Skövde Library was the first to offer downloads of audio books and language courses.

How did things go at first, and what range did you offer?
‘It was a collaborative project between Skövde Library, SweMD.com and the Västra Götaland Regional Library Service, with contributions from the National Council for Cultural Affairs and the Regional Library. We started on 20 June 2005, and Lennart Kollmats, the chairman of the Culture Committee, inaugurated the MP3 station. We started with 9 audio books and 7 language courses, and later increased the range to 16 audio books and 17 language courses.’

Did you publicise the service?
‘Information about the project and the inauguration was sent to TV stations, newspapers and radio.’

How did the media react?
‘The local papers, Radio Skaraborg, TV4 Skaraborg and Västnytt reported on the inauguration. TT, DN, Aftonbladet and Expressen did telephone interviews with us. As the local papers get their material from TT, the news went round the whole country, from north to south. Verdens Gang (a Norwegian daily newspaper) sent reporters and a photographer, and presented the MP3 project on a whole spread in its paper. I was on Västnytt, Landet Runt, Riksradion and Radio Stockholm, and many newspapers and magazines telephoned.

How was the new service received from the beginning?
‘It was an immediate success. The library has never before received so much positive attention.’

Who was the ‘typical downloader’ to begin with?
‘It felt as though we’d reached pretty much everyone apart from children, because we didn’t have any children’s books. There wasn’t one typical downloader, but several. We expected to attract young people first and foremost, but we quite quickly realised that MP3 books also attracted older borrowers (who bought MP3 players specially for the purpose), middle-aged men, industrial workers working on conveyor belts, dyslexics, commuters in buses, trains and cars, joggers, and so on.’

What reactions did you get from borrowers?
‘Only positive reactions. The only negative comment was that we didn’t have a big enough range of MP3 books.’

Who was the typical downloader after a time. Any change from the initial period?
‘What we were able to see was that we got many new visitors who also discovered the library’s other media and services.’

Was the service a success?
‘Yes, absolutely – much more than we dared hope for.’