THE roll-out of an e-book subscription service is in the offing for KwaZulu-Natal’s libraries.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture (KZN DAC) is preparing to introduce an e-book subscription service across the province. The electronic books will largely be made up of fiction and readable non-fiction for adults. The service is currently being piloted at Empangeni and Umhlali libraries as well as among KZN DAC employees.
The department believes this project will benefit pupils and teachers alike as they will have unlimited access to library material, promoting a culture of reading and improving learning as well as teaching. It will also further cement support of existing libraries. The department will embark on a provincial awareness campaign to educate communities about the service.
Interested parties will have to register to become library cardholders before being loaded onto the system as e-book readers. The Overdrive app for smartphones and tablets can also be downloaded for free from the Google Play store. Detailed steps for each device will be available at libraries, which all have free internet access. Internet connectivity will only be required to access and download the e-books, while reading a book will be done offline.
Members have two weeks to read a borrowed book before it automatically returns to the list of available books on the service. The paperless service will do away with overdue notices or fines. E-book membership will be managed by the department’s library services’ unit.
“We are extremely proud of this initiative as it confirms that KZN is on the path to becoming a trademark information hub. The department is embracing technology as the future in speeding up service delivery and transformation – in this case it is being used to increase unlimited access to information, especially among our province’s youth” said DAC HOD Sibongile Nzimande.
For more information call Lethukuthula Mtshali on 081-037-8321.
