The CSI Library has been subscribing to NetLibrary audiobooks for a few years now. They are great for patrons to download audiobooks to their MP3 player and enable them to listen while driving, jogging, or a multitude of different activities. One problem has been the complicated steps in the download procedure, it is definitely not for the technology challenged person. Also, NetLibrary audiobooks are not compatible with iPods which seems to be the most popular MP3 player on our campus.
So, to offer our patrons another avenue for audiobooks we have started purchasing Playaway units. These units are preloaded MP3 players with one book per unit. There are about the size of a deck of cards and so easy to use. They come with headphones and an extra battery. All the patron has to do is plug in the headphone and push play. You even have the option of three speeds of narration. We have about 150 different audiobooks so far and our patrons are loving them! One English class even allows students to use Playaways for book reports.
Our patrons now have two choices for audiobooks. For the techno-savy patron, we have the NetLibrary audiobooks with over a thousand choices. And for the patron who wants an easy to listen to book we have the Playaway.
Ah, isn't technology great.
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