E-book Checkouts Increasing in Cobb

The has 1,581 copies of books on www.overdrive.com, the website it uses to facilitate e-book checkouts. Currently, there are 1,108 e-books checked out.

“That leaves fewer than 580 e-books available on the website,” said Jonathan McKeown, associate director for central and outreach services. “It’s proven popular.”

And e-books are easier to check out than regular books, said Julia Huprich, digital services librarian.

“They don’t need to visit their favorite local branch,” she said. “They can just download them from home or wherever they have Internet access.”

Cobb residents can log onto www.overdrive.com, search for the e-book they want, and choose one of three versions: Kindle, ePub or PDF. Kindle checkouts are routed to www.amazon.com, while ePub and PDF versions use Adobe Digital Editions software. Users can choose either 14- or 21-day rentals.

The Cobb County Public Library eBook collection is here.

The e-book service was established after a demand from patrons, McKeown said.

“We had been looking at them for about a year before that but didn’t feel we had the money to fund it,” he said.

In October 2010, the demand grew.

“As Christmas came along, it got even higher, so we took the plunge,” McKeown said.

Last month, more than 290,000 books were checked out throughout the library system, and roughly 5,000 e-books and audio books borrowed. Library system officials say they cannot track how many patrons from each city check out e-books.

The gap between in-person and online checkouts is still large, McKeown said.

“But I see it headed very heavy in that direction,” he said, referencing the growing popularity of e-books. “It’s going to start taking a bigger and bigger chunk of our circulation.”

Considering that the e-book checkout program just started in March, McKeown said he’s pleased with the number of people using the program.

Residents of Smyrna-Vinings Patch can learn more about the Cobb County Library System’s e-reader service at the .

Even though most Smyrna kids will be out of school next week for Thanksgiving, ’s programs are still scheduled. Monday, Nov. 21 toddlers and their parents can hear a story at Lapsit Toddler Time at 11:30 a.m. At 5 p.m. enjoy a story read in Spanish at Spanish Story time. Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 10:30 a.m. tots aged 12 to 24 months get on their feet for Movers and Shakers, story time that ends with an activity to get the kids on their feet. Movers and Shakers is followed by Pre K Story Time at 11:30 a.m. Kindergartners through fifth graders create works of art at Drop In School Age Crafts at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Smyrna Library programs are free to cardholders.