Books on Demand Update

Contributed by Mary Ramos, Assistant Director

CURRENT PATRONS NOW TRANSITIONING TO BOOKS ON DEMAND

March is here, and Spring is just around the corner. At the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled (LBPD), we are excited about this time of renewal and change. LBPD’s most significant new endeavor is our switch to a new circulation system called Books on Demand (BOD). Many of our patrons are already enjoying customized BOD multi-book cartridges for their audiobooks and digital braille books.

This month, we will be transitioning many of our patrons to multi-book cartridges through Books on Demand. We will not be able to individually inform patrons beforehand, so you may be surprised to receive a new BOD multi-book cartridge instead of the singular book cartridges you currently use. If you receive a BOD cartridge this month, consider yourself lucky! You will now join the ranks of patrons who no longer have to wait for the books they want to become available or be resigned to reading series books out of order. Those problems will be a thing of the past.

You may have some questions about the Books on Demand circulation system. Here, we will try to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

Why are we making this switch?

All network libraries of the National Library Service (NLS) are transitioning to this new model of service. Soon, NLS will discontinue distributing individual books for us to circulate to our patrons. All circulation will be performed through customized cartridges downloaded according to the preferences and requests of each individual patron.

What is the benefit to me?

Patrons will no longer have to wait for physical copies of books to become available at the Library. If the book has been recorded, we can download it for our patrons.
If they wish, patrons may receive all the books in a series on a single cartridge (unless it is a very long series).

Do I need any special equipment?

No. Patrons will use the same book player they currently have. It will probably need a software update, though. You do not need any special computer skills to complete the update. It only requires two things that patrons already know how to do:

1. Insert a BOD cartridge into the player. BOD multi-book cartridges look and feel exactly the same as the cartridges you usually play.
2. Be patient, as the update may take close to 10 minutes. The player will beep continuously while it is updating and will begin to play the first book once the update is complete. Patrons need to be patient and allow the update to run its course. You should not remove the cartridge or press any button on the player while the update is in progress. That is all you need to do to prepare your player to read BOD multi-book cartridges.

How will I read my books?

The easiest way to listen to your BOD multi-book cartridge is to simply play the books in the order they appear on the cartridge. At the end of each book, you will hear: “End of book. Press PLAY/STOP to go to the next book.” The green, rectangular PLAY/STOP button is located in the front and middle of the player, closest to the cartridge slot. It is the largest and most conveniently placed button on the player. Tap the PLAY/STOP button once and the player will proceed to the next book on the cartridge.

It really is that simple. We hope you enjoy your new customized multi-book cartridges through Books on Demand!