Peggy Revell
Eying an iPad? Needing a Nook? Being called to a Kobo or scoping out a Sony Reader?
Then be sure to drop by the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre sometime next Tuesday (July 26) as it hosts an e-reader “petting zoo” to help newcomers navigate e-book technology.
“The idea of the ‘petting zoo’ is to have the public exposed to a variety of e-readers in a non-retail environment,” explained Raj Sritharan, the library’s technology co-ordinator.
“We can explain the pros and cons of each device, and the cost, as well—without the environment of trying to sell them anything because they’re literally not for sale,” he reasoned.
Rather, it’s an way for people to get a chance to see how books look on the various brands of e-readers, under different lighting conditions, as well as what sort of features they might be interested in when it comes to this technology, Sritharan said.
Those who attend also will learn how to download and borrow the almost 6,000—and growing—book titles currently available through the Ontario-wide collection of e-books.
Since first launching the e-books being available through the library, Sritharan said they’ve had a tremendous response from the public, with several hundred being downloaded.
A variety of reasons are drawing people to e-books, noted Sritharan—one of which is that when you borrow e-books from the library, there are no late fines.
“They just end up expiring after the seven-day or 14-day loan period,” he explained, meaning patrons don’t have to worry about getting the books back in time or face a fine.
“They just know that the title is going to expire and then they’ll no longer be able to access it unless they check it out again.”
The capacity of the e-books is another draw, added Sritharan.
“If you’re going on vacation, you don’t want to be carting around a bunch of books with you,” he remarked.
“Having an e-reader means you can put as many books as you want to read on there, and you just have that one device that you can take along with you.”
As well, the ability to adjust the text also makes books more accessible for people.
“That’s a really good feature because there’s different levels of sightedness—large print for one person may either be too large or too small for their level of eyesight,” he reasoned, noting e-readers allow people to adjust the level of font size to what they prefer for reading.
“One thing I have told people wanting to buy one is that if you do not buy paper books, you will probably not want to buy an e-reader,” said local e-book enthusiast Monica Armour, who owns a Kobo.
“I love e-reading and reading from paper. I switch back and forth,” she remarked, noting this means she has to stop and think when shopping about which format she wants a book in.
“It depends on what I want to do with the book,” Armour explained. “I love it when I travel because I can bring hundreds of books with me in a small space.
“And anyone who knows me knows I love to read!” she added, saying she has to keep the print at its smallest font level on her e-reader because she was constantly turning the pages.
“It is as easy on the eyes as paper—no glare,” Armour said about the format.
But she cautioned some of the e-readers don’t come with their own light—so, like a book, require an external light source.
“I like the fact that I can go online at any time and find a coupon to use before I buy my books and that I can shop for books at any time,” Armour said about one of the other perks of using an e-reader.
One thing about paper books, though, is they’re easier to share with others, she noted.
For those in the west end of the district, a second “petting zoo” is planned for Thursday, Aug. 4 from 1:30-5:30 p.m. and 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Rainy River Public Library.
“It’s a really great opportunity for Rainy River because there aren’t any retail outlets here that are selling e-readers right now,” noted Sritharan.
“So unless people are going to be crossing the border and heading to a retail outlet there, there’s really no way to get a chance to look at these devices and realize [which ones they’d want].”
“The response has been really good here,” Rainy River librarian Michael Dawber said about the move to have e-books available there.
“The usage of our e-books, the downloadable service, has been doubling every month for the past several months.
“So that’s an exciting usage trend to see.”
Demographic-wise, Dawber said the interest in e-readers is “across the board,” although a good deal of the interest is coming from people who use them while travelling or who commute long distances.
While the Fort Frances library doesn’t have any e-readers available to lend out, the one in Rainy River has two of the Kobo e-book readers available for people to borrow, noted Dawber, stressing it’s a service available for all patrons in the west end of the district.
This is something that’s generated a lot of interest from patrons—questions on what the e-readers are, how they work, and ultimately the chance to take one out for a “test drive.”
“So that’s why a ‘petting zoo’ is such a terrific idea to introduce these to as many people as possible,” Dawber stressed.
“It’s nice to actually have the equipment for people just to see and to just experiment with because it’s a new technology for many people,” he noted.
“So to have it physically present and demystify it for people, that’s our goal.”