Kindle Survey Results

Greetings!
I know you are busy people, and I thank the few of you who were able to respond to my survey regarding the purchase and use of Kindles or other e-readers. Here are the results of the survey.

Q. Have you thought about purchasing e-readers for your library?
A. One out of five had considered it. One response said that there were so many things that were needed for the school, and e-readers were not at the top of the list.

Q. Do you see these as circulating items or for library use only?
A. Most responses said that they would be used in the library or in the school building only. One respondent said that at first they would be used in the library, but possibly checked out later, and another suggested that it might be library use for lower grades with upper grades allowed to check them out. One person commented that some special needs students might benefit from the use of e-readers which is why they had considered purchasing them.

Q. What are the pros and cons of e-readers in the library for check-out purposes as you see it?
A. Pros: lots of cool features that students can use, might entice the technophiles who view books as “a bit prehistoric”, the price of e-books is often cheaper.
Cons: loss of the device, not enough for everyone to check out, checkout system at the school is consistent, damage to the device, expensive, hard to monitor, unsure students would respect the cost of the device to take care of them, no guarantee that students would read, students would miss the feel of books and the joy of turning the page, would hate to see the world turn its back on actual books and go completely digital.

Q. How do you handle students who bring their personal Kindle to school? Do you supervise their reading? Are they allowed to play games on them at school?
A. None of the respondents were at schools that allowed electronic devices at their schools. No students had them or brought them to school. One teacher said that students would be discouraged from bringing them to school. Another said that she would monitor the reading just she monitors books brought from home. No games would be allowed at school.

Q. Do you or your teachers feel that monitoring e-readers might add an additional burden to your life?
A. No – 1; yes – 1; Probably – 1, Students will usually monitor themselves if presented with clear directions and you have a no tolerance policy – 1; Worry more about damage of the e-reader than regulating them - 1

Q. Are your families ready for this step? Do you think it would be a positive addition to your program?
A. One teacher said that many kids had them already and it could be a positive addition, one teacher said that it would not be either positive or negative but just something the school does. They have some families who would be happy to have their children learning another type of technology and some families who would feel it unnecessary. Two teachers said that it would be a great addition of cheaper books, but did not think the families were ready for this step. One teacher said they have families that really appreciate the school updates the technology and would be impressed that e-readers were available especially if it encouraged their student to read more.

Q. If you did decide to purchase e-readers for your school library, what would you see as the ideal ratio of students to e-readers?
A. Answers ranged from 1:1 (ideally); 1:2; 1:4. One idea was to have one or two in the library for younger students to use and then have one for every 3 or 4 students.

Q. Which e-reader would you consider purchasing and why? Kindle, Kindle Fire, Nook, Sony, other.
A. Most respondents said they would need to do more research before choosing one, but one person replied that she felt the Kindle 3 was the best as far as options and price point.

I found this information interesting and I hope you did too. I do not expect any of us will run out and buy e-readers, but now we know how others feel and have a few facts to back up our opinions.

Hope you have a good week and enjoy your vacation time.
Audrey