A New Jersey Library Starts Lending Kindles
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 12/13/2007
The new Kindle ebook reader from Amazon.com is certainly not oriented for the library borrowing model, given that books purchased are limited to the device itself. But that hasn’t stopped the Sparta Public Library, NJ, in an affluent suburb 50 miles west of New York City, from buying two $399 Kindles and preparing to loan them to patrons. “[Director Carol Boutilier] is very proactive; she wants us to be on the leading edge of any technology,” explained assistant director Diane Lapsley. Unlike many libraries, Sparta doesn’t shy away from loaning devices along with content; it previously circulated iPods loaded with audiobooks as well as an earlier generation of ebook reader.Kindle represents an advance, Lapsley said, a “paperback” versus the “dictionary” of previous generations of readers. The November 26 issue of Newsweek, with Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos on the cover, caught the library’s attention. “This is something we either have to embrace, or it's going to plow us under,” Lapsley said. “I found it very intuitive” to use.
After posting a notice, “May we Kindle your interest?” the library soon gained 22 reserves for the device, which are to be loaned for a week, beginning today. Each patron was to be allowed to select one book for upload from the Kindle shop, and the library will pay. Initially, Lapsley assumed that the books would be downloaded via the library’s account, but Kindle downloads are wireless, so it will be up to the user. If patrons try to download more than one book, they’ll be charged for it. Similarly, no deposit is required to borrow the Kindle, but the library will keep records of the borrower’s driver’s license and has a list of replacement costs should the device be damaged.
Lapsley predicts that the device will be used not only for best sellers but also to access books that otherwise would take a long time to get through interlibrary loan. Each Kindle can hold more than 200 books. “Whoever takes it out next has the benefit of the cumulative library,” Lapsley said.
