Exercise One
Using Google the three closest booksellers to our library are Scholastic Books, Hollingsworth's Books, and Faith Assembly Bookstore. I wouldn't consider any of these traditional booksellers. There is a Scholastic Books warehouse just around the corner from our library at 7400 Security Way #200 Houston, TX 77040 and they do have a small store where you can go in and purchase books and of course they have warehouse sales periodically however they do not operate the same as a traditional bookstore. Of course they have an online presence but not in the sense that you can browse their offerings or inventory however it is loaded with resources for librarians, teachers, parents and kids. Hollingsworth's Books at 9118 Vinetree Ln, Houston, TX 77066 appears to be in someone's residence but they do have a webpage thru Biblio.com where you can search the inventory. Books start at $7.00 and go up to $800.00 with 4674 titles available. Faith Assembly Bookstore is the third closest bookstore to Fairbanks Library. The bookstore has no web presence other than address and telephone listings. The closest traditional bookstore is Waldenbooks in Willowbrook mall which is a subsidiary of Borders. Finally, Barnes and Noble Booksellers at The Centre in Copperfield is just a few tenths of a mile further than the Waldenbooks.
Exercise Two
I searched for People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. I wanted to take a closer look at BookMooch so I searched there for a copy but found none available. It is also listed as "not available yet" on What's on My Bookshelf. Of course Amazon has it for sale in hardcover it is $16.29 and $9.00 for the paperback. Both are also available in previsously owned (used) versions starting at $6.00 for the hardback and $12.99 for the paperback. The audiobook on CD is also available new for $26.37 or used starting at $6.75.
It's funny how sometimes the timing of these exercises and the things I do everyday in my job overlap. For example, the seniors at Jersey Village High School are reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and I've had four students in the past two days come in and ask for the book on audio. Our branch doesn't own this on audio and the copies owned by the library either weren't available in the desired format or were too far away and therefore would take to long to receive. So, I first directed the students to Overdrive (one of my favorite HCPL resources). The next day I had a third student come in and ask for Frankenstein on audio. I went to Overdrive but the 2 copies available just the previous day were now checked out and I am guessing wouldn't be available for 14 days since they had just been checked out. So we went to Project Gutenburg where I was able to find the audiobook which can be downloaded for free. Later this same day a 4th student came in for Frankenstein, I showed him Overdrive but now not only were the two copies still checked out but now there's 1 person on the waiting list.
Exercise Three
So for this exercise I downloaded the ebook of Frankenstein in graphic novel format from Overdrive. I enjoyed reading this graphic novel and didn't mind at all that it was on the computer screen as I suspected I might. The screen was nice and big showing both left and right hand pages at the same time, or just one page at a time. You can also adjust your fit to make the page larger. The largest setting is obtained by closing the navigation pane. "Turning pages" was very easy and overall Adobe Digital Editions is very easy to use. Since that only took a few minutes to read, I checked out The Union Square Cafe Cookbook. I didn't like this one because when it comes to cookbooks, I love/need photos! This had no photos. I am unsure as to whether or not this is an aspect of the ebook or the book in any format. So I tried another cookbook just so I could see the photos and decide whether or not I could enjoy looking at cookbooks this way. The second one I chose had no photos either????So one more try for a cookbook with photos and I chose The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book which also had no photos. So I am not sure what to think now if those cookbooks really don't have photos or if just the ebook versions don't have photos?
One very nice feature of the ebooks on Overdrive using Adobe Digital Editions is you can return an item you are no longer needing when you are finished. That was very nice. So you can check something out, browse it and if you decide you don't want it you don't have to wait till your checkout expires for it to come off your account. Which really helps since you can only check out ten items via Overdrive. As far as I know you cannot do this with audiobooks. You just wait for the item to expire. Lastly, I downloaded Luxe by Anna Godbersen, a young adult title I've always wanted to read. I read long enough for my leg to fall asleep as I sit in a bar stool at my kitchen counter. Off the top of my head, since I tend to be a night owl, library hours vs the 24/7 availabilty of online digital editions comes to mind as one of the biggest advantages of ebooks. Having all these books at your fingertips and downloadable to your computer in a matter of mintues, even seconds really, is awesome. The time to download an ebook is incredibly fast in my experience. Luxe is 451 pages and didn't take more than a minute to download and view on Adobe. However, I can't imagine dragging the computer in to my daughter's room so I could read her a bedtime story from the computer though, even though sadly, those days for me are over. It's not a kindle after all. I am not sure but I think I would miss the tactile experience of reading a traditional printed book. Seeing as how I am torn between taking my laptop to bed with me to read more of Luxe or powering down and just reading the book on the nightstand next to my bed (The Red Necklace by by Sally Gardner) it could easily be a toss up. If we abandon the printed book for digital versions what would we do when the power goes out? especially when the power is off for days or weeks like it was for many last September? Technology is great as long as it's working.
