E-Readers, Loaded and Ready to Loan

According to Pew Internet, a project of the Pew Research Center, people are eager to try e-book readers and would like to borrow these e-readers from local libraries.  One of Pew Internet's charts (shown) tabulates the level of e-reader interest sorted by age, ranging from 60% positive interest for teenagers to 25% for seniors.  The chart further demonstrates that there is an interest in learning how to use e-readers and how to download books onto them.  It appears that these people may not be aware that their local libraries offer such devices and services.

In all of these cases, Bernardsville Public Library has been at the forefront in e-book technology made available to our library users.  We offer many types of loanable e-readers pre-loaded with numerous book titles, we hold classes to help people learn about these e-tablets, and we provide take-away information on how to download books from our library website. Our users continue to enjoy the e-book experience at Bernardsville Public Library, and we, in turn, have increased our inventory of loanable material to meet their growing demand.

Starting out with a Sony e-reader a number of years ago, we have expanded our e-reader inventory to include the Nook, Kindle, Kindle Fire and iPad.  All these devices are in demand thanks in part to the fact that we have customized them with many popular book titles.  A search of our library catalog for Nook or Kindle will disclose the long list of book titles contained on each device.  There is even a Kindle Fire just for children and teens with appropriate books for that age group.  Further, our website provides many online instruction sheets which will guide the new user easily through the steps for operating e-readers and downloading e-books.  Clearly, public interest in e-readers is there, as Pew Internet's research demonstrates, and libraries like Bernardsville Public Library have responded.