The high school library launched a new eBook program at the start of this school year. As more and more titles are added to the constantly growing eLibrary, librarians and students are excited to see how this quicker, more accessible program will grow.
Last year, Emily Coklan met with Middle School South and North librarians on an Institute Day to work for a goal. The group of three settled on the goal of bringing eBooks to the three major libraries in the district.
The eLibrary, which is up and running, is accessible to all students at both the high school and middle schools. Now, students may log into the Follett server and check out a book from their respective school’s library for their iPad, Amazon Kindle, iPhone, Nook, or any other device that has web browser accessibility.
Follett, the same program that is used for the library catalog, has been used by the libraries for years, therefore making the Enlight service itself free. This and the rapidly growing store of books made Follett the best choice, according to Coklan. Follett is used by other high schools in the area that have launched eBook programs in the past few years; however, it is not the same service at the Ela Library, which uses Overdrive, a service that costs money.
Follett is divided into separate services. Follett Shelf services the catalog as well as the eBook store where Coklan and other librarians will purchase the books that will be available for checkout. Follett Enlight is the free app which students can download to upload eBooks to their tablets or mobile devices.
eBooks run around $8-$10 a copy, making them both economically and ecologically ideal. Librarians also have the option of buying an unlimited supply of eBook’s for their eLibrary, according to Coklan. This feature allows for an unlimited number of students to check out a book at once. Without this, there are a limited number of copies of eBooks students may check out. eBook checkout’s are the same length as regular books, and at the end of the checkout, books are automatically removed from the students device and are once again available in the eLibrary.
“Right now, I am looking at what books are getting checked out the most, and what students are showing interest for. If there is more interest in a book, I will buy more,” Coklan said. “We have also purchased books that students typically use for research projects in school.”
Coklan also noted that eBook requests are considered, however, resistance from publishers to create eBooks makes having a full library difficult.
“Our eBook Library is 261 right now, and our print book collection is 16,765, however, that number does include videos and devices that are available for checkout, too,” Coklan said. “Publishers have been reluctant to make their books into eBooks. [I believe] it is because of the money. They make much more money off of print copies than they do eBooks. As books are made available by the publishers, we add them to our eLibrary.”
With titles and collections being added every day, the sky seems to be the limit for digital reading. Half of the high school students are currently in possession of school-issued iPads and more are potentially to come next year. The eLibrary is expected to increase book checkouts and availability of titles, but Coklan believes print will never grow obsolete and promises that the LZHS Library will always have print on paper.
“eBooks are just another resource, not necessarily taking over,” Coklan said. “Print and eBooks both have their advantages and disadvantages. I am a fast reader, so I might knock out five to six books on a long plane ride. I can bring my iPad and not have to carry around one book. However, I wouldn’t take my iPad to the beach to read and there are other places I would rather bring a $10 paperback than my $300 iPad.”