Lincoln School Kindle Program Steps we took to set up 60 Kindles By Jennifer Alevy, Head Librarian, Lincoln School, Kathmandu, Nepal
After doing extensive research on how to implement an ebook program at Lincoln School, an American School in Kathmandu, Nepal, we decided to go with the Amazon Kindle Touch. We decided to use Kindles over other ereaders for various reasons, including: at the time of purchase, B&N was closing stores and in some financial distress, the staff and students were more familiar Kindles and Amazon We knew it would be labor intensive but thought the positives would outweigh the negatives and whatever ereader we used, it would require a great deal of set up time. Introduction
I relied most on Buffy J. Hamilton, the Unquiet Librarian, she had done extensive research on both the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook, and has both in her library. She has, generously, shared her process. I also joined several ebook sharing groups (Nings, Listserves, etc.) and asked a lot of questions. Debbie Martin had some valuable information Last, I took an online class from AASL on how to start an ereader/ebook program Introduction
We are also in the process of setting up: Follett Shelf Catalist Gale Virtual Reference Library And more Some titles may be cross purchased The budget for ebooks this year is $10,000. We did not purchase many print books the last year due to our building coming down to make way for a brand new Library/IT Center and moving to a space ¼ the size. This year our library consists of 2 classrooms at opposite ends of campus, one for ES/MS and one for MS/HS. Not ideal but the best we could do with the space we were given. We also began subscribing to more databases Other ebooks in my collection
Thanks to Buffy Hamilton, I set up spreadsheets to help organize the Kindles I used her ideas and what I learned from others to customize organizational spreadsheets for our library. Set up your spreadsheets
Spreadsheets
We created spreadsheets for: Gmail accounts and passwords Amazon accounts and passwords each set of 6 Kindles to include title, author, cost and purchase date of each book. With Amazon you can purchase one copy of a book and put it on up to 6 Kindles per account. That is why we cluster them in bundles of 6. Spreadsheets
We set up 1 email account for every 6 Kindles we purchased We used our school Gmail account to set them up and used a standard format Example: LSLkindle.16@lsnepal.com (for Kindles 1-6). LSLKindle.712@lsnepal.com (for Kindles 7-12, etc) We then went into each setup and forwarded all incoming mail from those accounts to my school email as a time saving measure Set up email accounts
We set up 10 Amazon accounts using the same protocol as the email, calling them LSLibrary1-6 LSLibrary7-12 LSLibrary13-18 etc. We used the Gmail accounts to set them up. If I could do it over again, I would have used letters for the Gmail addresses Example: LSLKindleA@lsnepal.com so as not to be confused with the account or kindle numbers. Set up Amazon accounts
We created a MARC Record and added copies Cataloging in Destiny
Adding copies, I included the serial number and changed the call number for each (I am not a cataloger, not sure if what I did was the best way) Cataloging in Destiny
We created a copy for each of the 60 Kindles When we catalog the books on each Kindle, we will put in the description which Kindles that book is on. We have sets of 6 Kindles for Upper Elem, Middle School and High School We also have a set of 6 for a book club Last, we are going to experiment with using a classroom set or an ESOL student set. Cataloging in Destiny
We went though the setup process with 1 Kindle before doing the rest. We set up an assembly line with a checklist of things to do and went down the line, checking off things as we went, until we were finished. Set up an assembly line
Barcodes Permanent markers Kindle covers Book tape Notebook w/ dividers Trashcan Sticky notes Get your ingredients together
1. Number the boxes 1-60 2. Open the boxes, take off screen protection 3. Put a cover with each box (I did 6 of the same colors for later bundling) 3. Add barcodes to Kindle and cover 4. Number the Kindles and covers 1-60 I did that on the back of the Kindle, outside back and front of cover 5. Write the barcode number on the back of the Kindle and outside back and front of cover Checklist for Assembly Line
6. One the spreadsheet scan the serial number and barcode for each Kindle 7. Add copies to Destiny using barcodes on each Kindle We created 1 MARC record, then added copies, in description we called then by the cover color and number: Red 1, Blue 7, etc. We also gave them a sublocation of: Elementary, Middle, High, Book Club, etc. We also added a note for each and scanned in the serial number of each Kindle. 8. We then put them in the charging station we purchased, it has locks and is locked in my office Checklist continued
9. Created a User Agreement for students and parents to fill out before anyone can check out a Kindle. 10. As I added books to Destiny, I put the Title of the book as well as what Kindles they are on 11. I have Kindles for Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, A book club set and some for ESOL students. Checklist continued
We will put a Amazon Gift Card to each of the accounts set up in order to purchase books and not have the credit card number attached to any account. As soon as that is all done and the students bring back the User Agreement, we can start checking out our Kindles. The Beginning