OverDrive - Blog Posts
As a current librarian, I 100% agree with this! Libby also lets you "subscribe" to a magazine, so you get notifications when a new issue is available.
If you don't like reading magazines (or eBooks, for that matter) on your phone, you can log into Libby on your computer at libbyapp.com.
As a former librarian I'm actually required to remind you that many libraries that subscribe to Libby are opted into a program that lets you subscribe and access magazines for free with no wait
And that this is actually a really fun, low cost way to not only access news and larger cultural magazines, but also to get free patterns for many different crafts that you can screenshot if need be and that lower the financial barriers to entry for trying new things
From my experience working in both academic and public libraries, many libraries are use it or lose it funding-- I have to say this because a lot of patrons feel guilty for how much they use the library and how often they're using it funny enough, but the worst thing you can do for libraries is not try out new features and not use what's already given to you as much as possible.
The numbers that come as a result of your patronage are how most libraries justify their continued existence in times of financial hardship, which sucks but, go check out some magazines on Libby!
Well, that's massively creepy! My library (and our OverDrive consortium) don't have any eAudiobooks with "synthesized voice" narrators. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily mean that we don't have AI narrators that aren't identified that way. We do have books by Blake Pierce, Molly Black, Fiona Grace, Rylie Dark, and some of the other authors listed in the article though.
Our Collection Development Policy doesn't specifically mention AI; we'll have to keep that in mind for the next review. I would recommend against purchasing AI-generated materials based on our criteria of artistic and literary quality, and reputation of the author, artist, or publisher. (Not to mention the damage that it does to the literary industry and the people in it!) However, that depends on us knowing that something is AI-generated. We don't have the time to do a deep dive into every author and narrator like Robin Bradford and SB Sarah did for this article.
Personally, I'm disgusted by AI-generated material being used in place of human-created works. Machine "learning" should be taking over repetitive, boring, and/or dangerous work to give humans more time for creativity! Using AI for creative work and leaving people to do more drudgery, is sickening. The fact that most of the bases that AIs are using come from people who are neither credited nor compensated for their work just makes it worse.
(This is my personal opinion and not the opinion of my employer.)
Is your library unknowingly buying AI written and/or narrated books?
OK, I know it sounds like clickbait. But smartbitchestrashybooks.com makes a pretty compelling case in their recent article,
AI Audiobook Narrators in OverDrive and the Issue of Library AI Circulation Policy
It's a long article, but worth the read. I wonder if it started before or after KKR bought Overdrive.
Any thoughts, @bibliofran ?