Audiobooks enter a new digital age

The latest gadget makes shuffling through CDs a thing of the past.

By CAMILLE C. SPENCER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 8, 2007

The Hudson library branch is rolling out a new way to listen to books, PlayAways. Currently Hudson Library has at least 449 copies of 63 titles.
	[David Degner | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [David Degner | Times] The small 2 oz mp3 players hold a prerecorded book of up to 80 hours and cost about $40, compared to $70 for unabridged CDs. They are especially convenient for people with bad eye sight because of their uniform interface and there is no need to change CDs.

A few months ago, Caprice Frofch walked into the Land O'Lakes library looking for some casual reading.

That's when she spotted something called Playaways on a display table. So Frofch, 50, asked someone about the digital audiobooks, which required only a pair of headphones and a AAA battery.

She was hooked.

"In the past, I always took out audiobooks," she said. "I tried walking and listening to a book, but the CDs would skip. But these are so convenient. And, they're so small."

Manufactured by Findaway World in Solon, Ohio, Playaways are smaller than a deck of cards and weigh about 2 ounces. Since June, they have been available at all seven libraries in the Pasco County Library System.

Library officials say simplicity has been key to the popularity of the tiny device.

Playaways have been a hit among the athletic crowd, who exercise with the device. And older folks in assisted living facilities say they find Playaways easier than maneuvering through a half-dozen CDs to listen to one book.

Playaways can store up to 80 hours of audio, as opposed to the eight hours of audio a single CD can store. The device also allows listeners to bookmark their favorite parts of a novel. It can even fast forward or rewind.

And if you don't have headphones or AAA batteries, Pasco's libraries sell both at the checkout.

"It's so easy to use," said Leslie A. Jones, collection development coordinator for the library system. "Especially for patrons who aren't into technology."

Jones, whose job entails researching new library trends, was reading a trade magazine in May when she found Playaways.

So Jones talked the idea over with library officials and contacted a vendor who was distributing them.

Jones chose the Hudson library as a pilot site for the device, since it's the largest library in the county and has the most book titles.

Using their media fund, Hudson library officials bought 63 adult fiction and nonfiction Playaways for $40 each, which is cheaper than the average $70 they pay for one book on multiple CDs.

A few weeks later, Jones reached out to the other six libraries in Pasco, which were eager to jump on the bandwagon.

Jones said the library will buy additional titles based on patron demand.

For those who still prefer books on tape or CD, the library system still offers them. But library officials say the convenience of Playaways could cause traditional methods of listening to books to fade.

Case in point: Ayn Rand's 1,000-page Atlas Shrugged is available for checkout on 42 CDs, and costs the library about $150 to purchase an audio copy.

But one copy of Rand's book on a Playaway costs the library $40. For patrons, there are no compact discs involved.

Caroline Barni, marketing director for Findaway World, said Playaways were launched in 2005, when music downloads had grown in popularity. But downloads required equipment, Barni said, which could get complicated.

"The idea was, what if we put content on something and provide immediate access for simple technology?" Barni said.

Barni's company began with 35 book titles and has grown to about 1,000. They add about 75 book titles per month.

"We have had extreme success with the military," she said. "The head librarian for the U.S. Army started ordering Playaways in April and selling them to soldiers."

Library patrons like Frofch agree that Playaways can be used just about everywhere.

"I just took one to my son's baseball game," she said. "I put one in my handbag while I was waiting for the game to start."

Camille C. Spencer can be reached at cspencer@sptimes.com or 727 869-6229.

FAST FACTS

To learn more

For information on Playaways, go to www.playawaydigital.com or call the Pasco County Library System at (727) 861-3040.

[Last modified October 7, 2007, 20:38:25]