Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center Releases
Playaway Project Report
The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center, Alliance Library System, and TAP Information Services are pleased to announce the availability of a report on a field test of the Playaway self-playing digital audio book conducted from December 2005 – March 2006. The full text of the report is available at
http://www.mitbc.org/Playaway/Playawayfinal.htm.
More information on Playaway devices and content are available at http://www.playawaydigital.com/index_flash.aspx.
During the project period, 140 devices were circulated to patrons from the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center. The experiences and feedback gleaned during this small field test indicate that libraries of all types should seriously consider a self-contained digital audio book device such as the Playaway as one way to introduce the pleasure and convenience of digital audio books to broad middle group of their service populations—users who are neither technophobic nor technologically proficient. Many users with computers are excited about the availability of downloadable digital audio books. Playaway gives readers without a computer or an MP3 player the opportunity to experience digital audio books and libraries a way to offer digital audio books without worrying about platforms and players.
“Playaway represents an interesting intersection of the key functionality of digital audio books with the simplicity and portability of a small self-contained device,” stated Tom Peters, Project Director and evaluator.
For more information on the project, contact Tom Peters of TAP Information Services at tapinformation@yahoo.com or 816-228-6406. For more information on Playaway and libraries, contact Mike Belsito of Findaway World/Playaway at mike.belsito@findawayworld.com.
