Library Wheeling in Digital Bookmobile

Do you have an e-reader collecting dust because you don’t know how or can’t afford to download new e-books? The is ready and willing to help for free!

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 2 the library will host a visit from the Digital Bookmobile, where visitors can learn how to use e-readers, how to download e-books, music and videos and how to access the library’s growing collection of downloadable materials from just about anywhere in the world.

Ann Malthaner, library marketing and public relations manager, said library administrators are happy to have finally landed a visit from the bookmobile after two years of trying.

“We thought the Digital Bookmobile would be a fun and exciting way to introduce our community to a great way of accessing information and entertainment,” Malthaner said.

Developed inside a 74-foot, 18-wheel tractor-trailer, the nationally touring Digital Bookmobile operated by OverDrive Inc. is a high-tech update of the traditional bookmobile that has served communities for decades.

A gadget gallery—featuring an iPod touch, Android tablet, NOOK, Sony Reader, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and more — will allow visitors to try out the portable devices for themselves.

The library offers more than 19,000 copies of almost 13,000 downloadable titles — a fact that surprises many patrons, said .

“People just don’t think of libraries that way. They think of them as physical stacks of books – but we’re so much more than that. We have so many neat ways to experience the written word other than books,” McDonald said.

“I love books and don’t think they’re ever going away. With e-readers, though, you can take vast amounts of material with you anywhere in the world or download from anywhere you have an internet connection. It makes getting access to materials so much easier and convenient,” she added.

Malthaner said the library is committed to continually increasing its e-book inventory.

“More and more of our library users take advantage of this service every month as e-readers become more popular and technology becomes more portable. As of June 2011, more than 52,000 library patrons have used this service,” she said.

McDonald said many people bring their e-readers to the library for assistance, while others come in with questions about the new technology.

“There are people who received them as gifts and they’re just sitting in a drawer because they don’t know how to use them or are afraid they’ll break them,” she said. “The Digital Bookmobile is a whole day devoted to learning about these devices.”

Library personnel will staff the bookmobile along with OverDrive employees, giving helpful instruction in how to enjoy the library’s digital collection using all kinds of mobile electronic devices.

Patrons with a library card, a proper device and internet access can check out available items any time, wherever they may be, from the library’s website. Returning items is easy: once they are due, the borrowed materials disappear from the borrower’s device and become available to the next patron.

There is no need to register before visiting the Digital Bookmobile in the library parking lot; just drop by any time between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Aug. 2.

For more information, contact Ann Malthaner or Mary McDonald at 330-688-3295, extension 228.