Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

A perfect example of fluent vs. non-fluent reading – that’s what I thought when testing out my brand-new Kindle 3 and the text-to-speech function. Amazon is rightfully lauded by the National Federation for the Blind for incorporating demands for accessibility features in the newest Kindle, with voice menus that allow those with print disabilities to [...]

Scientific research on recovery after a stroke showed that audiobooks significantly improved sensory memory and resulted in higher cognitive function. I’d be interested to see this University of Helsinki study replicated with Alzheimer’s patients. The findings mirror much of the research done on the positive impact of audiobooks in literacy development of students. I know [...]

We were off to the Land of Oz at ALA Annual, thanks to the wizardry of Random House Audio & OverDrive Media. Readers young and old, famous and not so much, took part in the community-sourced recording of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – watch the video to see the recording in action. Or check [...]

From audio availability to reductions in hours – the numbers are in the Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2009-2010 report findings,  published as a digital supplement to American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association. The study looks at how “Americans are turning to their libraries not only for [...]

New name. new logo, same great titles. There’s a new look, but the company formerly known as BBC Audiobooks America remains the same. On July 14th, I sent out this Guardian article by Mark Sweney that announced BBC Worldwide’s sale of 85% of its audiobook division to AudioGO from my Audiobooker Twitter feed. Today Michele Cobb, [...]

Kaite Mediatore Stover can’t get enough of great books. When she’s not gathering great titles for her “He Reads..She Reads” column with David Wright in Booklist, Kaite’s tracking down the perfect match for patron requests as Head of Readers’ Services for Kansas City Public Library. But in her spare time, she slaps on the headphones [...]

Shelf Check on DRM: Reminds me of this great comic look at digital download woes

Eragon author Christopher Paolini reflects on his Inheritance series titles as audiobooks during Comic Con:

Promoting your library’s digital collection? Gather great ideas for highlighting your services through OverDrive’s 2010 Outreach Program Contest winners. You’ll see specific examples of promotional ideas ranging from no-cost to splashy: device-specific how-to YouTube videos, teen website promos, a billboard created through a partnership with a college marketing class, Twitter-based Twilight promo, online Facebook book [...]