Keller Public Library expands its e-book offering

Patrons at Keller Public Library who use the facility's e-book offerings should be excited about recent changes to the program.

When the library first began offering e-books in 2011, Library Director Pam Trammell had no idea how quickly it would take off. Now three years later the problem is that the waiting lists for some popular novels are too long.

Until recently, patrons could find themselves as far down as number 99 on a list to read the digital version of some of the most popular books.

Trammell explained that the library is a member of a consortium of libraries in Missouri that share the licensing costs for literally thousands of e-books.

"The program has made it possible for us to offer this exciting service to our patrons," Trammell said. "Under the new agreement, this will be even better."

The change of which she speaks involves how the city's licensing of e-books take place.

According to Trammell, in the future she will be able to monitor which books are seeing a high volume of readers and purchase licenses for those individual books.

The books for which the library purchases licenses will only be used by Keller Public Library patrons.

"That means a person who was number 99 on the waiting list across the consortium, could become number four or so if the book is now owned by the library," Trammell said.

Trammell explained that the decision to make such changes is a credit to the library board.

"They use the library and understand the role technology plays in a modern library," she said. "Not only are they not scared of technology, they embrace it. They're the eyes and ears of our community."

To access the books, visit the library website http://kellerpl.org/. On the right side of the page, click on a green and gray icon called "Missouri Libraries 2 Go."

As a patron navigates through the books, all are available for download. However, only certain books are owned by the library, signifying shorter wait lists.

Those books are marked with an orange and yellow checkmark and starburst.

Trammell stressed that this is an addition to the patrons and in no way signifies a decline in their print material.

The library is simply trying to keep up with the demand of technology.

"I don't think a day goes by when we don't have at least one person come in and ask for help with an e-reader or asking about the program," she said.

One of the biggest changes for libraries in the e-book era is the way their customers interact with the library.

"While we may not see our e-reading patron in the library, we still want to continue to serve them," Trammell said. "The board--as well as our aldermen and city officials--have really been supportive throughout the years."

The city's e-book offerings include as many as 8,600 titles in the fiction category alone and are available to all members of the library. Anyone may join the library, with residency in Dexter not being a requirement.