Library increases attendance with iPhone, iPad apps and classes

In this day and age of digital books, library attendance is falling as people pick up their Kindles instead of paperbacks. One library in Illinois decided to win back patrons by embracing this technology instead of fighting it, says a report in Winnetka Talk.

To become more technology-friendly, the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library placed iPads at public desks for customers to use. It has even released an iOS app that'll let residents search the library's catalog of books, manage their library account and find upcoming events.

Librarians also noticed they were fielding a lot of questions about e-readers and tablets, so they started offering weekly sessions on how to use these devices with the library's e-book offerings. Library visitors can just drop-in on a class or set up an appointment for a private class.