Library Lends Out E-Readers

By JENNIFER MALONEY

The Queens Library on Thursday will become the first public library system in New York to lend e-readers, a shift that underscores how libraries are adapting to help patrons keep up with technology.

All three of New York's public library systems—the Queens Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library, which serves Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx—already lend e-books to patrons who read them on their own e-readers, computers and mobile devices.

Now the Queens Library is launching a pilot program making 50 Nooks—e-readers made by Barnes & Noble—available for check out at its Central Library in Jamaica.

Each will be preloaded with 25 e-books in one of five genres: children's literature, teen books, mystery, romance, and best sellers. Fifty works of classic literature also will be loaded onto each device.

"It's what libraries do," said library President Thomas Galante. "They loan people things to access information."

In the past several years, that has come to mean providing access to computers with broadband Internet, and offering free Wi-Fi. Now, it means helping people who can't afford to buy an e-book, Mr. Galante said.

Officials at the Brooklyn and New York public libraries said they are considering lending e-readers as well.

In the Queens Library's pilot program, any patron with a library card and a photo ID can check out an e-book for 21 days, with the option to renew twice. No deposit or credit card is required. The devices will be locked; patrons won't be able to browse or download any online content.

Mr. Galante said ultimately, the library hopes to offer proprietary e-readers that are linked to the Queens Library's e-book offerings the way, for example, a Kindle provides access to Amazon's e-book offerings. He said he has been in discussions on the subject with e-book manufacturers and content providers, but the necessary technology is not yet available.

Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared April 12, 2012, on page A21 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Library Lends Out E-Readers.