PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Ebooks have garnered a great deal of media attention recently and ereading devices are more widely available than ever before.  To help staff in North Carolina’s public and academic libraries feel more comfortable answering questions from their users about ebooks and ereaders, the State Library of North Carolina has created an “Ereader Petting Zoo.”

The goal of this project is that library staff will recognize what an ereader is, what it does, how to use it, and feel comfortable explaining these uses to library patrons.  The ereader petting zoo session, designed by members of the Master Trainer Program, lasts approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes and includes time for hands-on activities with various devices.  The devices available in each session include two Amazon Kindles, two Barnes & Noble Nooks, one Sony Pocket Reader, and one Kobo eReader.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

The State Library of North Carolina will receive online requests (see link at bottom) from interested libraries and schedule sessions with available trainers.  With limited numbers of devices and trainers, sessions will be scheduled on a first come first serve basis.  Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance; more advanced notice is preferred.

The trainer will consult with the library director or event coordinator in advance of the session to help make the session more relevant to the library’s staff.  The trainer will arrive at the library with laptop and ereader devices at the scheduled time.

The requesting library will be responsible for:

• providing the meeting space, including room setup with tables and chairs,
• providing an LCD projector,
• providing a whiteboard or flip chart paper,
• photocopying or printing the session documents for library staff (see the “Documents” tab at the top of this page; printing the Introduction to Ereaders Presentation handout is optional),
• reimbursing the trainer’s roundtrip mileage for the session.

REQUEST A SESSION

Request a petting zoo session

All requesting libraries will be contacted by the State Library of North Carolina regarding the status of their request as soon as dates and times are confirmed with a trainer.

The Ereader Petting Zoo is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina.