Library to Launch Electronic Book Collection on Thursday

On Thursday, June 20, The Philipsburg Jubilee Library will be officially launching their Electronic Book (E-Book) service to the public of St. Maarten at 6 pm, in the library’s hall. 

As the demand for eBooks among library patrons continued to grow and its use slowly becomes common place among readers, it is with these developments in mind that the library decided to diversify its collection, by expanding it to include E-Books.

"As a library, it is important that we keep up with the demands in our quickly evolving, technology advanced world, for the sake of literacy. We strive to continue to be relevant, while promoting literacy, be it from the pages of a book or the screen of an E-Reader", stated Morenika Arrindell, Activity Manager and Public Relations Officer.

The major advantages of using E-Books for library card holders are that they can: borrow books from the comfort of their home, effortlessly change the font size of their selected book at will, and never worry about accumulating late fees because the book will be automatically removed from their computer, tablet, mobile phone or E-Reader after the expiration date.

The current checkout limit is currently set to 3 books, as the library is still building up their E-Book collection. The library will continue to expand the collection according to the wishes of the public. The lending periods are: 7, 14 or 21 days. That choice is solely up to the library card holder.

In addition to E-Books, the library is also going to borrow its E-Readers to the general public ages 18 and older. Currently, the library has 5 Nooks that can be borrowed from the Information Desk. User guides for the website and E-Reader will also be made available on the library’s website at www.stmaartenlibrary.org or upon request at the Information Desk.

The general public is invited to attend the launching of their E-book and E-Reader Collection on Thursday, June 20, 2013, where various dignitaries, staff members, senior and young library card holders will be on hand to give their thoughts on how E-Readers are an important part of literacy.

For more information please contact the library at 542-2970.

Standing left to right: Excited Library staffers Daniel Helligar, Morena Ignacio and Annelies Starreveld displaying the 3 of the 5 Nook E-Readers that will be available to the public.