E-Readers @ the Library

E-Readers and Tablets

Do you want to know what electronic readers (e-readers) are, or how they work? Are you considering purchasing an e-reader or an electronic tablet, but wonder whether or not you’d really like it? Well, now, thanks to grants from the LendLease Corporation and Senator David Valesky, Candor Free Library has several Kindle Fire tablets and Nook e-readers for loan so you can discover for yourself what these electronic devices are like.

What can you do with these devices? Well, first of all, you can read electronic books on them. These books, called e-books for short, are available from many sources. The library’s Nooks and Kindle Fires come preloaded with some books, but other books can be downloaded onto the device easily through the device’s applications (apps). There are many free sources for e-books, including borrowing e-books from the library through Overdrive Media, and downloading books from Amazon.com (Kindles) and BarnesandNoble.com (Nooks).

 is used for downloading ebooks and audio books with your library card through the Finger Lakes Library System. If you already own an eReader and want to know how to use Overdrive Media to borrow ebooks, our library staff will be more than happy to help you.

You can also play games on both the Nook and the Kindle Fire. There are many free game apps available to download from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

In addition to being used as a reading device and for games, the Kindle Fire tablet can also be used for listening to audiobooks (available for free through the library’s Overdrive Media), web browsing, email, videos, social media and more.  If you have wireless internet at home, you can use all of these things from the comfort of your home. If you do not have the internet at home, you can go to a place with free wifi (the library, McDonalds, Arby’s, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Panera Bread, Wegmans, Barnes and Noble, and other places), and download items while you are there to use at home. There are also some preloaded games and videos on the library’s Kindle Fires.

Frequently Asked Questions…

1.     How long will I be able to borrow the e-reader?

You will be able to borrow the eReader for 3 weeks. You may not renew it then, but may borrow it again at a later time.

2.     Will I be charged late fees for returning the eReader past its due date?

At time of checkout, you will agree to pay overdue charges of $5.00 per day if the eReader is returned after the due date.

3.     How many eBook titles or audiobooks can I have “checked out” through Overdrive Media at the same time?

You can have up to 3 titles “checked out” at the same time on your Overdrive Library Account for a loan period of up to 21 days. Titles may be “returned” early if there are other e-books or audiobooks that you would like to borrow. 

4.     Do I have to leave a deposit when I check out an eReader?

      No deposit will be required, but you will have to sign a borrowing agreement that indicates your agreement to the terms contained therein, including the agreement to pay for the full replacement costs of the device, and its accessories, if they are not returned or are returned in damaged condition.

5.     How old must I be to borrow an eReader?

You must be 18 years old with a valid license and Candor library card in good standing. You must also sign an agreement document and confirm your contact information at the time of checkout.

6.   How do I return the eReader when I’m done with it?

The eReader must be returned inside the library directly to a library staff member. The device may not be returned in the outdoor drop box because it is fragile. If it is returned in a drop box, the Borrower will be charged a $25.00 minimum fee for unnecessary risk to the device.

Stop by the library today and check out a Kindle Fire or a Nook!

How to Love Your Library

February is Library Lovers' Month - and just in time, because local libraries are once more struggling with budget shortfalls. While the governor's proposed 2014 - 2015 budget includes a small increase for education, it cuts library funding 5 percent. If this cut goes through, libraries will be funded at 20 percent less than they were in 2007. This cut hits libraries everywhere: schools, universities, and towns. If you love libraries, you can send the governor and state legislators a message to keep our libraries funded. Pick up some post cards down at the library and, if you're so inclined, write a letter to Governor Cuomo. You can even do it online.

Then come on down to the library and check out some fun books with stories that take place in and around libraries.

A couple weeks ago I read a fun novel titled, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein. The protagonist, 12-year-old Kyle, loves games, and really wants a chance to be one of the first people to spend a night in the new town library - playing a new game designed by the famous Luigi Lemoncello. When the kids are locked in the library, they learn that the point of the game is to find a way out (not the door or windows or book return...) and Kyle realizes that sometimes you have to work with friends to solve puzzles.

We don't have this particular book on our shelves - you can request it through interlibrary loan - but we do have other books with stories set in libraries. One of my favorite picture books is Bats at the Library by Brian Lies. One inky evening, a bunch of bored bats discover an open library window and fly inside. They play with the photocopier, have fun in the water fountain, and then discover the books.

The Library Dragon, by Carmen Deedy, features Miss Lotta Scales - a dragon who thinks her job is to protect the school's library books from the children. But then she realizes that books are meant to be read. She turns into Miss Lotty, a librarian who tells funny stories. Carmen Deedy wrote a second book, The Return of the Library Dragon, in which Miss Lotty wants to retire. But when the new "media center" manager plans to replace all the books with computers, Miss Lotty takes a stand.

If you like the wacky humor of Judy Sierra, check out Wild About Books. This is the story of a librarian who drives her bookmobile to the zoo by mistake...

Older readers will enjoy The Library Card, by Jerry Spinelli. Telling stories from four different points of view, he shows how some young people are changed by their encounters with books.

In Meg Mackintosh and the Mystery in the Locked Library (by Lucinda Landon), Meg investigates the theft of a rare book from a locked library. There are plenty of clues for readers who want to solve the mystery before Meg does.

While not set in a library, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke features a heroine who is a librarian. In this book 12-year-old Maggie discovers that her father can "read" fictional characters to life. Adventure ensues when one of those characters kidnaps her father.

There's a great book for adults, too: Dewey: a Small-Town Library Cat who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron. When only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, Dewey was stuffed into the book return slot at the Spencer, Iowa, Public Library. This books tells how one small cat won the hearts of everyone who visited the library.

There are plenty more great stories about Library lions, mice, dinosaurs and more - you can find them in the online catalog and, with a click of the mouse, have them sent to Candor where you can pick them up to read.