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"You can now borrow an iPad from your local library \u2014 that is, if you live in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.\nEau Claire's L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library will soon begin offering 32 iPads (first generation, 64GB with Wi-Fi, no 3G) for seven-day checkouts. The library will also have six iPads for on-premise use. Each iPad will be loaded with 1,000 books plus 10 audio books, library director John Stoneberg told TV station WEAU. \nThe program was made possible by a $50,000 grant from the Presto Foundation. A few restrictions apply: You must be over 18 and sign a contract to take one out. Anything you download will also be deleted. There's also a $10 per day late fee that maxes out at $100. If you completely trash the iPad, you will be on the hook for $1,020 \u2014 the price the library paid for the device plus an external keyboard and case, a library rep says.\nThe Eau Claire branch is certainly among the vanguard of libraries embracing the digital age, though it's hardly alone. Some 11,000 libraries (out of a total of 122,101 across the nation) this week began lending books for Amazon's Kindle ebook platform.\n[via AllThingsD]Image courtesy of iStockphoto, arakonyunus"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/09/23/library-ipad/>