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September 26, 2005.
Hacking the Library
Where information is already free
Forget P2P music sharing, ebook warez, Google hacking, movie torrents. Get your lazy digital self down to the online L, where the legit, wired services surpass the pirate scene.
Libraries are online in a big way with music available for request, ebooks ready to download, games waiting for checkout, magazines, movies, and, oh yeah, books.
Eric the media junkie
Eric Shaden is a media junkie. He's a master of Google Fu and online databases. He's into world music and good movies. He reads two newspapers every day and browses ten more. He reads every book on the New York Times bestseller list. Every one. He has two young kids that are always supplied with new computer games and comic books. Eric, of course, pays for none of this.
Eric doesn't live in the library like you would think. He uses it from home.
Every morning, he logs onto his library account, reads his newspapers, sees what is waiting for him, and requests whatever music, books or magazines he's interested in. If there's something waiting at his local branch, he picks it up on the way home from work.
Eric requests a lot of stuff. If he doesn't have time to get to everything, he renews it online or returns it and requests it later. He also downloads ebooks for his pda and audio books for his commute.
Connected Libraries
It's no surprise to most of us that libraries have a lot of materials. What is surprising is the degree of interconnectedness among branches and systems. Much of this is available online.
Interlibrary loan systems allow most US libraries to get specific books from any other library. This is a godsend for those small districts with smaller budgets. Just because your local branch or district doesn't have your favorite obscure author on their stacks, doesn't necessarily mean you're out of luck.
Ebook Downloads / Audio Book Downloads
Many libraries are now offering downloadable ebooks and audio books. The ebooks are primarily offered in two formats: Adobe eBook and MobiPocket eBook. There are also ebooks that cannot be downloaded, but can be read online using NetLibrary and other services.
Though you'll find some public domain works here, you'll also find a large body of best sellers and how-to books. Self-help books are extremely popular.
MobiPocket eBooks are intended to be used on PDA's, and Adobe eBooks are targeted toward the desktop computer, though versions of the Adobe reader are available for all major PDA platforms. The ebook files are encrypted, and can only be opened by the individual checking the book out, and only for a limited time, typically three weeks. After the ebook has expired, the original file remains, but is no longer viewable and can be deleted.
Downloadable audio books are usually offered as protected WMA files and have similar restrictions to the ebooks. Because of the format, you can listen to them only on compatible devices (sorry, no iPods). They are also usually offered in two levels of compression, radio quality or CD quality, letting you save download time and drive space by picking the smaller file. Hint - always pick the radio quality. It's more than good enough for audio books.
Most libraries outsource their downloadable offerings. NetLibrary , the largest of the eContent providers, boasts of over 90,000 titles available. Individuals cannot get accounts directly, but must go through their local district.
