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The Cumberland County Library has purchased two book machines, the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader Digital Book for patrons to use within the library. The machines are preloaded with sample books. The purpose of this is to give patrons a chance to preview these machines before individual purchase. The machines are simple to use.

The Amazon Kindle is a portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. You can shop the Kindle store from any location and once purchased the book will be delivered in less than one minute. There are more than 100,000 books available including New York Times best sellers. You can also download first chapters before making a purchase.

The Sony Reader Digital Book boasts a 6.0-inch touch screen display. This Reader uses paper-like E Ink® technology which makes it easy to read, even in bright-light situations. In addition to a built-in light, there's an interactive touch screen that lets you turn pages with the slide of a finger or activate the bookmark. You can also create annotations with a virtual keyboard, highlight text with a stylus pen, search for text in your digital book, and easily adjust the font size. The digital book readers are ideal for travelers or people who like to read while on the go. It holds approximately 350 digital books.

Both readers have adjustable text sizes. Because of the expense of this equipment, patrons will need to leave a driver’s license or a deposit of $200.00 to use the equipment in the library.