Salt Lake Paralympic Games March 9, 2002, Snow Basin ski resort

Right…right…right…right…       Left..left…left…left….

Those words rang out to the 114 blind kids and their parents or family members at the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Games at Snow Basin Ski Resort on March 9, 2002. All of the children had a reading disability that prevented them from reading regular-sized print. Some had been blind from birth, others had some vision, yet not enough to make reading a regular-sized print book work out. All were from Utah or Wyoming and some had come in from very long distances.

It was just so great that the kids that needed it the most–those that may be able to participate in the Paralympic games in the future–were able to attend. They experienced being there when others who were also blind were speeding downhill. The right..right…right…left…left…left…were the instructions that the coach to a blind skier said as they guided their Paralympic star down the steep course.

Sure, the kids couldn’t see the event, or at least not very well by most standards, but then, neither could the blind skiers. Still, there was much they could do. The parent(s) could describe what was happening. They could feel the chill and the excitement in the air. They could share with others from all over the world in their same circumstance, some much worse (or better) than themselves. They could hear what was happening, experience the moment when winners stood on the stands as the crowds roared in approval. They could be a regular part of the Games experience. They could plan, they could scheme, they could dream.

How did they get this rare opportunity? They read. Either in braille, by recorded book (in those days on cassette), or in large print. I should say they read and they read and they read. They all got to attend because they’d worked so hard for it.

All of the Utah children that participated in the Utah State Library for the Blind’s Summer Reading program in 2001 were invited to attend. Those that completed their reading goals received the free tickets. Free to them, that is. Two tickets were donated by a community sponsor to each child that completed their reading goals; the Salt Lake Olympic Committee worked hard to make that work out for the kids. That was one ticket for the child with a visual disability, one for a parent or family member.

They attended the Women’s blind division downhill racing as well as the Men’s downhill racing events. The day was crisp and clear. The crowds were excited. They were all experiencing things they had never seen before. It was just that great.

Paralympic torch run March 7, 2002, Liberty Park

Because of his outstanding efforts at reading during the Summer Reading Program, Quinn Price, a 12-year-old patron of the Library for the Blind, was invited to be a torch runner at the opening of the Paralympic games, on March 7, 2002, at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. His father and grandfather ran with him: behind him, so they could give directions and encouragement, but he could be the one in the front of the pack. Quinn was an outstanding student and did an exceptional job of meeting his reading goals during the previous summer.

An unexpected surprise: some of the children that participated in the Summer Reading Program were invited to the groundbreaking of the All Abilities Play Park at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. The children got to dig a shovel of dirt and meet some of the paralympic heroes at the event. Two of them were Chris Waddell, winner of 5 Olympic Gold medals, and Lacey Heward, United States Paralympic monoskier, who has gold, silver, and bronze medals, and won two bronze medals in the 2002 Salt Lake Paralympics.

The Utah State Library for the Blind serves residents of Utah and Wyoming, no matter what their age, as long as they qualify. They need to be unable to read regular-sized print. It includes people with blindness, visual impairments, physical impairments that exclude them from being able to read regular-sized print (can’t hold the book, turn the pages, etc.). It also includes people with learning disabilities. Read more about the program on their website: http://blindlibrary.utah.gov.

Today I practically stumbled upon something so massive it’s amazing I didn’t bump into it earlier. The Digital Book Index is a meta-indexing project that provides links to over 165,000 full-text digital books, the vast majority of them free, though some come with a fee.

Some of their key topics are:

Arts:   Art & graphic arts, architecture, dance, decorative arts, costume, theatre & drama, music, photography, film & video
Children’s Books:   Contemporary & classic children’s books and stories
History:   American, English, Irish, European, Asian, African, local and regional histories
Law:   US Constitutional history, state constitutions, treaties, state statues & laws, legal ethics rules, copyright, and consumer information.
Literature:   Ranging from Chaucer & other medieval texts to modern, contemporary fiction
Math & Sciences:   Mathematics, astronomy, biology, botany & zoology, genetics, chemistry, physics, engineering, electronics, & computer science
Medicine & Health:   For professionals and patients including anatomy, radiology, infectious diseases, surgery, oncology, dentistry, and more
Philosophy and Religion:   Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Taoism, etc.
Reference:   Dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, style guides, etc.
Social Sciences:   Anthropology, sociology, Psychology, Folklore, Mythology, Economics, Politics

It searches more than 1800 publishers, universities, and private sites including:

• Boston Public Library
• Chicago Historical Society
• Cornell University
• Duke University Library
• Google
• Gutenberg Project
• Harvard University Library
• Internet Archive
• Library of Congress
• National Library of Canada
• NetLibrary (OCLC)
• New York Public Library
• U.S. National Park Service
• University of Utah
• Wiley Interscience
• Yale University

And…

•  Approximately 200 University Presses
• Several hundred commercial publishers including Bantam Books, MacMillan, Random House, and Simon & Schuster

Yea, this is digital reading at its finest hour.  Pick up your Nook, your Kindle, your iPad, or all three, and enjoy.

Is the book really dead? I just heard about an adorable book by Lane Smith, called “It’s a Book.” There’s a donkey talking to a monkey who’s just sitting there reading a book. The donkey doesn’t get it. Does it tweet? Where’s your mouse? He goes on and on but then finally asks to see the book and gets all entwined in it.

It’s so hard to say how the book will evolve in the next few years. We’re more digital than ever before and I seem to push, teach to, speak about digital books a lot. I have several checked out right now on my ipod. But the next great novel comes along and I’m likely to get a hard copy that I can sit on the couch and read.

Check out this way-too-cute trailer of “It’s a Book.” You’ll want to read it for yourself.

Did you hear the news?

Boston Public Library, Overdrive’s partner, now has 15,000 Project Gutenberg e-books in their Overdrive collection. They are accessed through the Overdrive platform, have no checkout or check in, but are also counted in their stats. The advantage is one-stop shopping. Overdrive says it will be available to all of us in the future. Read more about it in the Library Journal article.

Anyone can go to the Project Gutenberg site and get the titles for free now, of course.  There are over 33,000 e-books in the total collection. They are things that the copyright has expired on, so a classic book is in this case a classic example (sorry).

Here’s how to download from their collection to your iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

1. Go to the iBookstore and download the Stanza (free) or the QuickReader ($). follow the instructions below and enjoy your book.

Lexcycle Stanza

A free ebook reader for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. App Store Lexcycle Stanza

• Download the Stanza app from the Apple App Store. Use the link on the right for the US store.
• Open the Stanza App.
• Tap on “Get Books” and “Catalog”.
• From the list select “Project Gutenberg”.

QuickReader

A paid ebook reader for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It implements a speed reading technique that teaches you how to read faster. App Store QuickReader

• Download QuickReader from the Apple App Store. Use the link on the right for the US store.
• Open QuickReader and select “Normal Reading” or “Speed Reading”.
• Select “Download Books”.
• From the list select “Project Gutenberg”.

“It’s a little strange, but this is the future.”

ALA executive director Keith Michael Fiels says this is the first library he is aware of to eliminate books.

“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. “Our feeling,” he says, “is that we love books so much that we want our students to not have 20,000, but millions.”

Student Tia Alliy, a 16-year-old junior, said she visits the library nearly every day, but only once looked for a book in the stacks. “Very few students actually read them. And the more we use e-books, the fewer books we have to carry around.’’ Jemmel Billingslea, an 18-year-old senior says, “It’s a little strange, but this is the future.’’

The times are indeed a-changin’. One large library in Utah has replaced a reference service, not with an expresso bar, but with a Delicious account. At least a dozen other libraries I follow have replaced their reference desks with online reference services and in turn replaced those with Ask-a-Librarian Twitter accounts.

Have your deans or city council begun asking if your users are still reading books? Have they indicated that the space occupied by your book stacks might be better used? Is your library still serving a vital community need?

What are the implications of libraries offering collections and services based on usage? Was it a good idea in the past for libraries to eliminate research collections in favor of stocking videos and trendy novels from the best seller lists? Is usage a good indicator of value? Doesn’t it make sense doesn’t it to replace the works of William Shakespeare with big screen TVs offering access to American Idols? After all, they now get more usage (hits) than the Bard.

Libraries are under increasing pressure these days to change the ways we’ve traditionally done things. Is the book just a format medium that needs to be retired? The knee-jerk response to give customers what they want, to keep up with how people are using information, and to seek ways of cutting costs may, in the final analysis, be short sighted. Or, are the downsides of the bookless future things we can address and overcome?

The Cushing Library experience might make a great discussion at your next retreat, board meeting, or graduate seminar.

Here are few links to help you get started (don’t neglect the public’s comments; the discussions are well thought and surprisingly insightful):

• Abel, David (4 Sep 2009) Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books [A library without the books]. The Boston Globe.
• Peters, Stormy (4 Sep 2009) Stacks of books are disappearing. Stormy’s Corner [blog].
• Striphas, Ted (4 Sep 2009) Books: “An outdated technology?” The Late Age of Print [blog].
• West, Jessamyn (4 Sep 2009) Mistakes were made, books were removed. Librarian.net [blog].
• Private school library gets rid of all books (4 Sep 2009). LISNews [blog]
• Staino, Rocco (9 Sep 2009) New England prep school tosses its library collection. School Library Journal.

Has anyone ever heard of Apple licensing their iTunes store software? I think that iTunes would be the perfect platform for libraries to use to provide access to their digital music, video, podcasts, courseware, games, and audio books.

Libraries have been stricken by massive inside-the-box thinking. The library model has always been that (1) access needs to be provided through an online catalog; (2) that materials should be provided for free; and (3) that library customers should borrow and return items.

What if, instead of the typical esoteric catalog interface, libraries could offer multimedia content through a city or county library branded version of the iTunes store? It’s SO easy to find and download content through Apple’s iTunes store compared to trying to get any multimedia online from any library site.

Instead of only supporting borrowing and returning, what if libraries were to offer content through micro-purchases like Apple does?

My wife and I love our local Salt Lake County library branch. At the same time we are extremely frustrated that it either lacks what we’re looking for (that’s me) or if they do have it, it’s checked out (that’s my wife). She’s been put on waiting lists that often last for weeks. I can only imagine the pain and frustration felt by customers of rural libraries. Libraries, IMHO, are locked into a dumb business model that ignores lofty customer expectations (‘I want everything and I want it immediately’). To quote my favorite character in Groundhog Day, “Am I right, or am I right?”

iTunes is intuitive for users. Customers would have immediate access to everything in the library. Customers would have access to content as long as they wanted. Vendors could provide content either with Apple’s FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) or without it (as Apple itself will be doing starting this April). Fees could be adjusted to cover library costs and still remain competitive in the market place. Libraries could provide a fuller range of historical and research materials and government documents than are typically found in online stores. Librarians could spend more time selecting content and building collections and less time processing. iTunes also might provide a perfect medium for offering access to materials for the blind such as podcasts, streaming radio programming, and talking books. It would save libraries oodles of processing and support costs (fewer ILS systems administrators, web mavens recreating online wheels, and shelvers restocking materials).

I think there is a whole range of possible cost-saving and service benefits.

Apple, Inc. are you listening?  Let’s deal.