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The article offers information on the development of Audiobook-on-Ipods program in the U.S. It states that the Research Library at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established the program using leadership and management audiobooks. It describes audiobooks as digital sound recordings of books that can read aloud and have become widely used over the past few years. It explores the inclusion of audiobooks in the library's collections, and investigates the best way to make the audiobooks available for customers.

The article examines the increasing use of audio media and the response of U.S. libraries to the needs of users. The article surveys the continuing popularity of older media formats such as audiobooks and compact discs, but notes that many libraries are offering content in digital files that can be downloaded from collections stored online. INSETS: INDUSTRY OVERVIEW;WHAT'S ON THAT DISC?.

This article reports on the Ohio eBook Project launched by the State Library of Ohio in October 2005. The program will allow libraries across the state to access hundreds of eBooks and audiobooks for patrons. The program is funded by $28,000 in start-up money from the State Library, which also pays $1,000 in maintenance fees to OverDrive, a digital book vendor that supplies the software and materials for the collection.

The article summarizes presentations elsewhere in the issue regarding digital audiobook systems for libraries and other institutional customers. It examines competitive audiobook services such as Audible, OverDrive, and NetLibrary that offer digital audiobooks via downloading from the Web. The article also examines distribution models including Playaway, which delivers its digital audiobooks on preloaded, self-contained portable playback devices, and TumbleTalkingBooks, which streams its content over the Internet. Potential new vendors include Ingram Library Services and Audio-Read. The article presents reasons to wait, including the iPod impasse and the fact that most systems work better if the patron is outside the library.

This article presents a review of the current state of the quickly emerging digital audiobook market for libraries. The growing end-user groups exist for digital audiobook content and services include commuters and other travelers, exercise enthusiasts and people with print impairments. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has been the major supplier of recreational talking books for U.S. citizens with print impairments. Although several strong commercial digital audiobook services have been established in the North American market, it remains a rough time for the industry, with official an de facto standards and best practices still emerging in almost every facet of the business. One of the mainstream suppliers of digital audiobooks is Audible.com. It is designed to meet the needs of the individual reader. However, it welcomes business from libraries. Digital audiobooks come in a proprietary version of MP3 with an .AA file extension. Users can listen to content on certain compatible MP3 players. OverDrive launched its service in November 2004. As of May, its master collection contained more than 1,770 titles. Brilliance Audio was the company's first major supplier of digital audiobooks.

This article reports that netLibrary has teamed with Recorded Books LLC to create a new program for delivering audio books to libraries through the World Wide Web. Key elements of the program include an innovative pricing structure, unlimited access, the ability for patrons to download to a range of portable devices, and a technology solution that supports download via broadband or dial-up capabilities. Library users will be able to search for, preview, check out, and listen to audio books via the Internet and the netLibrary platform. They can focus their search on audio titles only or take advantage of search functionality that integrates audio titles with all electronic content their library may have in its netLibrary collection. Web-based collections of Recorded Books titles will be available for purchase through either Recorded Books or netLibrary and will be delivered via the netLibrary interface. Library patrons will be able to search for audio books just as they would for any type of electronic content in their library's netLibrary collection. In addition, libraries can view demonstrations of the program upon request, which will be formally lanced in December 2004.