Using Google the three closest booksellers to our library are Scholastic Books, Hollingsworth's Books, and Faith Assembly Bookstore. I wouldn't consider any of these traditional booksellers. There is a Scholastic Books warehouse just around the corner from our library at 7400 Security Way #200 Houston, TX 77040 and they do have a small store where you can go in and purchase books and of course they have warehouse sales periodically however they do not operate the same as a traditional bookstore. Of course they have an online presence but not in the sense that you can browse their offerings or inventory however it is loaded with resources for librarians, teachers, parents and kids. Hollingsworth's Books at 9118 Vinetree Ln, Houston, TX 77066 appears to be in someone's residence but they do have a webpage thru Biblio.com where you can search the inventory. Books start at $7.00 and go up to $800.00 with 4674 titles available. Faith Assembly Bookstore is the third closest bookstore to Fairbanks Library. The bookstore has no web presence other than address and telephone listings. The closest traditional bookstore is Waldenbooks in Willowbrook mall which is a subsidiary of Borders. Finally, Barnes and Noble Booksellers at The Centre in Copperfield is just a few tenths of a mile further than the Waldenbooks.
Exercise Two
I searched for People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. I wanted to take a closer look at BookMooch so I searched there for a copy but found none available. It is also listed as "not available yet" on What's on My Bookshelf. Of course Amazon has it for sale in hardcover it is $16.29 and $9.00 for the paperback. Both are also available in previsously owned (used) versions starting at $6.00 for the hardback and $12.99 for the paperback. The audiobook on CD is also available new for $26.37 or used starting at $6.75.
It's funny how sometimes the timing of these exercises and the things I do everyday in my job overlap. For example, the seniors at Jersey Village High School are reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and I've had four students in the past two days come in and ask for the book on audio. Our branch doesn't own this on audio and the copies owned by the library either weren't available in the desired format or were too far away and therefore would take to long to receive. So, I first directed the students to Overdrive (one of my favorite HCPL resources). The next day I had a third student come in and ask for Frankenstein on audio. I went to Overdrive but the 2 copies available just the previous day were now checked out and I am guessing wouldn't be available for 14 days since they had just been checked out. So we went to Project Gutenburg where I was able to find the audiobook which can be downloaded for free. Later this same day a 4th student came in for Frankenstein, I showed him Overdrive but now not only were the two copies still checked out but now there's 1 person on the waiting list.
Exercise Three
So for this exercise I downloaded the ebook of Frankenstein in graphic novel format from Overdrive. I enjoyed reading this graphic novel and didn't mind at all that it was on the computer screen as I suspected I might. The screen was nice and big showing both left and right hand pages at the same time, or just one page at a time. You can also adjust your fit to make the page larger. The largest setting is obtained by closing the navigation pane. "Turning pages" was very easy and overall Adobe Digital Editions is very easy to use. Since that only took a few minutes to read, I checked out The Union Square Cafe Cookbook. I didn't like this one because when it comes to cookbooks, I love/need photos! This had no photos. I am unsure as to whether or not this is an aspect of the ebook or the book in any format. So I tried another cookbook just so I could see the photos and decide whether or not I could enjoy looking at cookbooks this way. The second one I chose had no photos either????So one more try for a cookbook with photos and I chose The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book which also had no photos. So I am not sure what to think now if those cookbooks really don't have photos or if just the ebook versions don't have photos?
One very nice feature of the ebooks on Overdrive using Adobe Digital Editions is you can return an item you are no longer needing when you are finished. That was very nice. So you can check something out, browse it and if you decide you don't want it you don't have to wait till your checkout expires for it to come off your account. Which really helps since you can only check out ten items via Overdrive. As far as I know you cannot do this with audiobooks. You just wait for the item to expire. Lastly, I downloaded Luxe by Anna Godbersen, a young adult title I've always wanted to read. I read long enough for my leg to fall asleep as I sit in a bar stool at my kitchen counter. Off the top of my head, since I tend to be a night owl, library hours vs the 24/7 availabilty of online digital editions comes to mind as one of the biggest advantages of ebooks. Having all these books at your fingertips and downloadable to your computer in a matter of mintues, even seconds really, is awesome. The time to download an ebook is incredibly fast in my experience. Luxe is 451 pages and didn't take more than a minute to download and view on Adobe. However, I can't imagine dragging the computer in to my daughter's room so I could read her a bedtime story from the computer though, even though sadly, those days for me are over. It's not a kindle after all. I am not sure but I think I would miss the tactile experience of reading a traditional printed book. Seeing as how I am torn between taking my laptop to bed with me to read more of Luxe or powering down and just reading the book on the nightstand next to my bed (The Red Necklace by by Sally Gardner) it could easily be a toss up. If we abandon the printed book for digital versions what would we do when the power goes out? especially when the power is off for days or weeks like it was for many last September? Technology is great as long as it's working.
No comments:
Post a Comment