[OPLINLIST] Circulating MP3 Players -- Responses and Summary

[Gerry Vogel]

Hi - I am sharing these responses.  with the list as requested.  

I have removed information that would identify the library in case my
respondents had any concerns (not that you would, but JUST IN CASE and I
don't want to squelch frank discussion!)  Short version:  Creative and
Sandisk are the preferred players, models depend on features.  This is
not the first round of this (we were in ListenOhio as well, and still
have ten players we can't use for anything!). 
*	At Avon Lake -- we are also in Ohio EBook Project and use
Overdrive, didn't get Download Station (wanted to wait and see a bit),
but it seems it may increase use and convenience.  
*	We got a pack of ten Creative Zen Stone MP3 players for staff
practice/training/red-team purposes, then circulating and perhaps
giveaways in the future.  We can re-use cases and cassette adapters from
ListenOhio/Audible.  Players can be charged and content wiped via USB
cable when returned.  
*	No batteries needed and no headphones provided (we have always
sold headphones for computer use for $1 each and most people have their
own pair).  
*	Not sure if they will circ well given the tinyness, also a
screen would be nice.  We may look at a model up.  I like the idea of a
small powered speaker as an option.

Our local paper is doing a story on OhioEBook that should run tomorrow.

Thank you all for responding.  If more have stories, post them to the
list or I'd be happy to pass them along anonymously!   I will pass them
along to all!

--

1.	We are circulating ten MP3 players here.  I was one of the
people in charge of the project when we started it, and it is
approaching its first anniversary.  Since we are with Clevnet, we have
set up a Download Station for Clevnet's OverDrive products.  Patrons are
able to check out an MP3 player and use OverDrive at the station to
download the book.  This works especially well for patrons who have
iPods and don't want to purchase another type of MP3 player, since the
audiobooks don't work with iPods.

For the most part it's been pretty smooth.  Patrons love the service and
think it's very cool.  The biggest difficulty is that the books download
slowly, particularly in the evenings when there is more traffic on the
network.  Many patrons don't want to wait that long, especially for
longer books.  Often, however, they can start by downloading at the
library and then take the MP3 player home to finish up.  We have two
different brands, the SanDisk Sansa (1 gig) and the Creative Zen (2
gig).  We like them both--I prefer the Zen, but sometimes the Sansa is
better because it runs on a triple-A battery, which is sometimes easier
for patrons to use.  We also let patrons use their own MP3 players at
the station if their players are compatible.

--

2.	We tried circulating mp3 players back with the NOLA Listen Ohio
program. Granted, they weren't as good as things are now, but it was a
pain. So, we started pre-loading them with titles for patrons to make it
easier, but we'd still have people thinking that you could just drop
everything at the ref desk & download the book in a couple minutes.
(more likely a half hour). The biggest problem was staff from other
depts who wanted us to download specific titles like at lunch time on a
Saturday :-)
 
 Anyway, I know that Overdrive pushes the Creative Zen. I've heard that
with those you can actually load several eAudiobooks and flip through to
your music or other files and when you go back to the original book, you
are still in the same place as when you stopped. This is a big deal,
because on most of the ones that play .wma files, you end up starting at
the beginning & fast forwarding to your spot. 
 
I know that I tell people to just go out & buy a "cheap" player for
audio, I have a SanDisk, but I think I might get a Creative if it really
does work that way.
 
 Rather than having players for people, I'm thinking that having a
download station in the library may be the way to go. The players aren't
too expensive-- I'm hoping our marketing director can get a couple to
use as giveaway prizes for our launch. 

--

3.	We circulated mp3 players in the past. We got about 20 circs
from each player before they broke or were billed to patrons. We only
circulated five, so it wasn't a huge loss. We are actually starting to
circulate them again as part of a promotion for our new e-audiobook
service. We now have five 2 GB Creative Zen V Plus players that cost
about $75 a piece. I can't say that they're extremely intuitive, but
they have a nice screen display and were listed as one of the
suggestions on Overdrive, our e-audiobook service. I'm not sure how this
next round will go! We did have a lot of demand for them before, but
that was about 2 or 3 years ago, when they were still a bit newer. 

Unfortunately, it seems that nothing about public use of mp3 players is
simple, but we have set up "download stations" that patrons can use to
load their players. We've trained staff as best we can, but I think it's
going to be an on-the-fly learning experience for a lot of them.
Hopefully all will run smoothly!

--

4. We've been circulating 10 Creative Zen V digital media players since
October. The number seems right for the local population of 45,000 as we
range from having a couple MP3 Players on the shelf waiting to having
just a couple of Holds. Borrowing for 28 days is currently limited to
Adults and no renewals. Fines are $1.00 a day.

On the downside, I had to return one unit for servicing shortly after
the warranty ran out. Two units are currently overdue.

We are not loading content although we do offer a download station
dedicated to the Ohio eBook Project for the public to use in Digital
Media Services.

All content is removed and the unit recharged when returned.

We had 3 hands-on training sessions with the Digital Media staff and
individual follow up sessions to learn how to use and service the
players. None of the seven of us owned an MP3 Player and so had limited
knowledge. Parents of teenagers had a decided edge in the learning
curve, or at least had experienced users to consult.

I chose the Creative Zen V unit based on compatibility with Overdrive
and recommendations from a variety of sources including the Audiobook
listserv. The unit is rechargeable and has some additional features that
simpler models do not offer such as Media Transfer Protocol.

Because of MTP, we must circulate the installation CD for customers to
install the software on their computers. We have reports of some
computers recognizing the devices without an install, but none of the
computers at the library duplicated that.

We include a hard, inexpensive amplified speaker case for additional
protection and flexibility when using the player. It plays loud enough
to use in an automobile in a driving rain, one of my pre-circulation
test experiences. All components are packaged in a soft case about the
size of a paperback which has pockets for the USB cable, and room for
the CD in a protective case, the speaker case, and a set of Quick
Instructions for Ohio eBook and the MP3 Player. The whole package costs
about $100.

My second choice is the Creative Nano which is a very easy to use,
battery operated MP3 Player. It also is compatible with Overdrive and
was recommended by a number of listserv participants.

--
Gerry Vogel, MLIS
Assistant Director, Avon Lake Public Library
32649 Electric Blvd. Avon Lake OH 44012 www.alpl.org
tel: 440-933-8128 x239 fax: 440-933-6406 cell: 440-258-8925



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