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iPod to the Rescue: Can Digital Audio Save Publishing?
At the South Huntington Public Library in South Huntington, N.Y., one of the most popular programs doesn’t involve books (in the strictest sense), or even reading (in the strictest sense). The big hit? Books on iPod. Library director Ken Weil says the branch purchased 14 iPod Shuffles in March that members can check out with pre-downloaded audiobooks. (And no, they don’t play the chapters in shuffle mode.) The iPods, Weil says, are “always out.”That folks can pick up a gadget approximately the size of a cigarette lighter at their local library, programmed with a current bestseller for their listening pleasure, is the realization of countless sci-fi movies and Philip K. Dick novels. The future has clearly arrived: Apple’s immensely popular iPod—the software company shipped 5.3 million of the variously priced and sized devices in its second fiscal quarter of 2005 alone—is making consumers more comfortable with the idea of downloading audiobooks and listening on-the-go. So could DABs—which are more accessible, hip and cost-effective than traditional formats like cassettes and CDs—be the next big thing?
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