Digital rivals paper

Although books haven’t been overlooked at the Long Beach Public Library, where paper still beats digital in total circulation, digital media -- ebooks, audio books and movies -- is growing in popularity in Long Beach, as it is nationwide.

“More and more the circulation is leading toward digital media,” said library Director George Trepp, who said the medium accounts for as much as 45 percent of total circulation.

The library subscribes to Overdrive, a national service that allows users to download audio books and ebooks directly from its Web site to their home computers. Files can then be transferred to an e-book reader like that made by Sony or an mp3 player and iPod. Trepp said the downloadable service has particularly taken off, with Overdrive jumping from 14 participating libraries to 43 since 2007.

“The good news about having 43 libraries is the total cost of it drops for each library,” said Trepp, adding that a blanket membership fee is $20,000. “The more libraries that join, the less the membership fee is.” Trepp noted that Amazon’s e-reader, the Kindle, is incompatible with these types of files. As he explained it, users download a book and it sits on the computer’s desktop for a given time, typically seven to 14 days, before it automatically deletes. Users can reregister the book and increase the time they have to read or listen to it. If a book is downloaded into an mp3 player or e-reader, Trepp said it will stay there permanently. The best part is, he said, “you have not left home and did not incur any extended use fees.”

With the only Blockbuster store in Long Beach having closed its doors in December, the library has been the closest place for residents to rent movies.

“Because Blockbuster went out of Long Beach, we thought that there would be a void in the community,” he said. “So we thought we would respond to that void by expanding our popular items within the constraints of our budget.”

But the plan was derailed a bit when the industry changed its sales model. Trepp explained that now production studios are releasing a rental and retail versions of movies. Rental versions, aimed at libraries, are more expensive and contain less content, like extra features. The retail version, aimed at consumers, would be cheaper and contain more features, but are released only two to eight weeks after the rental version.Trepp said the library is still planning on expanding its movie collection, but is unsure of the specifics.

With the library’s Board of Trustees working out the 2010-2011 budget, Trepp said because of required contributions to the New York State Retirement System, the library is expecting an increase in taxes. “We’re trying to keep the budget as lean as possible,” said Trepp, who proposed two options to the board. “We are very aware of what’s going on out there.”

The two proposed options average an increase of 2.5 percent. Trepp maintains that despite an increase in taxes, those that use the library on a moderate basis see a savings in their daily lives. Using the annual Jazz Festival as an example, he said, “You could sit through a day of jazz and it would pay for your taxes.”

Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.