The librarian at Liberty Library has proposed a pilot program or full implementation of a book nook program to circulate Barnes & Noble Nook eReaders pre-loaded with eBooks to students. Studies have shown eReaders can increase reading engagement and help struggling readers. The Nook was chosen for its long battery life, ease of use, and ability to increase font size. It also allows sharing titles between devices linked to a single account and downloading free classics. The request is for either a 6th grade pilot program of 6 Nooks costing $1,333.70, or a full implementation for grades 6-8 of 18 Nooks costing $4,001.10, or potentially less if recondition

1. Proposal: Liberty Library Book Nook program Requested by Mary Burkey, OLMS librarian
Description of Request: Funds to implement a whole-school or pilot program to circulate Barnes & Noble
Simple Touch eReaders pre-loaded with eBooks to OLMS students through the OLMS Library (with signed
parent permission). This is a request that will either be a grade-level request (Pilot Program) or a whole-school
request (full implementation).
How this purchase will benefit the class / school:
In a recently released survey, Scholastic Publishing found that a third of 9- to 17-year-olds said they
would read more books for fun if they had access to an eReader.
An Israeli study by Ofra Korat found that students using digital readers showed greater progress in word
meaning and word reading than students using traditional texts.
Robyn Rennick, the program coordinator for the Dyslexia Research Institute, in Tallahassee, Fla.,
published that being able to change the size of the font may help some struggling readers.
David H. Rose, the founder and chief education officer for the Wakefield, Mass.-based Center for
Applied Special Technology, stated that eReaders are powerful tools for re-engaging students who
have disengaged with with reading.
Lotta Larson, an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at Kansas State University, studied
the effect of eReaders' built-in dictionary feature not just to look up definitions of words, but also to
view pronunciation and chunking (the way the word is broken up into syllables). She found these tools
effective fluency tools. In addition, Larson found the ability of some eReaders to insert notes into the
text to be a helpful teaching tool.
Why the Nook Simple Touch? Here are some of the important features of the Nook Simple Touch:
A battery life of up to two months (no need to check out the cords for recharging)
Touchscreen technology (ease of use & what teens expect in technology)
Lightweight and ultra portable, with eInk screen and text as crisp and clear as a printed page.
No web browser or online access for students, which means fewer distractions for students (important!!)
Students cannot purchase or download content (wifi downloads password protected)
Ability to increase font size to address student need (all books potentially Large Print)
Ability to check out eBooks from public library
Ability to download classic novels for free
Built-in dictionary function
Ability to place unlimited notes and bookmarks
Six Nooks can be attached to a single B&N user account. This means that when ONE eBook is
purchased for the account, that eBook can be loaded onto all SIX devices in that account. So if there is a
“OLMS Sixth Grade” user account which has six Nooks attached to that account, a novel purchased –
say this year’s Newbery Award winner purchased one minute after the award is announced – will

2. instantly appear on all six Nooks. If that eBook costs $12.00 on the Barnes & Noble website, it is like
adding the novel to each Nook for $2.00.
This sharing of titles between six devices in a school situation is perfectly legal and allowable on the
Nook, and the Terms of Service of the Nook reflect this. In addition, I have met with B&N
representatives who have reiterated this fact to both me and the Olentangy Curriculum Department.
Why NOT the Kindle? The Kindle Terms of Service expressly deny the registration of six devices to one
account in an educational setting. School librarians who have purchased & circulated Kindles in violation of the
Terms of Service have been contacted by Amazon’s legal department to cease and desist this practice.
Amount requested:
Pilot program (sixth grade only): Six Nook Simple Touches $139.00 each, $834.00
Six two-year extended warranties $34.95 each, $209.70
Six padded cases $15.00 each, $90.00
Barnes & Noble Gift Card to purchase starter collection
of 15 titles (effectively 6 devices x 15= 90 copies) $200.00
Total request: $1333.70
Full implementation (6,7,8 grade): 18 Nook Simple Touches $139.00 each, $2502.00
18 two-year extended warranties $34.95 each, $629.10
18 padded cases $15.00 each, $270.00
Barnes & Noble Gift Card to purchase starter collection
of 270 titles (effectively 18 devices x 270 = 4860 copies) $600.00
Total request: $4001.10
Possible reduction in request for funds: Barnes & Noble has a limited number of Reconditioned Nook Simple
Touches for $99.00 each. If there are sufficient reconditioned, full-warranty, models available the total request
for the Pilot Program would be $1093.70 and the Full Implementation would be $3281.10.