There will be no more fluttering. Only wiping is done. Heike kettemer takes the small, handy device out of its holder and moves her finger over the surface. The cover of a book appears. A few swipes away is the recipe for a summer cocktail. "It looks just like a real book", says the library director of wildflecken. More than 2200 titles are available for selection here.
It is possible thanks to the "emu" association. This abbreviation stands for elektronische medien unterfranken (electronic media in lower franconia). Eight libraries (bergrheinfeld, grafenrheinfeld, hammelburg, karlstadt, marktheidenfeld, niederwerrn, veitshochheim and wildflecken) have joined forces and share a virtual media stock. Every user has access to it – from his home computer.
Loan period is three weeks
The principle is the same as for "physical media", explains kettemer. Books that are currently on loan can only be reserved by the visitor, but cannot be taken home. It is the same with e-books. If someone else has already downloaded the book, the emu user must wait until the deadline of three weeks has expired. "But it has one advantage, says kettemer. "You can no longer forget to bring back the book." Because after the deadline, the e-book is automatically deleted from the reader. It simply cannot be opened any more.
E-books have another advantage for older people. "The writing can be adapted", explains kettemer and also demonstrates it immediately. With a simple movement of the fingers the writing on the reader becomes coarser – and smaller. Depending on the need. Such a device costs around 100 euros.
And this is how it works: members have free access to the emu database. There you can download the titles you are interested in – to your computer, to an ipad or other mobile devices. In order to use the service, the program "adobe digital editions" must be installed on the computer be installed, which is freely available on the internet. For smartphones you need an e-book reader app. Once the book is available in digital form, it can be downloaded to the reader at any time. There reading is the easiest.
Nevertheless, electronic books are not for everyone. For some, the purchase is too expensive. Others cling to the feeling of holding real paper in their hands. And anyway. There's nothing like a cosy stober hour in the bookshop. Or in the library.