Brick-and-mortar libraries aren’t disappearing from the literary landscape any time soon, but they are changing, and the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library is changing as well, adding a growing litany of services for book lovers young and old.
By the end of July, your next beach read may be an e-book, borrowed from the library and downloaded to your favorite digital device.
The library recently received a $10,000 federal grant, administered through the Mississippi Library Commission, to purchase electronic books which can be read on a variety of devices, including popular e-readers like the Kindle and Nook, as well as some tablets and smart phones.
Library cardholders will be able to “borrow” e-books for up to two weeks, after which time the book will automatically disappear from their e-reader. Traditional books can be checked out for up to a month at a time.
E-books will be available for download from the library’s website 24/7. Information sheets will explain how to use the new service.
Some questions remain, namely how many e-books will be available and how much the library will have to pay publishers to obtain them. Because each e-book is the equivalent of one physical book, only one reader at a time can check out an e-book. With popular titles, like the latest bestsellers, the library may purchase several copies so waiting lists won’t be so long.
The selection will be broader thanks to the Mississippi Library Partnership, a coalition by which state libraries share resources. For the e-book project, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library will join with Tombigbee Regional Library of West Point and Mid-Mississippi Regional Library System.
Together, the three libraries will be able to offer more choices and get “more bang for the buck,” Columbus Library Director Alice Shands said.
It will also enable the library to serve younger readers who are accustomed to the convenience of having whatever they desire, at their fingertips thanks to the Internet.
Whereas older readers walk into the library, hoping the library will have the book they want, younger readers are astounded when a specific title is not carried.
“We were feeling like we were behind the times,” Shands said. “It’s generational.”
Technology has already changed some familiar sights in the library. The massive card catalogs have been replaced with computer terminals allowing users to search by title, subject or author’s last name. The library now offers the World Book Encyclopedia online, with updates automatically occurring daily at 3 a.m.
There is one caveat to the e-book checkouts: You must already own an e-reader, because at this time, the library does not have e-readers available for loan. That is a possibility for the future though, Shands said.
Local lawyer Katherine Kerby said she has considered donating both of her Nooks to the library — she’s had them two years, and she never uses them.
She initially thought she would like an e-reader because it would enable her to carry more books while traveling, but she soon discovered they slowed her reading speed.
She has, however, found e-readers helpful in finding rare books. A while back, she wanted a copy of “History of Columbus, Mississippi During the 19th Century,” by Dr. William Lowndes Lipscomb. She found the book through Cornell University’s Library Making of America Collection, a digital library.
“It was super cool to find a rare book without going anywhere,” she said.
A recent survey by Pew Research Center found around 20 percent of adults have read an e-book recently, but only 12 percent of Americans 16 and older had borrowed an e-book from their local library.
That may be because most people are unaware of their library’s digital offerings. The report stated 62 percent of readers did not know whether their library carried e-books.
More than three-quarters of the nation’s public libraries offer e-books, according to a 2011-2012 study by the American Library Association and the Information Policy and Access Center.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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