The Library is a large part of Charlottesville High school and part of our community. I caught up with Mr. Spradlin about the current status of the library and e-books.

Q: What is the status of the library?

A: There are 17,000 items here in the library.

Q: How are e-books being incorporated ?

A: We are buying them, and at the moment they end up in the catalogue you can access from your Chromebook. You can download them right onto it. We are trying to utilize them in a user determined format. 

Q: Are e-books replacing physical copies or are they In addition to physical copies?

A: They are In addition to physical copies in the library, some companies for non-fiction are giving you unlimited access to the ebook with purchase of a hardcover. When books circulate, if you can circulate it 15 times that would be doing really well, it will take some heat off the physical copies.

Q: Which is more popular: fiction or nonfiction?

A: Fiction. I didn’t even have to think about that. 

Q: Have you noticed more or less people checking out books?

A: It’s cyclical. At some points I see circulation fall, and [at] some points it goes up. There were times when no kids here had either a cellphone or laptop, and you would think book circulation would be up. But I have seen years where it has been up more even when kids have laptops and cellphones. I thought the Nook and Kindle would be a large change but they really didn’t do much. This year, we are on a higher circulation trend than this time last year. I can’t explain it. Students should look forward to the future of e-books. The future is bright and now.