Local book lovers get ready to unite in Australia’s biggest digital book club event as Together We Read returns for a fifth year.
The OverDrive Australia event, supported by Your Library, invites readers to engage with Michael Brissenden’s murder-mystery novel Smoke between 12 and 26 August via Libby.
For the two week period, there will be no wait times or holds required to download the eBook or audiobook, with a final online discussion to be held on Tuesday 26 August at 7.30pm.
Your Library technology and digital services lead Angus Cooke said digital book clubs like Together We Read allow more people to engage and connect, not only with library services, but with people who have similar interests.
“The main benefit of that is people can hop online and access and interact with people who share similar interests in that reading sphere from home, rather than potentially having to go out,” he said.
The featured title for this year, Smoke, is regarded as one of the most talked about crime thrillers of recent years, because of its complex characters, atmospheric settings and a page-turning plot.
Angus said the Australian arm of OverDrive often tries to promote local authors where possible, something that connects readers even more.
At Your Library, Angus said there’s a growing proportion of library users who engage online and the outer eastern service is on track for over a million eBook and audiobook loans for this calendar year.
“Our aim is to connect the community in various different ways, whether it is someone visiting our physical locations, coming in and interacting with staff, borrowing physical items. But there’s a large proportion of our members who do only access the library digitally,” he said.
“And for them, I think it’s great, because it does give them an opportunity to feel connected to the library service, but also to connect with others as well online and feel like they are part of a group and a program.”
As people move to a content focused engagement model, Angus said libraries are doing their bit to keep up.
“Some people are going to stick to physical. They’re never going to delve into digital and that’s perfectly fine, and it goes the other way as well.
“We’re seeing that people will access the library online, and they’ll never actually step foot in any of our physical locations.
“Especially audiobooks, there’s great demand for them, and we’re seeing increased usage in that. People want to read, and digital audiobooks allow people to reaccess their love for reading.”
For people who are time poor or can’t fathom reading a book cover-to-cover, Angus said the free access to audiobooks offers people an alternative to listening to podcasts, radio or music while driving, working or doing things around the house.
Your Library’s Libby collection has grown to over 200,000 titles, with many instantly available to read or listen to.
“For us, there’s no real downturn; you can access it all for free, straight away. It’s accessible for everyone. No one can be excluded from the program. It’s opt-in, and if you want to take part, it’s as simple as hopping online and either reading or listening to the title.
“Together We Read is great for that too, because it’s all concurrent use, meaning that if you do want to take part in the program, you don’t have to worry about waiting for a physical book because other people borrowing it, don’t have to worry about any overdue charges or anything like that, because it’s all online.”
While Your Library is one of the largest, Angus said Together We Read is available across all public libraries in Victoria, and he encourages people to engage, supporting libraries in return.
“There are so many library services taking part in this as well that will benefit from users using the resources and the platforms, because libraries won’t be able to reinvest and grow unless we continue seeing usage grow overall.”
To join the Together We Read event, create a local library membership – join for free easily online or in your local participating branch; download the free Libby app; and borrow Smoke by Michael Brissenden as an eBook or audiobook between 12 and 26 August.
Share your thoughts with other Australian readers in an online discussion forum for two weeks.
For more, go to togetherweread.com/au/
