Arlington Library Gives Clinic on Digital Borrowing

Now it's easier than ever to leave the library with an armful of books.

In fact, patrons of the Arlington Public Library do not even need to leave their homes to check out novels ten at a time.

"We've got thousands of downloadable books," said Peter Golkin, a representative for the library, "and it keeps growing."

The library runs an eLoan program, which allows members to download books to their digital devices.

Barnes and Noble's Nook, the iPad, and Android smart phones are all supported.  So far, however, the service is not available to Amazon's Kindle.

The library got its first digital books in 2001, but it has really seen a sharp spike in the New Year.

"In the last couple of days since the holiday it's skyrocketed," Golkin said.  "We're just trying to keep up with the public's interest.  That's what libraries do."

In response to the demand, they are offering a free clinic on how to access the eLoan collection.  Readers don't need to know the Dewey Decimal system to locate books, but they do need to know how to navigate the system's web site.  For those in need of a tutorial, the library will offer a free clinic on how to download eBooks on January 6 at 7 p.m.

The time you can keep a digital book can vary, from 7 days to three weeks.  Even though the books are digital, the number of copies are limited, so members might have to wait before they can check out bestsellers.

And the best part about the program?  When a book is due back, it simply disappears from the borrower's device.  No more late fees!

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