Libraries Stocking Up on E-Readers

Earlier this year, Lunenburg Public Library added three Kindles - a hand-held electronic device that can hold entire books - to its lending collection. Each Kindle holds 28 different titles. "They have been absolutely amazing. They are very popular," said Amy Sadkin, director of the Lunenburg Public Library. "We have more than 15 holds on the three Kindles, and have just ordered two more through the Friends of the Library which will be available in five or six months." In recent years, e-readers have become one of the popular must-have technologies. The Kindle, an e-reader offered by Amazon.com, is the most popular of the electronic devices. It is about the thickness of a pencil and can hold more than 3,500 downloaded books. The Kindle offers classic books for free, with other titles at $9.99. Local libraries are adding these devices in their collections, in limited quantities, as an alternative to the traditional bound book. Other libraries are considering purchasing them for their staff to become familiar with the devices, to assist readers who use them.