It took me a long time to decide upon a personal use e-reader, but I finally decided upon the Kindle Touch 3G, which my wonderful boyfriend bought me for my birthday last year. While the Kindle Fire seems like a blast, I prefer to have the 3G option available, and I disliked the glare that tablet screens produce. I’ve had the Kindle for a few months now, and I’m really enjoying the device! I have read The Lightning Thief, The Maze Runner, My Ántonia, The Omen Machine, and Hattie Big Sky on the device so far, and I plan on reading a few free classical selections for a the literature course very soon.
I tried working with the MintanaLibrary2Go previously, but I don’t think I ever managed to transfer my downloads to my Kindle. Since I never transferred them, I never ended up reading them, so this assignment will encourage me to use the library e-reader resources more often. I love saving money, so renting the books I want to read appears ideal. Even though it appears that the e-book renting business is on the verge of being withdrawn to some extent in libraries, I’m hopeful that the e-reader market will flatten out soon to make it easier for librarians to be able to decide if they should use e-readers in their libraries.
I already downloaded OverDrive Media Console and Adobe Digital Editions, so I started out by looking for a book and audio book that I wanted to download. For most of the popular books, you need to get on a waiting list to download the book, but I ended up downloading Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I figured out how to get the books and audio files onto my Kindle with some tinkering with Adobe Digital Editions and OverDrive Media Console. I'm actually slightly ashamed how long it took me to figure out how to download the e-books.... My main complaint about the program is the fact that if you have to wait in line for an e-book you might not have time to read it once it's avbailable, but who can argue with free?
In overview, I’m very excited about the fact that I can listen to audio books with my Kindle since I adore audio books and listen to them frequently on my iPod. I am also excited about saving some money on e-books! I can imagine multiple ways that they would be exceedingly valuable in a K-12 setting, but I have not worked in a library where they use them regularly. The library at the school where I substitute teach just received their first Kindles within the last month or so, and they aren’t yet prepared to rent them out to students. One suggestion that I might give to libraries that are just now starting to use e-readers is to save money for some protective accessories such as cases and screen protectors. I haven’t used a screen protector yet, but they, in my opinion, are expensive for a piece of sticky plastic! I will be reading up on e-readers in libraries and hopefully gain a good understanding of my position on the devices as a reading aid before I am employed as a librarian.
I agree that they need to be protected! To use in libraries they must have an insurance plan as well. If the students are taught to respect the E-readers, it would work out well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the Kindle. I think most people will once they get to try one. this is why we should be loaning them out in the library. It's like the sample tables at Costco, try it, you'll like it! I still love to read books too but each has it's place in my life and I am glad to move forward. I absolutely love that the classics are all available too. I just finished Treasure Island and have secret garden waiting.
ReplyDeleteNice graphic -- I'm glad you're taking time to experiment with the blog. Thanks for sharing your experience. it's important for us to all realize that each device is going to require a little something different to download e-books. The price of the sticky plastic -- I KNOW -- we should've all gone into the sticky plastic business!
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