When students at three Franklin Regional District schools check out a library book this fall, they will have a new option — a Kindle.

Libraries at Sloan Elementary, the middle school and the high school will have six e-readers each for students to borrow for the 2011-12 academic year.

Instead of solely stocking the shelves with paperbacks and hard-cover books, the district plans to apportion money from each library’s budget to stock the devices with e-books.

“Content is definitely going to be delivered in many more ways in the coming years,” said Jesse McDonnell, librarian at the high school. “Books will continue to have their place. But for convenience, the e-readers and tablets will expand the ease of use and portability. You can bring your whole backpack of books home on an e-reader if they’re available in that format.”

Unfortunately, the e-readers likely won’t be available for borrowing when school starts Monday, McDonnell said.

The district’s librarians still need to finalize borrowing policies that will dictate how long students can keep the Kindles and how the e-readers will be distributed. McDonnell estimated that the Kindles will be in students’ hands in late September or early October.

The move toward integrating technology in reading could help encourage reluctant readers to pick up a Kindle rather than a book, said David Carbonara, assistant professor of education and program director of instructional technology at Duquesne University.

“We know when we put technology in front of kids, the ‘Wow! factor’ kicks in,” Carbonara said. “They want to play with the new technology. If we put these Kindles in front of kids and they read more, then it’s worth every penny.”

An e-reader is a device that allows users to read electronic versions of books anywhere. The e-reader software also is available on most smartphones and tablets, including the iPad.

E-books increasingly have become popular and are significantly less expensive than a traditional book.

Unlike other e-readers on the market, Kindle allows users to annotate the book they are reading and includes the technology for the device to read to the user.

Kindle’s features are attractive, said Christy Belgiovane, librarian at the middle school. She expects that the technology might draw more students into reading because of its familiarity.

“Kids today are used to technology,” Belgiovane said. “It’s part of their life — their phones, their Nintendo DSes. They’re used to that. If you go somewhere where a kid is waiting for something, nine times out of 10, the child is sitting there with something digital.”

The trend, however, doesn’t necessarily mean this generation is filled with true “digital natives” — a term used to describe people who understand the value of technology and seek ways to make an impact, said Carbonara of Duquesne University.

“Kids are digital natives on a cell phone — yes, they can run their thumbs across their iPhone and type in two Tweets in half a minute,” Carbonara said. “But do they know how the use the technology in a reflective manner• That’s debatable.”

Kindle can fill that void, Carbonara said. With the ability to annotate on the text, students can type in their thoughts and become more engaged with what they are reading.

Kindle also can help students with vocabulary, said librarian Belgiovane. The devices allow users to tap on a word that is unfamiliar and look up the definition — improving comprehension, she said.

“Most kids aren’t going to put a book down to go look up a word in the dictionary — they’ll just skip over it,” Belgiovane said. “”This will help them understand what they’re reading.”

Jill Cooper of Murrysville, whose two children attend Sloan Elementary, said she is excited to see how the district will use the technology. She hopes her son and daughter have the opportunity to “borrow” a Kindle and try it out in the fall.

Cooper said technology will continue to be a part of students’ lives as they get older.

“It’s something that’s not going to go away, so it’s nice they will be taught how to use it,” Cooper said. “We read on the computer more and more every day. This is a good thing.”

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