High-tech options are available
By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
CRANBURY — The Cranbury Public Library has made some of the newest technology around available to patrons both at its location and through cyberspace.
The library is now checking out Playaways, self-playing digital audiobooks, to residents and making the MyLibraryDV, a free video download service, available on its Web site at www.cranburypubliclibrary.org.
Playaways function like audiobooks, but unlike their predecessors, CDs and audio cassettes, they are the size of an MP3 player and can hold up to 80 hours worth of content in one unit, said Marilynn Mullen, library director.
Ms. Mullen said she looks forward to saving some much-needed shelving space and funds with this latest addition.
Lengthy novels such as Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” — which, as an audio book with about 50 hours and 40 minutes of content would be stored on 36 cassettes — will now occupy one inch of shelving space as a Playaway unit, she said.
”We have a large audio-book clientele,” Ms. Mullen said. “But (Playaways) are so easy to take with you. They’re also less expensive than a book on CD.”
The library has 22 Playaways, half of which are currently checked out, ranging from political satires such as “I Am America (And So Can You!)” by Stephen Colbert to children’s books such as “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Setnick, Ms. Mullen said.
It is the library’s intent to purchase two or three Playaways each month and develop a diverse collection, she said.
Donations given in the memory of Helen Pember, a longtime Cranbury resident, have made this new collection possible, Ms. Mullen said.
”We were very pleased that she asked donations be given to the Cranbury Public Library,” she said. “She was a promoter of literature, drama and travel. Rather than a book here or there, we can dedicate a whole collection in her memory.”
In an effort to train employees on the new technology, they were all asked to check out a Playaway, Ms. Mullen said, so that they could have firsthand experience with the units when patrons need assistance.
Residents can check out up to five Playaways at a time for up to two weeks.
Although Ms. Mullen suspects Playaways’ popularity will grow, she said she doesn’t believe they will ever replace books, which are priceless to a sunbather on the beach, a child looking for vivid illustrations or someone thumbing back and forth through pages for the sake of research.
Even more recent than the Playaways is the addition of the MyLibraryDV, a service offering library cardholders free and downloadable lifestyle, entertainment and information programming through the library’s Web site.
Cranbury is one of the few libraries pioneering this service and has subscribed to it at a reduced rate for doing so, Ms. Mullen said.
At the click of a mouse, patrons can download anything from cooking, traveling, do-it-yourself or children’s shows, along with literary criticism and classic movies.
”You do have people who want to get information 24/7, I think that’s part of the future,” Ms. Mullen said.