Cataloging Kindles and Nooks

[Patty McClune]

There’s been information swirling around about how to catalog Kindles in the library. I’m interested to hear what others are doing and thought I’d share our procedure. We have 12 Kindles registered on 2 accounts of 6 each. Since each ebook can be loaded on 6 devices (on the same account) any title we order goes on 6 eReaders. Kindles 1-6 are cataolged as equipment on one MARC record and the titles on those are part of the record (730 tag). Each individual Kindle, 1 through 6, is cataloged as a copy under that MARC record with its barcode. Registration number is included in the copy info.

If a student wants to read "Looking for Alaska" a title search will show it's available in print AND also which Kindles have it loaded. Kindles 7-12 have a different set of eBooks than Kindles 1-6. I'm not loading them up with free downloads unless there's a request. This keeps adding the titles and authors (700 tag) more manageable. 

Our goal is to provide students the opportunity to read and use a Kindle. We manage the content (it’s not individualized per say) though we do ask for input about titles to include. Our thinking is that grouping purchased titles in sets of 6 gets maximum bang for the buck.

We began circulating 11/5/10 and all 12 Kindles are out. There’s a wellspring of enthusiasm for the project!

After participating in Will and Kathy’s Webinar on 11/9 I tweaked the cataloging and added a 530 tag to a copy of each print book that is also available on a Kindle in our library. The 530 tag reads: Available on Kindle.

I really like the way patron searches look and work with this addition. I figure the more access points the better.

You can snoop around in the HS catalog for other specifics if you like. Again, I’m interested in learning what others are doing!

[Kathy M Burnette]

We have our Nooks like your kindles except I don't have two accounts for books. We have 10 Nooks all with the same but I would like to switch things since 1/2 the Nooks are available for teachers to check out for small group work. I will also add the 530 tag. That's a great idea.

[Patty McClune]

Hi Kathy,
I only added the 530 tag, "Also available on Kindle," to one record for the each book. Our library may have two records (one paperback and one hardcover) for the same title. I added the Kindle note to the one with the most attractive cover since that's what shows up under a Kindle search in our OPAC. It's working well to have the books accessible by title and under a keyword search for Kindle.

[Barbara Kieran]

Thanks Patty for the detailed description of how you handle the cataloging of your Kindles. We have just started loading our Kindles and getting them ready for check out. I want to be able to track the circulation of not only the Kindles but also which  books are being read on the devices. Do you have any way of doing that other than asking when the device is being returned?

 

[Patty McClune]

hmm, good question, but I can't think of a way to collect circ statistics for the individual ebooks on the Kindles unless you ask patrons when they're returning the eReaders.

I'm glad  you can you use the Kindle cataloging information. Some librarians I've shared it with are in large districts with central processing, and don't have access to enhance the individual MARC records. All they can do is modify the copy info in their catalogs. What a shame since it works out so nicely to include the 700 and 730 tags right in the Kindle record, and the 530 in the record of the print title. We've been circulating Kindles for almost three months and this cataloging has been working beautifully!

Barbara Kieran said:

Thanks Patty for the detailed description of how you handle the cataloging of your Kindles. We have just started loading our Kindles and getting them ready for check out. I want to be able to track the circulation of not only the Kindles but also which  books are being read on the devices. Do you have any way of doing that other than asking when the device is being returned?

 

[Sue Hostetter]

So what do  you think of the idea of dedicating one Kindle to a genre like mystery or inspirational or classics, etc.? Just saw in the paper that Penny Talbert from Ephrata Public Library is doing that.

[Shannon Shrum]

Last fall, our library acquired a few Kindles for a test project.  We were able to locate a MARC record on OCLC (keyword search "kindle' and "realia" if I remember correctly.  From that basic record for the equipment, we then add the 700 tags. Because some of the classics are foreign titles and the name authority lists it the 700 field that way, we also add a 505. Right now each Kindle is a mirror image of the other, but as we add Kindles to our inventory and with the way Amazon is handling the questionable number of licenses per title, may need to "divide" them into set as you have done.  Thanks for the suggestion.  The original "plan" for the project was to purchase 3 initially, and add more as funds were available until we had 7 for the project, since (last fall) each book was licensed to 7 Kindles.  Last month, when we received the order for the additional Kindles, began syncing them and encountered error messges, and Amazon explained that each title varied by publisher the number of licensing it allowed for. (one day they told us usually 6 readers and the next day we were told 5 readers.) Thank you for posting how you handle this, since we may need to do it this way.

[Patty McClune]

The bang for your buck is to have the Kindles grouped in accounts so that all 6 are loaded with the same titles....for the same price as loading a title to just one single device! I'd be sure to have all series on the same group; Kindles 1 -6 have the Hunger Games trilogy. I'd never put Hunger Games on one group and Catching Fire on the other. The entire series needs to be at their fingertips!

We have a variety of genres on each group of Kindles. I like giving students variety. Perhaps that will encourage them to break out, and read something they may not have otherwise.

The way I read the public library article, they are only going to loan to adults when they start the program. We're braver....and have been loaning to teens since last year! :)

Sue Hostetter said:

So what do  you think of the idea of dedicating one Kindle to a genre like mystery or inspirational or classics, etc.? Just saw in the paper that Penny Talbert from Ephrata Public Library is doing that.

[Marcia Kochel]

I have just started circulating Kindles to high school and middle school students. I am cataloging the Kindle devices as well as each book I buy. I catalog the devices in sets of 6 (Kindle Set 1 has 6 copies attached to it, etc.). When I buy an eBook I do a MARC record for the eBook and add that title to a Follett Destiny resource list. I do a separate MARC record whether I own the print book or not. This seems to work so far but I'm interested in all the other options people are sharing. Thanks!

[Amy Gibson]

Marcia,
I just received 30 Kindles from a grant. We purchased color-coded covers and I plan to distribute titles by genre, at least to a certain extent. I'm thinking Non-fiction, Love/Teen issues, Sci-fi/Fantash, Sports/Adventure, and Mystery. I plan to load all of the Kindles with classroom lit, then distribute popular titles based on genre (Red cases would contain Love, etc.) Still waiting on the gift cards for content though, so I will update once we're up and circulating!

[Sue Hostetter]

Hi Patty,

My Kindles are on their way.  I'm wondering about the initial set up for purchasing books.  Does the Kindle have to be tied to a credit card?  I was hoping to just use gift cards for each one. A student in here got a Nook last week and he was telling me that his Nook has to have a credit card associated with the account. From then on, gift cards can be used to purchase books. 

I'm attaching an interesting article from USA Today about the ebooks that patrons can download from the public library website on to their ereaders. Apparently, the library has to pay Harper Collins a "leasing fee"  after every 26 times the book is loaned.

Sue

[Laura Elaine Willis]

I have 90 Sony Touches and will definitely add the 530 tag to the book title record.  One other thing I do is list the titles and authors in the 505 content field.

[Adam Janowski]

Here's my problem. I did basically the same thing, but we have a union catalog in the district and last week my records were overwritten by another library.

 

Anyone have other suggestions?