Wi-Fi, e-Readers, and Libraries "sometimes" Don't Mix Very Well! What's the problem?

We purchased 15 Kindle3's Wi-Fi only units and sent them all back last month.

Why?

Image Credit http://alturl.com/ajff2

After opening and processing over half of our new K3's in March, I decided to purchase and download a book to one of the new K3's. It took so long to sign into our "peer to peer" network via Wi-Fi using the arrow keys and still had to go to 'Shop the Kindle Store’. I thought I had stepped back in another era.

This was a very frustrating process. Why? You have to use the 5 Way Controller and arrow keys to navigate on the Kindle screen and slowly inch your way around with the ‘little hand’ to sign in and ‘check’ a user agreement for the college. Our iPads have the ‘pinch’ method of enlarging the screen that makes signing into our college Wi-Fi much easier.

This lengthy process finally landed me in the “Shop the Kindle” URL, but certainly not the screen we were accustomed to with the original K1-3G Kindles. Again using the 5 Way Controller and arrow keys to locate a book was just too complicated and time consuming on the non-3G units.

It appears we would have to purchase and load each book this way. Really? If you buy the item on your PC/laptop, after you sign-in and connect to the college Wi-Fi, the item should download automatically. Or you can use the USB cable to download books after purchasing them on your PC/laptop. I would go just batty, quickly if this was the on-going process. We could suggest to our boss that we drive all the Wi-Fi Kindle3's over to Denny's or McDonald's every time we needed to purchase or download an item. Now that would be a fun field trip! [Just kidding!]


After a few calls to Amazon Kindle about this issue, they told us that using ‘peer to peer' computers for staff /student sign-on via Wi-Fi was going to be difficult trying to purchase items. Really? We would have to use the USB cable to download items after purchasing them on our stand alone PC/Laptop. Sounds like the Sony Saga to me.

What a headache! The Amazon rep.  also suggested that IT could add a separate router for Wi-Fi connection for the digital e-readers. But when it comes down to it, it's just makes more sense to pay the $50 one time and use the 3G technology for the life of the unit. What a concept! Really!!!

The Director of LLRC was very understanding and agreed to send these units back and purchase fifteen K3's with 3G. He agreed it was better to have all our Kindles as 3G models for efficient service for our patrons.

When the new K3's with 3G arrived last week, I was almost as elated as when we received our 1st shipment in May 2008 of thirty-four K1's. First thing I did was turn on the wireless and order a book just to be sure we were at last out of the "Time Warp". Needless to say, it’s well worth the extra $50 per unit to have this ease of use. We have been very spoiled with using 3G technology since 2008, we just don’t want to go backwards in technology and we shouldn’t have to.

Students, faculty and staff have certainly enjoyed our K1’s, K2’s and Kindle DX’s, and now our new K3’s. We also have several iPads, Nooks and Sony’s for check-out. Our major loans are with the Kindle units for textbooks and required class reading assignments.

Next blog? Vook! How vook might impact our library in the future and also we will share other research about EBSCO Host, NetLibrary and Overdrive.  How can we utilize this with our present equipment?

May 10th, we are also looking forward to our field trip and presentation at our Regent V CCLA meeting at Broward College in South Florida for CCLA/LINCC covering e-Readers, e-Textbooks and the practical ways we have implemented these new technologies in our library.

July 14th, at the SEFLIN Bridges to Technology Conference 2011, our Palm Beach State Library staff from the Lake Worth campus will sit on a panel to discuss these very issues.  This SEFLIN Conference is to be held at the Kovens Conference Center in Miami. The presenters will focus on technology and the new roles for libraries as librarians become e-brarians, using technology to assist customers.