Downloaded Books Gain In Popularity

At The Booth Library

By Nancy K. Crevier

Jogging down Main Street, lounging by the pool at Treadwell, or sweating it out on the treadmill at The Gym, Newtown residents are plugged into their personal listening devices, and not just for the sweet beat of a hot tune. For many people, downloadable audio books have become workout and down time companions, providing a convenient and portable way to listen to new fiction, learn a new language, or study a new subject.

The C.H. Booth Library has made downloadable audio books available to patrons since March of 2005, said reference librarian Brenda McKinley, and every year more and more people are accessing the network. “We have had more than 3,000 accesses since then,” she said, “and popularity is increasing every year.” In 2005, over a ten-month period, a total of 739 accesses for downloadable audio books was recorded. As of this month, there have already been 943 accesses, she said.

Among the 2,000 titles that can be downloaded are The Kite Runner; 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea; 1776; Teacher Man; Just Wait Till You Have Children Of Your Own; Slow Kill; The Cat Who Went Bananas; Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln; and Raketty Tam: A Tale From Redwall.

Of those book titles available, history and fiction appear to be the most popular with the patrons, of whom the demographics cover just about every age group, observed Ms McKinley. “We have added children’s and young people’s books this year,” Ms McKinley said. “We do get younger, more technically minded people downloading the books, but we also have our older, dedicated audio book listeners who are giving downloading books a try.”

The Pimsleur Language Program books are extremely popular, too, said Ms McKinley. “The course is completely audio, with no written component. People love it and can access so many languages. The Spanish course is our fifth most accessed audio book, as a matter of fact,” she said.

Downloadable books for personal listening devices have gained in popularity for a number of reasons, said Ms McKinley. “First of all is our content. We have more titles than ever before. Right now, we have over 2,000 titles available and each month about 30 more are added,” she said. The library presently has about 2,000 cassette audio books and around 730 CD audio books. It will not be long, she believes, before the number of downloadable books outnumbers the CD and cassette audio books available at the library.

The second reason is that more than one person can use a title at a time, unlike CD or cassette audio books. The fact that a personal listening device is a bit more portable than a CD player also is a boon to the popularity of downloadable books, she said, and the convenience of “checking out” a book from home is yet another reason for this format’s appeal.

From the library’s point of view, as well, said Ms McKinley, the downloadable audio books are great. “A downloadable isn’t going to get left in a hot car and melt, there’s nothing to break. Audio books are the most expensive item for libraries to purchase, and they are also the most vulnerable to damage.”

The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library pay for the subscription that makes downloadable books available to library patrons here in town, and the library is very grateful for that generosity, said Ms McKinley.

Downloading audio books requires a little bit of patience and a valid Newtown library card, but not much else. Up to ten downloadable books can be “borrowed” for a three-week span, and they can be renewed once following that time period. What happens after three weeks, explained Ms McKinley, is that the quality of the recording begins to degrade, making the download unusable.

 “You must have a PC to download from our website,” she said. “Then you can listen to the book on your computer or transfer the file to a compatible MP3-type player.” IPods are not currently compatible with the digital rights management system the library uses, nor are Mac computers.

 Very few of the patrons who have downloaded audio books have run into problems, surprisingly enough, said Ms McKinley. Those that do generally find that it is the incompatibility of their player that creates the problem. Devices must be able to play secure or protected WMA files, must be able to play a WMA file with a minimum bit rate of 32 KBPS, be Windows 2000, XP, or Vista compatible; must be compatible with Windows Media Player version 9 or higher; must have [On/Off] resume, pause/resume function, or bookmarking; must have an LCD time display or either HH:MM:SS or MMMM:SS. It must have a minimum of 512 MB of storage and must pass the NetLibrary Long Play Standard, according to information provided by the Booth Library website, chboothlibrary.org. Answers to frequently asked questions can also be found at the website

The library provides a complete list of compatible personal listening devices at their website under the downloadable audio books selection. Some of those listed include Archos Gmini XS 100, Creative ZEN Vision, Creative ZEN Nano, Creative MuVo V100, and the Toshiba Gigabeat 530. Ms McKinley recommends a player that has “bookmarking” capabilities, which enables the listener to stop and then pick up later where they left off.

Ms McKinley feels confident that the interest in downloadable books will only grow. “People are not daunted by the technology and are willing to give it a chance to work,” she said.