Texas: Harris County Public Library Launches iKnow Digital Access Library Card

From the Houston Chronicle:

With the iKnow digital library card, residents will essentially have an on-demand library on their electronic device. The program, which started Sept. 1, already had more than 300 people enroll in the service, including about 10 children. While it doesn’t offer all of the amenities of a full-service library card (digital users can’t check out actual books), the intent is to reach people who may not interact with libraries at all.
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Ultimately, library director Edward Melton wants to grow the program to where every child in the county will have access to an iKnow card. He plans to work with school districts, explaining that many now provide students with an electronic device, such as a tablet, which they could use to access online resources.
About 20 percent of the library system’s $3 million collection budget goes toward digital content. According to Melton, Harris County didn’t spend additional funds, beyond employee hours, in the iKnow library card rollout. And over the past few months, the system has been “beefing up” its existing back catalog to prepare for the increase in digital readership.

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See Also: iKnow Digital Library Card Launch Announcement (via Harris County Public Library)iKnow Information Page
Harris County Public Library Director Edward Melton Discusses iKnow on Fox Houston

Filed under: Digital Collections, Interactive Tools, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries