(Guide time: 50 minutes.)

(c) beautiful library from Flickr

What is a DIY library?

Many people believe that the future lies in people being able to create digital libraries of their own. They will carry around a device like a digital notepad, and using it they will be able to access a whole library of stuff that they’ve found and stored together.

Why do this?

You can imagine a scenario, in five year’s time, where a Jane Austen fan is commuting to work. On their digital tablet they will have stored all Austen’s books (all annotated with notes), plus all the BBC costume dramas, plus recordings of Georgian music, plus posts for the many Austen-related social networks that they belong to and a play they are writing about Austen’s illegitimate baby. (Well, it could have happened!) We’re starting to see this happening now, with people carrying iPhones and e-readers in their handbags and pockets. And there are all kinds of resources out there to support them:

subscription based or free loaned eBooks, eAudiobooks, MP3

commercial Google Books and free Project Gutenberg

social networking around book reading - discussion forums, blogs

How libraries use this

People feel really strongly about their reading, and libraries can take an active and unique role in helping them share their views.

Libraries are increasingly offering eBooks and eAudiobooks to their customers. Like paper books, they can only be borrowed for a set period of time, and then the downloads disappear from the device. Have a look at Surrey libraries' ebooks.



Libraries also use social networks to support reading and book groups. Portsmouth has a well-established wiki for teens. Other examples include Manchester's Lit List blog, while Blackburn with Darwen are using an external book group discussion forum. Orkney asks if you would like to be part of a reading group that does not have any meetings then suggests you might be interested in At home with Faber. Orkney Library & Archive has teamed up with publishers Faber & Faber to launch a new online reading group, which you can be involved in without leaving the comfort of your home. You can also follow on Orkney libraries' Facebook and by email.

Other examples of online resources for readers and book clubs

LibraryThing is a curious phenomenon: a website where you can catalogue the books that you’ve got on your shelves at home. How many people would possibly want to do that? Well, at the time of writing, a million – and rising fast. It has developed in many directions: in addition to cataloguing, you can use it to chat to like-minded people, and find “library” collections covering particular subjects and topics. Some public libraries are uploading their records and using it as their own catalogue. See also Goodreads which is a similar site.

There are many Facebook and Twitter reading groups - try typing "twitter reading group" into Google and see what happens. A common problem with many online reading groups is that enthusiastic people set them up, but find it hard to get enough people posting regular content to get a real book discussion going.

The Booklist Online blog is about all things book group. From American library Association's Book Group Buzz. With lots of features, newsletters, webinars and blogs it would be a good resource for anyone running a book club.

An American blog by an enthusiast, Reading group choices is very impressive!

Finally Bookcrossing, a virtual way of giving a real book to anyone who happens to find it, the most serendipidous way of making a recommendation. If you want to realease your own book into the wild, a bookcrossing label allows you to track it around the world as others catch it, read it, review it and release it again. A forum keeps people in touch.

Activities

1. eBooks and eAudiobooks

• Read this general introduction to eBooks and eAudiobooks from Overdrive.
• Does your library offer ebooks? If so, make sure you try one. (You might need to do this from home.)

2. Commercial Google Books and free Project Gutenberg books


Google Books is a commercial project which aims to digitise every book ever written – both the public domain stuff, which is out of copyright, and also the brand new stuff, on the shelves at your local bookshop. Watch this video, which explains what Google Books is about: Ben Bunnell speaks at Google@school - Google Books

Go to Google Books and find a book that interests you. Write on your blog about your experience - did you find Google Books easy to use, or confusing? See also Project Gutenberg, where volunteers make a huge number of out-of-copyright books available, as a comparison.


3. Book group resources

Investigate one of the libraries who have social networking sites (above) or one of the non library sites, such as Librarything or Goodreads.

Write a piece on your blog saying how useful this site would be for your reading group, or how much it inspired you to read something different.

Do you think that libraries should keep these sites up or leave it to the groups and enthusiasts themselves?

Recommended followups

Make a digital library of your own either by joining LibraryThing or GoodReads. (Your library might be running Frontline training which mentions these online resources.)

Have a good look at the following:

Whichbook.net - to help people choose their books.

Reader2reader - for online reviews and recommendations

Love reading

Gnod - The literature map in particular, offers interesting and idiosyncratic relationships between writers.


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