E-readers arrive at library in time for summer

L to R: Ursula Brigl, chief librarian; Flo Tomicki, garage sale volunteer; Mayor Scott Manjak; Councillor Liz Schatschneider; Kelly Widmer, Friends of the Library member; Marilyn Forbes, Friends of the Library president; Karen Hendren, Friends of the Library member; Terry Burgess, Friends of the Library member.

This summer people have a new way to borrow books with the arrival of the latest Kobo Touch e-reader at the Cranbrook Public Library due to a generous donation from the Friends of the Library.

“The demand for e-readers is growing in leaps and bounds,” said David Clark, chair of the library board. “More and more people have been coming to the library asking for advice on e-readers, so when the Friends of the Library generously offered to donate the funds we decided that adding e-readers to our collection was a great way to meet the needs of anyone who is curious about them.”

People going on vacations will particularly enjoy e-readers because they can take hundreds of books with them in one small package.  In addition, the electronic ink display makes it easy to read in direct sunlight, even with sunglasses, and one charge can last for weeks rather than hours.

The Kobo Touch was selected over Amazon’s Kindle or the Sony e-readers because it is compatible with Library to Go, the province’s online ebook lending service, and its easy to use touchscreen interface.

“There are only two buttons, one turns it on and the other returns you to the main screen,” says Gloria Margison, acquisitions librarian and ereader neophyte.  “Everything else is done by touching the screen. The quick start guide included with the e-reader makes it easy to start reading even if, like me, you have never held an e-reader before.”

While the library is offering more digital media options for people to use, these formats complement rather than replace paper books. “E-readers give people more choice in how they access information. Whether they want print books, CDs, audio books, films or ebooks, the library’s role is to provide access to information regardless of the format,” said Marilyn Forbes, president of the Friends of the Library.  “We are thrilled that the money we raised at our spring garage sale makes it possible for the Library to provide more choice to people in our community.”

All that is needed to borrow a Kobo e-reader is a library card. And since the e-readers are sure to be popular, people can place a hold to get on the waiting list for the next available Kobo e-reader.

For more information call the Cranbrook Public Library at 250-426-4063 or visit their website