Ebooks now for everyone in Tulare

No matter what age, no matter what income, anyone in Tulare can have an electronic reading device and ebooks at no charge.
Well, for two weeks, anyway. All you need is a card for any library within the San Joaquin Valley Library System.
The Tulare Public Library launched its program Monday, and by Wednesday morning, it had 200 ebook users, Adult Services Librarian Mary-Catherine Oxford said.
“Ebooks are cool. They’re convenient. If you get stuck somewhere, you can have something in your purse or on your smartphone to read. If you’re traveling, you can take multiple books using a lot less space,” Oxford said.
The beauty of this system is it’s available around the clock, every day of the year if you access it online, which means you can borrow books from the comfort of your home if you don’t need to borrow an electronic reading device as well, Oxford said.
And while it’s a service some people have been asking about for a few years, it may also open some new doors, Oxford said.
“We can reach a whole new group of people. People that don’t have time to come in and sit down, or don’t think the library is for them, or can offer them anything, it will help us reach a new audience. Like our website and database, it’s one more service we can offer virtually when it’s convenient for them,” Oxford said.
She said the library will be looking for feedback, and seeing what people choose from the collection so it can be shaped accordingly.
“It’s important for a library to keep up with the needs of the community. It’s our responsibility to get people what they want and need and provide it in a format that works for them,” Oxford said.
If it all sounds too good to be true, there is one hitch. You can use any brand of electronic reading device except the Kindle.
The new downloadable lending program is being provided by the 3M Cloud Library eBook Lending Service, and Oxford said the library got a great rate because it is one of 11 beta sites across the country testing 3M’s ebook lending service for libraries. The library obtained the required book license fee, Discovery terminal and one-year subscription to the Cloud Library for $15,400, plus the cost of books, which can range from $10 to $90, Oxford said.
Currently they have a 600-ebook collection targeting all age ranges, but “we are hoping to grow this collection if we get a positive response,” Oxford said.
There are two ways to use the new service. One is application-based, where books are downloaded straight to the device, meant for use with smartphones, iPads and such devices. The other way involves downloading onto a computer.
You can borrow as many as three ebooks at once, but you’d have to be a speed reader to get through them before they disappear when the two-week limit expires, Oxford said.
“But no more late fees,” she said.
If the borrowed electronic reading device is lost or not returned, the borrower faces a $100 fine.