Penn State Sony Reader Pilot Project

[Xtremegene]

It's a start, though I noticed that it's a English & Literature department trying out the Readers...not something that would utilize large textbooks and figures which the Reader isn't really suited for.

[Tom90deg]

Originally Posted by Xtremegene

It's a start, though I noticed that it's a English & Literature department trying out the Readers...not something that would utilize large textbooks and figures which the Reader isn't really suited for.

Well, sure You don't want to open up your speech with, "And here's a HUGE list of how we suck and you should not buy out product if you've got any sence."

English, Law and maybe Engineering students are the ones who would find the most use of a e-reader, Someone like Biology, Medicine, or anything like that would find it less useful. We'll see what they come up with, I mean, E-reader tech is still in it's infancy.

[Steve Jordan]

I'm a bit surprised: The Sony Reader will come pre-loaded with certain popular texts, but they are not textbooks? In a college environment? I'm not sure what it is they hope to accomplish, other than providing another source of loan-out entertainment for its students.

Still, getting some exposure on campus can't hurt.

[JAcheson]

Originally Posted by Xtremegene

It's a start, though I noticed that it's a English & Literature department trying out the Readers...not something that would utilize large textbooks and figures which the Reader isn't really suited for.

As a Penn State grad, I can only say that the Engineering department at Penn State were huge losers, and were not competent enough to handle basic course scheduling and staffing, much less electronic textbooks. Whereas the English department was fairly on top of their game, and far, far, far better organized.

If the English department trials go well, perhaps it will stir the Engineering department out of their bovine stupor enough to follow suit.

Not that I'm STILL pissed off at the Engineering department or anything...

[Bob Russell]

FYI, Sony has provided the following official press release:

Penn State initiative examines uses of Sony Readers

September 3, 2008

University Park, PA — This fall, Penn State University Libraries and the English Department will begin a year-long pilot project with student groups using the Sony Reader Digital Book, a portable electronic reading device that can hold books, audio files, and other downloaded materials. Sony donated 100 of the devices to the Libraries for the project that will test the utility of e-books in a higher education environment. The study will explore the potential of the Sony Readers in a variety of settings, including the Libraries’ leisure reading program, undergraduate and graduate classrooms, academic research projects, and as a service for people with disabilities.

While the Sony Reader Digital Book can hold more than one hundred complete electronic books, in addition to personal and work files in formats such as Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF and others, it was originally designed for the broad consumer market, not the academic user community. According to English Department Head Robin Schulze, "We want to be at the front end of this new technology and to help Sony's technology team create a product that will be useful for how our students work with literature." Schulze and Stuart Selber, associate professor of English and director of composition, will work with undergraduate and graduate students in the English Department to study how the Sony Readers can be effectively used in a research environment, and the impact of such devices on the practice and experience of reading itself.

Anne Behler, information literacy librarian, and Binky Lush, database specialist are heading the Libraries' initiatives. During this coming fall semester, five Sony Readers will be available for borrowing in the Libraries' Course Reserve Reading Room, 113 Pattee Library, west. The readers will be loaded with titles from five categories: bestselling fiction, bestselling non-fiction, science fiction and fantasy, "books that are movies," and award winners. Each reader will have up to 15 books in the selected theme and can be borrowed for a month. As part of this initiative, patrons will have the opportunity to participate in a survey intended to help the Libraries and Sony understand how people use the Sony Readers. Behler says, "The Sony Reader and e-books have the potential to change everything from book acquisitions to the way patrons interact with library collections. It’s very exciting for the University Libraries to be at the forefront of this new, largely uncharted territory.”

Behler will also use the Sony Reader in the Libraries' first-year seminar class, which is designed to help freshmen develop key information literacy skills. During the fall semester, Sony Readers will be used in this class to provide access to current materials, with the aim of creating a more dynamic and engaging environment. Later in the academic year other groups will work with the Sony Readers, including Susan Hayya, head of Library Services for People with Disabilities.

“Libraries are moving rapidly towards the day when the majority of our collections will exist in electronic form,” said Mike Furlough, assistant dean of Scholarly Communications. “But while readers love the convenience of online search, they have been resistant to reading full-length books in electronic form. By the end of the year, we hope to have a much better understanding of the ways that our students and faculty will want to use e-books—and when they won’t, so that we can develop our collections to fit their needs.”

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Editor’s Contact: Catherine Grigor, manager of Public Relations and Marketing, University Libraries, cqg3@psu.edu, 814-863-4240.