By 
By: RACHEL ALTUM
Staff Writer
Are you an Apple, Kindle or Nook fan? The Schurz Library now has you covered.
The library recently received a $5,764 Library Services & Technology Act grant to establish an e-reader checkout program. There are now two iPad Minis, three Kindle Fire HDs, three Nook HD+s and two Kindle Paperwhites available to check out. The e-readers are already preloaded with popular fiction and non-fiction titles like “The Hunger Games,” “Gone Girl,” “Game of Thrones” and more.
Students who don’t see a title they want to read can submit suggestions to Associate Librarian Vincci Kwong at vkwong@iusb.edu.
“The library has reserved part of the grant to continue adding new fiction and non-fiction titles,” Kwong said. “New titles are continuingly being updated on the website to let people know what is available to read.”
With the new e-reader checkout program, the library may start to see a new crowd.
“The library does not have many leisure reading materials,” Kwong said. “We got an increasing number of requests from students for entertainment materials in addition to books for their research. The e-reader checkout program is a solution to fulfill the unmet need.”
Students hoping to checkout out the iPad Minis and Kindle Fire HDs may find themselves on a waitlist, as they’ve been the most popular devices so far.
“The Kindle Paperwhite seems to be less popular, as the browser is not optimized for Internet browsing,” Kwong said. “Students aren’t using the e-readers just for reading, but for watching movies and using the Internet too.”
The loan period for e-readers is two weeks.
Student can also use the e-readers for studying.
“If an instructor assigned e-text and have course materials available in CourseLoad, students will be able to access the course materials using most devices offered by the e-reader checkout program,” Kwong said. “The only exception is Kindle Paperwhite. If you are currently using e-text on a computer but want to experience how it works on a tablet, check out an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire or Nook.”
They can also be used to open PDF documents, potentially saving students from having to use their GoPrint accounts.
Depending on the popularity of the program, the library will evaluate this summer whether to continue the program.
“At the end of June, we will be looking at usage of the program and decide if we would invest more in the program,” Kwong said.
For more information about the e-reader checkout program visit www.libguides.iusb.edu/ereader.
