Are you listening out there.......

(Image downloaded from Flickr by Shotsbyme who was reading a book on his vacation in Italy)

Providing online audiobooks as another library service is really appealing for a number of reasons-
no cost in the handling and transferring items
no lost or damage to items incurred
portability for people traveling , they don't need to haul around bulky CDs or cassettes which may be damaged or lost
no overdue fees to contend with if they have a use by date feature
24/7 accessibility
on the downside-
patrons require software program to download to their computer or
require MP3 player
? how long does it take to download an entire book(wouldn't be a good idea if you had a slow Internet connection)-maybe they have an option of downloading at the library?!
But old and out of date prints were available to be downloaded which is a bonus. Audio in languages other than English would be fantastic for our multicultural community or for anyone learning another language other than English.
Had a look World EBook Fair - Gutenberg's Audio eBook Collection site found it relatively easy to use with the alphabet option. There's an enormous amount of info out there but as the attached image shows there's nothing better than reading outside - plus once you fall asleep you can use the book to shade your face!