Downloading the text of a book or an audio file to be listened to are excellent resources for school libraries. In my experience special education teachers are particularly eager to take advantage of audiobooks, but truly, listening to a story is a completely different way to enjoy a book and could be integrated into any classroom, regardless of the kind of learner.
Currently, my school's library has very few audiobooks in their collection. Just a few books on CD, but I am very interested in expanding this portion of the library's collection. I have been eyeing Playaways for some time. Playaways are individual MP3 players with a single book already pre-loaded onto it. They even comes with headphones. Here's a link if you'd like to take a look. I think they would be a fantastic addition to a school library collection, although they are a bit pricey. They could circulate as support for teachers and students or just for fun!
Recently, I was researching databases to purchase for my school library and the salesman pitched the company's line of ebooks. The company was Gale and their ebook collection was impressive. Had I had the funds (isn't that always the case) I would have strongly considered purchasing a set or two. My school has several classrooms that are equipped with laptop labs and ebooks are a great way of extending the library's resources beyond its walls.
My school library has limited resources as well; however, the public library I use has much more material available. I was so impressed when I checked it out for this assignment. I'll be using some of these in my classroom as well.
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