Kindle the Flame

It all started when a Kindle arrived as a gift in AP Karthiks home in Australia. The thrill of this new gadget inspired him to donate five e-readers to the library in his home town. Such generosity comes from being a lifetime member of the library; his grandfather AP Balakrishnan was one of the founders,and his father,AP Krishna Kumar,is the current president. Deshaposhini would be the first public library in the country to loan Amazon Kindle e-readers to its members, says Krishna Kumar.

Last week,the e-reader was introduced,but the lending service is still in process. The Kindle 4,with Wi-Fi and a six inch e-ink screen resembles real paper. B Anusha,a collage student,is thrilled. While navigating through the pages,a Kindle reader can go to the dictionary for reference. You can also make notes,bookmark a page or email texts. Its a handy device for students. Its also reader friendly,with adjustable font size. The only thing I miss when reading a Kindle is the feel and aroma of paper, she says.

The five donated e-readers have texts on spirituality and horror fiction to academics and food,in both Malayalam and English. Among the classics,they have Oliver Twist,Sherlock Holmes,Tale of Two Cities,Emma and Ramayana. The library has downloaded more than two lakh books from Amazon,that are free and have no copyright issues. These are stored in the library database and are downloaded on to an e-reader through a USB port.

It takes only 20 seconds to load a 500-page book into the e-reader. A Kindle 4 can accommodate over 2,000 titles with an average of 500 pages each, says Karthik. An accountant,he returned to Kozhikode after eight years in Sydney to manage the familys gold business.

Ever since the library announced the launch of the e-reader,the phone hasnt stopped ringing. A success with the youth,many have already familiarised themselves with the device. Other libraries too have been curious about the e-reader.

Krishna Kumar says the library will conduct workshops for its members keen to take the Kindle home. They plan to insure these devices and charge a fee.

Currently,a lifetime membership costs Rs 5,000. A member with an A class membership pays a joining fee of Rs 270 and a monthly rental of Rs 20,while the fee for a B class membership is Rs 140 and the monthly rental is Rs 20.

But the lending rules remain the same. We will load only two books in a Kindle for 20 days. A member can request for any title which we have in our database. The librarian will then load the book for him/her. After it has been returned,the existing files would be deleted and new ones would be loaded for the next person,as per requests. We can do multiple text downloads into any number of e-readers, says PK Prakashan,general secretary.

Meanwhile,the library plans to source more Kindle e-readers from Amazon. They have promised to give a discount for an order above 25 pieces, says Karthik.

They have also approached the local MP to support their drive,and provide them grants from his local area development fund. For a library that started with 117 members in 1937,its current 9,125 strong membership may make the digital dream a reality.