The Jerome Library is not just a place to check out books, but also iPads and Kindles.
“We wanted to offer students some new technology to test without having to buy it first,” said Mary Beth Zachary, head of Access Services for University Libraries.
The library currently has five iPads and five Kindles available for students to “borrow,” as there is no fee, Zachary said.
Students can check out iPads for a week at a time and Kindles for three weeks, she said.
They can use iPads to send emails and pictures and familiarize themselves with the technology, Zachary said.
While iPads have been offered since last spring, they were only allowed to be checked out for a few hours and had to remain in the library, a feature that wasn’t popular among students, she said.
Now that students can take them out of the library, “the response has been very popular,” and every item is currently checked out, Zachary said.
Kindles also come loaded with popular titles such as “The Hunger Games” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” as well as more than 100 classic titles, she said.
Kindles can be checked out longer because it takes longer to read books during classes, Zachary said.
For more information on checking out iPads and Kindles, visit libguides.bgsu.edu/kindle and libguides.bgsu.edu/ipads.