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I am writing as Chief Librarian of the Hamilton Public Library to offer advice to any residents who might be thinking of giving somebody an eReader, tablet or smart phone for Christmas.

eBooks and eReaders are ideal for people who love to travel and also to read.  They don’t have to lug an extra suitcase full of books. eReaders are also ideal for people, like me, who have a perpetual fear of running out of reading material.  Now, when I find myself without a book to read, I can log-on to the library’s website from home or in some other city during a holiday weekend and can download another book.

If you give an eReader, please remember these key suggestions:

1.    The Hamilton Public Library has a large eBook collection and anyone with a library card can go to our digital catalogue to download current, popular books. 

2.    Public libraries across North American tend to use the same service to provide eBooks to their customers. This service is going to be unbelievably stressed for the few days after Christmas.  Everyone who gets a reader will, inevitably, try to download books during the same short period of time.  While we and our supplier are trying to secure fast and efficient access, we can almost guarantee that the service will be slow over the holidays.

3.    We have a list of readers and tablets that can be used to download library material. It is on our website.  Most tablets (except anything by Amazon or Blackberry) should work.  Android-based devices and ipads require a free app but, once downloaded, the service is easy to use. Kobos and Nooks work great, as do many smart phones.  You cannot use a Kindle to download library material.  Amazon, which sells the Kindle, does not allow Canadian libraries to use their services and Canadian libraries are deeply concerned with privacy issues. We cannot promise that any Kindle will connect to library collections any time soon.

4.    Some major publishers are not yet allowing public libraries to lend their eBooks. We will do everything we can to continue growing our eBook collections but it may take some time before eBook collections can rival the depth of our print collections.

Incidentally, if you are planning to give someone an ipod or any MP3 device, you may also want to take a look at the library’s Freegal music service.  This service allows each Hamilton Public Library card holder to download (and keep) up to three current songs each week.

From everyone at the Hamilton Public Library, we wish you a happy holiday.  While I am writing to stress changes in our services that affect people who like and use electronic devices, my favourite quote about books and libraries comes from Groucho Marx – “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.  Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read.”

KEN ROBERTS

Chief Librarian

Hamilton Public Library

Posted Dec 21, 2012