Many thanks to everyone who responded to my question about what people were doing about managing the transition from cassette to other audio formats. A summary of responses is below:
• Postal tape audio service (Hertfordshire and Kent)
• Sending ex-branch tapes to Equal Access stock to prolong EA service.
• USB Boombox trial: http://www.graffofnewark.co.uk/graff-boombox-model-kr00300-p-71.html (Herts)
• MP3 players, with lanyards popular (Berwick)
• Clear message to customers to upgrade, creating legacy collections of tapes. Withdrawing tape collections in refurbed branches. End Apr 2011 only one tape collection at Equal Access Library (Hammersmith and Fulham)
• http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla74/papers/072-Stringer-en.pdf
Presentation on MP3 downloads by Ian Stringer from IFLA conference.
• Downloading audiobooks onto USB stick and loaning out stick and player to customer: http://www.kingsaudio.co.uk/products/usb-otg-flash-media-speakerplayer-039-sound-orb-039/383/
• Stopped buying cassettes, only CDs now. Recommends Clipper Download service, attracted lapsed users to return including many visually impaired. For housebound and non-ICT users they are trialling USB and Boombox service downloaded by staff and delivered by volunteers and picked up in the library. (Poole)
Abigail Luthmann
Equal Access Manager
East Sussex Libraries and Information Service
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