ARLINGTON — In the wake of the winter holidays, many older folks are figuring out how to use the high-tech presents they’ve received, and the Arlington Library is happy to help.
Kelli Bragg, technical liaison for the library, conducted the first “Gadget Guidance” seminar of the New Year Jan. 10, but she noted that patrons can schedule consultation appointments at their leisure, even to answer the simplest of questions.
“One thing we do tell people is that they need to know their account information and password before they come in,” Bragg said. “People will come in with their Kindles and not know their Amazon accounts, which is something you usually find out when you purchase your Kindle. Also, never store your account information and password in the same place.”
While certain e-readers come with instruction manuals, Bragg acknowledged that many manuals are found on the devices themselves, which isn’t necessarily helpful to those who don’t know how to use those devices yet. Fortunately, Arlington Library staff are well-versed in dealing with Kindles, iPads, Nooks and even smartphones such as Android.
“A lot of people think you can’t read e-books on a smartphone, but you can,” Bragg said.
Bragg still encounters patrons who are surprised that they can borrow e-books from the library.
“We have lots of them, both fiction and non-fiction,” Bragg said. “In fact, with the Gale Virtual Reference Library, we have a number of encyclopedias, biographies and even scientific studies online that we don’t have on our shelves.”
Bragg conceded that getting started on such device tends to be difficult, but reassured patrons that it should get easier to use their devices over time.
“After you’ve set up your account, you usually only have to do it once,” Bragg said. “What you experience that first time is not typical of how your experiences will go afterward.”
Bragg even touted features that make e-readers more convenient for older library patrons than regular print books, such as the ability to change the size of the text, so they can be read without glasses.
“Don’t be scared of the technology,” Bragg said. “It won’t break if you download a book, and if you have any questions, you can contact us to set aside half an hour to an hour to go over your device.”
The Arlington Library is located at 135 N. Washington Ave. For details, call 360-435-3033 or log onto www.sno-isle.org/locations/arlington.
