Dan Holden

 Queen’s Annual Fund application in January 2010  Advice from: ◦ Duke University ◦ Oregon State University ◦ Stanford University ◦ MIT ◦ Texas A&M University  Also considered Sony Reader and iPad  Targeted planning students  Duration of project is academic year 2010/11

1. Provide students with opportunity to experience new technologies 2. Investigate whether functionality of Kindles benefits students with disabilities 3. Enable students to use library books in more flexible ways 4. Improve student access to high-demand library books

 Purchased 5 Kindle DXs, cases and UK mains chargers  33 e-books chosen by academic staff  E-books purchased using Library’s Amazon account  Publisher restrictions on maximum number of Kindles can load a title

 Kindles available from August 2010  Limit of one Kindle per student or member of staff  Loan periods: ◦ Undergraduates/taught postgrads - 4 weeks ◦ Research postgrads/staff - 12 weeks  Can be renewed and reserved  Overdue fines charged

 Upon return of Kindle: ◦ Check condition of Kindle and accessories ◦ Check all titles still available ◦ Check ‘deregistered’ ◦ Check Wireless is switched off ◦ Delete ‘My Clippings’

 Other considerations: ◦ Password protection ◦ ‘Manage Social Networks’ and Web browser ◦ ‘Create New Collection’

 Publicized on Library website ( Twitter, etchttp://bit.ly/b4Qgou  Flyers distributed at beginning of lectures  Print/electronic ‘Getting Started Guide’ available  Dedicated address:  Printed and online survey:

 Total no. of Kindle borrowers = 27 (14 planners)  Average no. of times print copies loaned = approx. 4 KindleLoansDays not on Loan Total3151

 Did you find the Kindle useful? ◦ Yes = 8 (6 planners) ◦ No = 5 (2 planners) ... no page numbers on the e-books [...] impossible to reference ... I think iPads and Nooks are better  A wider variety of books would have been more interesting including a few from Project Gutenburg  I was not happy with the display quality as well as the user interface

 Would you borrow a Kindle again or recommend it to a friend? ◦ Yes = 6 (4 planners) ◦ No = 7 (4 planners)  Need more books, possibly organised by theme  I found it too frustrating to use, but the screen readability is good  I have since purchased my own kindle...  I've realised I like being able to flick through books and physically bookmark pages

 How can we make the Kindle service more useful to you?  Make people more aware of it, I only stumbled on it by accident  Make more kindles available  Wider variety of books...  Allow loading of research material by the borrower

 Publicize service more widely  Resolve accessibility issue  Assess latest generation Kindle  Assess free e-books

 Determine whether Planning want to develop service  Determine whether other schools want to become involved  Assess whether to loan USB cables  Convene group to devise long-term strategy including assessment of iPad, Sony Reader and NOOK