Cd'A library Kindles the reading flame

COEUR d’ALENE — To help meet the need for high-demand books, Coeur d’Alene Public Library is going electronic.

The library now has two Amazon Kindle e-readers — preloaded with five of the library’s most popular titles — available for patrons to check out.

When a book is released by a popular author, it will generate multiple hold requests placed by readers who want to borrow a copy as soon as one is returned.

“Down the road though, we probably don’t want to have 10 to 15 copies of the book because it won’t be as in demand,” said library spokesman David Townsend. “So we are going to add books to these Kindles based on holds.”

The books loaded into the library’s Kindles right now are: “The Whistler” by John Grisham; “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead; “Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes” by Kira Breed-Wrisley; “The Wrong Side of Goodbye” by Michael Connelly; and “Turbo Twenty-three” by Janet Evanovich.

At one point last week, there were 70 hold requests on the Grisham novel throughout the Cooperative Information Network which Coeur d’Alene Public Library and 26 other libraries throughout the region belong to. Every copy, but the one at the library in Priest Lake was checked out, Townsend said.

“That’s not uncommon with best sellers and popular authors like John Grisham,” he said.

For now, the simple, black and white, Kindle e-Readers will be available to check out from Coeur d’Alene library’s Research and Information Desk for up to 28 days. If demand increases, the loan period may be shortened.

The devices are not equipped with browsers — such as Chrome or Explorer — but are just set up to read the books loaded on them. The devices — and a list of books they are loaded with — can be found in the library’s catalog as “High Demand Fiction (Coeur d’Alene) Kindle eReader.”

The Kindles can also be used by readers who need large-print materials, Townsend said, since the fonts on the device can be enlarged by viewers for easier reading.

“If someone who needs a large-print book wants to read ‘Gone With the Wind,’ well there’s not really a large print copy of the book available,” Townsend added. “But we can load it up on the Kindle and get it to them that way.”

Information on the new service is available at (208) 769-2315 or by visiting the Research and Information Desk at the library, located at 702 E. Front Ave. in Coeur d’Alene.