Beverly Jirsa from the Wheaton Public Library also responded to my call for feedback regarding phase one of ListenIllinois (read their web page about the audiobooks). Here is what she had to say:

"The Wheaton Public Library started checking out our four Otis MP3 players to the public at the end of January. Our patrons have been loving them. Very few reported any difficulties with them, and a number of listeners have placed repeat holds on the players. We now have a reserve list several months long. We anticipate adding players during this second enrollment period. Many patrons from other libraries visit us and have been asking about ListenIllinois. We only place holds for Wheaton patrons, so RBPs are not going to get their hands on any of our Otises for years. I tell them to take our flyers to their home libraries to urge them to participate in the program."