Once an eBook has been checked out, students can read books on Macs, PCs and other mobile devices, simply by logging back on to the Follet Shelf database, which is the online counterpart to Destiny. Up to five books can be checked out at one time. The eBooks can not be used on Kindles or Nooks however, as the books can not be read on proprietary devices, which means only products bought from the same manufacturer function with them.
Like print books, eBooks can be checked out for up to two weeks. While most books can only be checked out and read by one student at a time due to the licensing of the books, some can be read by an unlimited amount of users. However, according to school librarian Susan Marks, there are less of these books in the MVHS online library catalog because the books that can be read by multiple people are more expensive.
Marks feels that the online library catalog has potential for being a helpful study aid in many respects, including class projects and reading assignments. It’s also a potential means of supplementing subject areas for which
there are not very many print books available, such as environmental studies and health, two areas of study in which Marks feels the print library is lacking. However, the process of making print books available online has just begun.
“Right now there’s not an online eBook for every print book that we have in the library,” Marks said. “We’re starting [our online library] from scratch.”
The process of implementing a full online library began last year, although eBooks have been available through Gale Virtual Reference Library to MVHS for many years . The school has paid $9,000 for the new eBook titles now available, with no additional charge for the La Follet software.
Marks does not feel that the creation of an online catalog marks a complete conversion from print books to online copies.
“It’s not a transition,” Marks said. “It’s more of a complement.”
Students are also looking forward to the opportunity to check out books online.
“I already read a lot of books online already, so it’s nice that now I’ll be able to check out books online too,” freshman Joseph Hsiung said. “It’s a lot more convenient this way.”
