E-Readers Now Available at Pelham Public Library

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The Town of Pelham Public Library is pleased to offer electronic readers on a trial basis to give library users an alternate opportunity for reading. Six pre-loaded electronic readers, or eReaders, will be available to borrow for up to three weeks. This pilot program, which is slated to start the week of April 1, has been made possible by donations in memory of longtime library director Polly Gadsden, who died in 2006

Patrons can reserve one of the eReaders in advance, either in person or by calling (914) 738-1234 and speaking with the circulation staff. Holds cannot be placed via the Library’s online catalog because the eReaders are only available on a walk-in basis.

Each of the six devices, which are Barnes & Noble Nook eReaders, comes preloaded with titles in a particular genre or category: Fiction/Thrillers, Mystery, Romance, History/Biography, Travel/Memoir, or The New York Times’ Best Books of the last 25 years. Readers can use the Library’s preloaded titles or ask to have a specific title loaded before the borrowing period begins. Specific title requests must be made, either in person or by phone, at least two weeks before coming to the library to pick up the eReader. Library patrons should specify which genre eReader they would like to borrow.

“I’m happy that we could use the Gadsden memorial donations to introduce something new and relevant,” said Library Director Patricia Perito. “Libraries are always changing. We have been and remain interested in incorporating new technology into our service while remaining true to our core philosophy.” 

Because this is a new program, the Library wants the devices to be available to as many people as possible; therefore, the daily fine for overdue eReaders will be $5 a day. Borrowers will be charged $200 for lost or damaged eReaders. Users must be 18 or older and should bring photo identification in addition to their library card. All eReaders must be returned inside the library and handed to a staff member at the circulation desk.

Polly Gadsden retired from the Town of Pelham Public Library in 1997. A resident of Pelham for 47 years, she served as the director of the Pelham Village Library and was instrumental in the planning of the Town Library. When the new facility opened in 1995, Polly joined the staff and created an important bridge from the past to the future.

“Our mother was very proud of the growth of the Pelham Public Library during her 15 years as director and would be thrilled to see the library offering digital readers as a service to the residents,” said Pamela Gadsden Dahill, speaking on behalf of her five siblings. “We feel that the eReaders are an appropriate way to remember our mother, since she was interested in encouraging new technology and embraced it herself. She used the computer to research her travel plans and to find a villa in Tuscany for her and her friends to stay at for her 80th birthday. She also found e-mail to be a great way to communicate with her six children at the same time. It makes us all happy to think of our mother living on in this wonderful way in the town she loved.”