Waiting List Grows for Successful iPad Lending Program @ Eau Claire's L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library

An "i" on the future. (Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 10/23/2011)

Excerpt: For those who still think of their neighborhood public library primarily as a place to check out dusty old books, think again.

L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library took a giant step toward updating that image last month when it began lending out Apple iPad tablet computers for use in customers' homes and inside the library.

The program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, has proven extremely popular, with the waiting list for the 32 iPads available for one-week checkout quickly rising past 300 people. The six iPads available for customers to use for up to four hours in the library also are spoken for frequently during operating hours.

"So far the iPad lending program is going really well," said library director John Stoneberg, noting six more iPads soon will be available for home delivery to customers who can't get to the library because of medical reasons.

The idea for the iPad program came from Maryjo Cohen, president of Eau Claire-based National Presto Industries and the Presto Foundation. She approached library officials with the concept in April and even proposed having the foundation pay for it.