With the start of the new semester, the library began offering students and teachers the use of MackinVIA for access to ebooks and audiobooks.

“The reason the library had not purchased ebooks up until this point is that the school district had to figure out the legal aspects of who owned the books,” librarian Amelia Lewis said. “As ebook technology has evolved, better systems for libraries were created so we don’t have to worry about the legal issues.”

MackinVIA allows students and teachers to login one time on their device, such as a Kindle, Nook, iPad or smartphone. The system does not require a password and it allows users to make annotations and cite books directly to EasyBib.

“I like not having to worry about carrying around 20 zillion books,” senior Oceanna Pontejos said.

The possibilities of this program are endless, although each student/staff member can only check out two books at a time. Each book is checked out for two weeks, with one two-week long renewal option, and then it is automatically returned when the book is due.

“We can up [the checkout] number to five if after some time to play around with it students want to check out more than two at a time,” Lewis said.

To learn how to use MackinVIA head to the library on Jan. 23 during any lunch and bring your lunch and device.

“My favorite part of the new platform is that you can make notes in the backpack feature,” Lewis said. “Even if you check the book back in, you still have the notes with quotes in your backpack. So, for students who need to use a book for an assignment, they can still use those notes.”