Kindle Touch eReaders Come to Aquinas Library

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Ten Kindle Touch eReaders are now part of St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School’s library collection! Lucky 5th grade students, the first to try out the paperback-size electronic readers, agreed, “These are awesome!” and Claire Bassett said, “They’re so easy to use.” Both Nathan Vowinkel and Georgius Korban liked how quick it was to choose the book you wanted to read. Librarian Judy Beda was very excited to receive the new Kindles which were donated by an Aquinas family. “It’s great that we’re able to offer students the opportunity to read using Kindles. With research indicating that using eReaders boosts students’ reading enjoyment and can also increase test scores for reluctant readers, I think it’s an awesome way to promote reading.”

Over 70 classic novels, historic documents and novels that middle school students read for literature class have been downloaded onto the Kindles. Two preloaded dictionaries, The New Oxford American Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary of English, allow students to instantly look up unfamiliar words. To view the titles currently available on the devices, you may search the Aquinas library catalog at: https:// aquinastars.follettdestiny.com, click on the link to access the catalog, and type Kindle Touch in the search bar.

Six of the eReaders will be used by middle school students as part of their literature classes this spring. The other four will be available in the library for loan by students in grades 5 – 8 who have returned a signed Acceptable Use Policy and Permission form (see attachment to download a copy.) When students check out a Kindle Touch, it will come in a plastic bag with a cover, screen protector, and USB cable to allow the device to recharge through their home computer. The loan period will be one week with the option to renew for an additional week.

“Based on the students’ enthusiasm when they saw the Kindles, I anticipate there will be a long waiting list to borrow them. As we acquire more devices, it would be great to have Kindles available for students in grades three and four to borrow,” said Judy Beda. If you are interested in donating a Kindle Touch eReader or other technology to the Aquinas library, please contact the Development Office at development@aquinastars.org or (703) 491-4447.