out books in various formats from PDFs, mp3s, and wav files. Once a book is checked out, a user has 21 days to complete the book before it has to be renewed. While the selection of books is more limited than the overall library, thousands of reading selections are still offered including a large section of classics. The library is constantly expanding their selection and the convenience for me outweighs any complaints that I have with the number of books included. I can read anything from classics such as Alice in Wonderland to contemporary fiction such as the book the Social Network movie was based on, The Accidental Billionaires.
As my life has gotten busier, I have found it more and more difficult to find time to actually go to the library. Using the downloadables section allows me to continue reading about the topics I am interested in while allowing me to access them from the convenience of my living room sofa. I can definitely see how this would benefit people with full time jobs and families. Life is difficult to balance itself and the library has made checking out book even simpler.
