A series of New York Times Best Sellers will be some of the first digitalized material when the Robert E. Kennedy Library unveils five new electronic devices for reading books on Nov. 2, in an effort to provide students with the best study tools.
“This fall, we want students to get the chance to check them out and decide if they are useful as a research tool and tell us what they would like to see on the Kindles. If it is very successful, then we will be ordering more in the winter,” said Dale Kohler, the director of library information technology.
The library ordered the Kindles at stock price for $489 each and purchased 50 New York Times Best Sellers in electronic ‘book’ form, to stock each Kindle with.
The library initially decided to not put textbooks or other courseware on the Kindles because they were too expensive for the trial period, costing up to $500 in e-book (electronic book) form compared to a New York Times Best Seller, which is about $10 in e-book form.
Additionally, while there are over 350,000 books, newspapers, magazines and blogs available in e-book form, the library found that some textbooks that Cal Poly uses are not yet offered in e-book form.
The possibility of having numerous Kindles stocked with Cal Poly courseware will all depend if students think that they would benefit from having them available. If the library decides to put textbooks on Kindles, the ones that are selected will be based on availability and student requests, Kohler said.
“In the long run, it’s not so much about saving money. The cost of the physical device and the e-books are not much different from regular books. It’s all about finding the best way to service students,” Kohler said.
Students will be able to check a Kindle out for one week at a time with a Poly card from the Poly Connect desk in the library. Students can renew the checkout of the Kindle for another consecutive week, for a total of two weeks. The checkout procedure will be on a first come first serve basis.
Although the Kindles have an extended warranty, students should be aware that they will be responsible for any damage due to negligence, Kohler said.
The library, however, will be responsible for the normal wear and tear on the devices.
While the durability of the Kindles is one factor to be determined, another concern is the type of material to load on each, which can hold up to 3,500 e-books (depending on the size of the e-book).
By giving students a chance to check out the Kindles, Kohler hopes that students will fill out a survey that tells the library what they would like to have available on the Kindles.
Kaitlyn Beesley-Campos, a civil engineer junior, think that having textbooks available on the Kindles would be the most beneficial way to use the devices.
“Instead of going to the library and having to check out six textbooks and carry them around in your backpack, you can have all your books in once place,” Beesley-Campos said. “There have been so many times where I wish I had all my textbooks with me when I was studying in the U.U. or library or wherever.”
While students’ backpacks are sure to lighten in trading textbooks for a Kindle, over 8,000 reviews on Amazon.com suggest that people’s opinions vary regarding the ease of reading books on an electronic screen.
“Even if you just read a regular book (like the New York Times Best Sellers) with the Kindle, you can get a feel of what is it like to look at a book electronically and students can decide for themselves if it would be beneficial to have these devices as study tools,” Kohler said.
In deciding if the Kindles will be effective as a study aide, the pros and cons of the devices must be considered.
Kenny Sing, a graphic design junior, thinks that Kindles are convenient by allowing students to have access to numerous books at once.
“I think there are no cons to it if they have books that students need,” Sing said.
Besides offering thousands of books, Kindles are also able to transfer MP3’s from a computer via a USB cable and includes a basic Web browser and built-in dictionary.
In addition, the Kindle is not large in size with a 9.7-inch screen, a one-third of an inch thickness and weighs about 19 ounces.
While some might think that the compactness of the device is convenient, others might see the size as a drawback when it comes to scrolling through and reading the text.
Another potential downside is that Kindles do not provide the same ease when it comes to highlighting, making notes in the margins and referring to page numbers as with a regular book.
Material engineering junior Tyler Philliber would not trade in his regular books to use a Kindle.
“If you have your own textbook you can do what you want with it,” Philliber said. “It’s easier to flip through pages, put a sticky note here or bookmark a page there.”
Additionally, the Kindle trumps the feeling of an old-fashioned book, Kohler said.
“I think for a lot of people, they have trouble giving up the actual feel of holding a book in their hands and being able to flip the pages,” Kohler said.
Computer engineering senior Victoria Campana agreed that a Kindle does not provide the same feel as a regular book.
“It would help if people couldn’t get the book they needed, but personally, I’d rather hold a book and be able to turn the pages,” Campana said.
Campana also expresses a concern about the electronic screen causing strain on her eyes.
Amazon.com has addressed this problem, however, claiming that Kindles to not cause any strain on the eyes because of a unique display format.
Evidently, there are many pros and cons to Kindles that could influence a student’s opinion. If the student response is favorable this fall, many students could be exchanging their 30-pound, textbook-laden backpacks for a 10-pound one with Kindle in tow.