Here’s a question received by Ask Amigos, our service free to Amigos members that provides advice, referral, and resources delivered by phone and e-mail

Question: I am in the process of joining a library e-book consortium, and I am in definite need of an e-book lending policy. What are some of the things I need to make sure are in the policy, and is it possible to see some examples?

Answer: (From Arta Kabashi, Ask Amigos reference consultant)
Here is a brief outline of things to consider about your e-book policy. First, you need to decide whether or not you will loan out devices. If you are only going to be a facilitator of Overdrive, then you need to provide your patrons support in accessing Overdrive and downloading to their devices.

Clientele

• Who will be able to use this service?

Staffing

• How many staff will support this program?
• Where will they be located and how will your clientele reach them?

Time

• How long can items be checked out?
• What about weekends and holidays?
• How should you notify your user if they borrow an item longer than anticipated?
• Will there be a time limit on transactions?

Types of Service and Fees

• Will e-devices be loaned out of the library?
• What will be the replacement cost if lost?

Procedures

• How will items be accessed?
• How will patron problems be handled?
• How will software problems be reported?

Privacy and Ethics

• How will the privacy of your users be protected?
• Agreement between user and library

Here are some examples of current policies:
http://www.meadpubliclibrary.org/policies?nid=882
http://wohs.woboe.org/LMC/Pages/Policies.aspx
http://www.library.ncat.edu/services/borrowing-ereaders.html#policy
http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/kindles

Ask Amigos is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Central Time. Contact us at support@amigos.org or 800-959-6562.