 Posted: Fri, Apr 25 2008, 4:23 pm EDT Post subject: Cranbury library enters the future |
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| Cranbury library enters the future
High-tech options are available By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer Posted: Friday, April 25, 2008 2:01 PM EDT CRANBURY — The Cranbury Public Library has made some of the newest technology around available to patrons both at its location and through cyberspace. The library is now checking out Playaways, self-playing digital audiobooks, to residents and making the MyLibraryDV, a free video download service, available on its Web site at www.cranburypubliclibrary.org. Playaways function like audiobooks, but unlike their predecessors, CDs and audio cassettes, they are the size of an MP3 player and can hold up to 80 hours worth of content in one unit, said Marilynn Mullen, library director. Ms. Mullen said she looks forward to saving some much-needed shelving space and funds with this latest addition. Lengthy novels such as Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” — which, as an audio book with about 50 hours and 40 minutes of content would be stored on 36 cassettes — will now occupy one inch of shelving space as a Playaway unit, she said. ”We have a large audio-book clientele,” Ms. Mullen said. “But (Playaways) are so easy to take with you. They’re also less expensive than a book on CD.” The library has 22 Playaways, half of which are currently checked out, ranging from political satires such as “I Am America (And So Can You!)” by Stephen Colbert to children’s books such as “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Setnick, Ms. Mullen said. It is the library’s intent to purchase two or three Playaways each month and develop a diverse collection, she said. ... http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/04/25/cranbury_press/news/doc481218a5622ba359914721.prt |
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