E-books Come to Parkland Community Library

 Love the simplicity and ease of having a portable library with you on trips or while curled up on the couch? 

Good news then.

The Parkland Community Library was one of 30 chosen to be included in a Sony Reader Program to expand eBook collections and digital reading programs. (eBooks are digital versions of print books that are right-protected and made to easily download to eReader devices.)

Library Executive Director Debbie Jack had reached out to Sony.

"I heard about the Sony Reader program at a library workshop I attended in January on eBooks. It was mentioned that Sony was partnering with libraries and giving them Sony Readers so I contacted them about it."

To borrow the eBooks, a person has to be a member of the Parkland Community Library; the library card will provide access. Patrons also need their computer or another compatible device, such as the Sony Pocket Reader, Barnes & Noble’s Nook or any other device that supports the Adobe Content Server. Parkland’s Reference Services Supervisor Noah Roth cautioned that the Kindle is not compatible with the service.

“More fiction titles will be added shortly,” Roth explained, as he demonstrated the simple process of borrowing an eBook.

Once logged into Parkland Library’s website, patrons simply click on the PowerLibrary link and then NetLibrary. From there they can search by title, author, subject and more to find their desired eBook. Once downloaded, the eBook is accessible to read on patrons' laptop or PC, or it can be transferred to patrons' eReader device to carry the ‘book’ with them.

For those who do not own a portable eReader device, check back with the library. Staff may circulate a few eReaders among patrons so that everyone can take advantage of the new service.

The loan period on eBook titles is one week, and just as with traditional books, eBooks can be placed on hold if a title is on loan to another library patron.

Patrons don't have to worry about late fees. Up to five titles at a time can be borrowed, and once the time is up, the ebooks are automatically ‘returned’ to the library. While the file remains, it is no longer accessible. eBooks can be checked  out again if they are available; the license would be reactivated giving patrons access so there would be no need to download the eBook a second time.

The rising popularity of eBooks hasn't affected traffic at the Parkland Community Library, which serves South Whitehall, North Whitehall, Upper Macungie and portions of Allentown that are in the Parkland School District.

"We haven't seen a decline in patrons with all the technology out there," Jack said. "There are those who still love the written word in book format and may never embrace the technology, so they are still coming in. But we also offer computers for our patrons to use, DVDs, CDs, newspapers, and programs which are done at the library."

The library is also a Wireless Hotspot, so patrons can bring their own laptops and access the Internet for free. 

The Sony program provided in-house training on the digital reading devices and the educational materials to help librarians and patrons learn more about how to use them.