I'm down with the Shifted Librarian here. I'd be a lot more inclined to cough up for that Audible membership with my iPod if they had a more comprehensive selection. And most especially for Nancy Drew.

Miasma

Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Missing MP3.

'The Hidden Staircase' by Carolyn Keene

"The Nancy Drew story began in 1930, with the publication of 'The Secret of the Old Clock,' the first book in the series. Nancy Drew was the invention of Edward Stratemeyer, owner of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and also the creator of the Tom Swift and Hardy Boys series.

The author name 'Carolyn Keene' was likewise an invention. Stratemeyer hired Mildred Wirt Benson (nee Wirt), a young journalist, to ghostwrite the new mystery series for young girls. Benson earned $125 per book for her stories about the girl detective. Stratemeyer died the year the first one was published, leaving his daughter Harriet Adams to supervise the series and later write many of the novels herself.

Actress Laura Linney reads from the second book in the series, 'The Hidden Staircase,' courtesy of Random House Audio." [Salon.com]

You can download the 3.1MB MP3 file or listen to a streaming Real file. The clip is just over seven minutes long, and you can purchase the complete story from Powell's for $18. Unfortunately, the part that makes absolutely no sense about this is that you'll be purchasing an audiocassette version that will be shipped to you in 1 to 3 days, rather than obtaining a less expensive, more sensible MP3 version that you could listen to right away.

I'm especially disappointed in Random House for not offering this title through Audible since they have an exclusive agreement with them. Imagine how many young adults libraries could hook by circulating MP3 titles such as the Nancy Drew series.

Actually, "disappointed" isn't a strong enough term.

[The Shifted Librarian]

12:35:28 AM