Reading Remotely

Mobile Comics Plus: Library Edition from Recorded Books

Comics move online

Independent audiobook and ebook publisher Recorded Books and comics distributor iVerse Media has partnered with IDW Publishing to update its Comics Plus: Library Edition service.

Comics Plus: Library Edition supplies libraries with digital graphic novels and comics that can be accessed by patrons from any web-based device. Patrons can check out as many titles as they want at a time and then stream them to their devices either online or via an app for offline reading. Designed for all ages, Comics Plus offers comics in a range of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, thrillers, romance, indie comics, Sunday funnies, and manga for more than 25,000 titles. Popular titles include Archie, Peanuts, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Doonesbury, and several Dark Horse comics.

Recently, IDW Publishing exclusive digital comics were made available on Comics Plus: Library Edition, adding several new titles such as Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony, Dexter’s Laboratory, Star Trek, Godzilla, and others. Offered as single-issue comics, IDW Publishing titles are available on Comics Plus 90 days after their release.

Designed for mobile use, Comics Plus: Library Edition is available to users 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Users have access to all Comics Plus content. Patrons can browse by genre, publisher, title, popularity, or keyword. A subscription to Comics Plus comes with patron support as well as staff training.

For more information on Comics Plus: Library Edition, visit bit.ly/2a6ST4C.

Boopsie apps connect the community

Smartphone usage has increased more than 30% in just the past five years, and 68% of adults in urban areas own smartphones. To help libraries provide their patrons with this access point, mobile-platform-as-a-service provider Boopsie has created an app that is easy to launch and maintain.

At the tap of a button, Boopsie’s mobile app can connect to OverDrive, OneClickdigital, Axis 360, Flipster, hoopla digital, Zinio, and Comics Plus: Library Edition. Their native library-branded apps provide 24/7 year-round access to a library, giving patrons the ability to connect with their library on a device of their choosing anywhere in the world.

Key features allow users to:

access a calendar of events, classes, hours of operation, contact information, and library schedules
search the library catalog for books, DVDs, and other materials
access digital resources such as ebooks and e-audiobooks
reserve or cancel holdings
renew borrowed materials
manage fees and perform other actions
locate the nearest library within a district using GPS-aware technology
update social media, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
use a digital library card, eliminating the need to carry around a physical card

The Boopsie native mobile app is available on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, and Blackberry platforms. For more information or for a demo, visit boopsie.com.

Case Study: Koios Plugin Empowers Readers

User: Jennifer Oliver, public information officer, Washoe County Nevada Library System

Details: Koios is a plugin for Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari that allows users to access materials directly from Amazon or Google. Books, ebooks, audiobooks, music, movies, and online courses available at the library can now be found when doing a basic search.

How do you use Koios?

Koios is a browser extension that brings access to library books through everyday searches on Amazon and Google.

How does Koios serve your library’s needs?

Our mission is to connect people with information, ideas, and experiences to support an enriched and engaged community, one person at a time. This is accomplished through the use of Koios—we are connecting people with what they are looking for while offering an alternative to purchasing. Making that connection for people is key. Not only are we bringing access to the user, but it also is an example of how the role of a library can easily be integrated into our daily lives, which complements the standard brick-and-mortar library experience.

What are the main benefits?

I would say the main benefit is convenience! As someone shops, he or she will be able to quickly see if the library has a particular book. From there a person will click into our library catalog, where they can place a hold on the item for checkout. Another major benefit is the time saved.

What would you have like to see improved or added to their service?

We look forward to mobile options as well as an expansion to include audiovisual materials and database content. These two huge additions are already in the works. This opens up even more opportunities for people to see what the library has to offer and how a library integrates into their everyday lives.

For more information on Koios, visit koios.co.

Latest Library Links

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Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
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Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
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John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
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Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13
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Rowana Miller writes: “In my experience, many young library-goers identify as storytellers but not writers. These are the kids who draw Captain-Underpants-style cartoons, who craft meticulous Minecraft universes, and who plot elaborate Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, but who believe that ‘writing’ is limited to five-paragraph essays. But when children draw the connections between their natural storytelling proclivities and the written word, they can become self-motivated to develop the communication skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. Libraries, I believe, are uniquely positioned to help children make this connection.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 15
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ALA has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. A committee of ALA member leaders will oversee the search. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. “We are excited to embark on our search for a new executive director,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl. “This leadership position is critical as we navigate the years ahead. We seek candidates who have knowledge of the library community and the urgent issues we face.”

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, Nov. 14