Area libraries changing to meet demand for digital books

Area libraries are adapting to how more people are reading -- via electronic reader tablet.

The Cape Girardeau Public Library has seen an increase in requests for help using the new gadgets to access the free digital books offered for checkout through the library's participation in Missouri Libraries 2 Go.

During the holidays, millions received the season's most popular electronic reader tablets. Amazon said in December that its sales for the Kindle were the company's best ever, with more than 4 million units sold. Barnes & Noble said Jan. 5 that holiday sales of Nooks increased 70 percent over the same period last year, although it did not release actual sales numbers for either year.

The popularity of the devices has pushed Missouri Libraries 2 Go's catalog to nearly 2,000 titles, up from around 500 a year ago, said Marilyn Hutchings, a library reference associate. New titles are added quarterly. Around 30 Missouri libraries share the cost of running the website for Missouri Libraries 2 Go and buying new titles. Titles can be checked out for seven to 14 days. Missouri Libraries 2 Go launched in late 2010.

"People just keep discovering this," Hutchings said, "but a lot of people are coming in not knowing quite how to use theirs."

Library staff members often help patrons get their electronic reader tablets ready to download or directs them to a downloadable digital media guide. Audio books are also available for download.

At the Perryville, Mo., branch of Riverside Regional Library, a Kindle and Nook Book Club is forming. The club's first meeting was earlier this month, and there are already plans to add a second weekly meeting time due to interest, said Jan Sibley, a clerk at the library. The club currently meets at 4 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month.

Participants in the club "basically sit around and throw questions" about how to make the best use of their electronic reader tablets, Sibley said. All the Riverside Regional Library locations -- Perryville, Altenburg, Jackson, Scott City, Benton and Oran -- added public Wi-Fi access in the fall, which has caused many people to wander in with electronic reader tablets, Sibley said.

The Cape Girardeau Public Library also offers free Wi-Fi access.

Riverside Regional Library sites aren't connected to a network for downloadable books like those participating in the Missouri Libraries 2 Go system, but Sibley said she anticipates services will move in that direction. Until about a month ago, some patrons were checking out downloadable books from the Kansas City Public Library, she said. Riverside Regional Library sites were notified by email that the service would no longer be available except to those who lived in a certain distance of Kansas City because the library could not handle a large and growing number of checkouts and requests. The Riverside Regional Library website does link to Project Gutenberg, a well-known website that offers downloads of thousands of free public domain titles.

Other large urban libraries, like the Boulder Public Library in Boulder, Colo., are adapting to the popularity of electronic reading by offering checkouts of the actual devices. The library began lending Nook electronic readers last week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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