Traditional books haven’t been replaced by new technology yet.
Circulation of print materials is down three per cent within Okanagan Regional Library, while the download of audiobooks has almost doubled. However, executive director Lesley Dieno says the agency still circulates three million print items a year.
“Lots of people, and especially teens, want print,” she said. “They read computers and phones all day long and when they are ready for pleasure, they want print.”
There is also a growing demand for books with large type and languages other than English.
But many ORL patrons are embracing the latest in technology. “So far this year, 83,000 ebooks have been downloaded,” said Dieno.
Other services are popular. The number of downloads of music from Freegal is up 80 per cent and the collection of magazines from Zinio is being used at a high rate.
“Libraries have to provide something of everything.”