by Ashley Escaravage
CULLOWHEE, NC-Western Carolina’s Hunter Library has recently added six Amazon Kindles among their many services they offered to the university’s community.
The Amazon Kindle is an eBook reading device that provides a high resolution image equivalent to a printed page. The Kindle offers 16 shades of gray ink brand electronic paper for readers to choose from for easy readability, and can hold up to 1,500 eBooks.
Amazon.com, Inc. released their first version of this technological advance back in November of 2007. The first generation Kindle, the same edition at Hunter Library, sold out in 5 and half hours and remained out of stock for 5 months.
Hunter Library has downloaded a wide variety of eBooks to their kindles. Theses Kindles hold classics such as Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” to more recent titles such as “Shiver” by Maggie Stiefvater. With 230 titles pre-loaded on to these Kindles there is something for any reader.
Renters are not allowed to download new titles or delete any from these Kindles. Suggestions can be made for new titles with the return of the device and its optional user survey that comes with check out.
“The library invested in the Kindles to promote reading. They’re popular in the real word and we’ve pre-loaded many leisure readings we thought many would enjoy”, said Terry Ensley, Librarian I of the Hunter Library.
Any WCU student, faculty, or Friends of the Library is welcome to check out these devices. The check out time is 3 weeks, the same amount of time as books from the library’s Leisure Reading Collection.
Currently, there is waiting list for the check out of the Kindles. If you would like to be added to this list, go by the circulation reserve at Hunter Library.
