On March 5, Goldfarb Library started loaning iPads to students through Library and Technology Services as part of their equipment loan program that lends equipment ranging from cell phone chargers to laptop lockers.

The iPads are kept behind the main desk in the library and can be checked out for 24 hours. After the iPads are returned, any information saved on them is cleared, but they can be renewed after one hour. The library currently owns seven iPads with keyboards and eight without.

"A lot of libraries do similar things. Some lend them for three days, some lend them for seven. We started with 24 hours, and that could change. We really want people to test them, try them, see what they're good for. ... We want to figure out what you all want with them, then move forward," said Access Librarian and Commons Coordinator Dennis Smith in an interview with the Justice.

According to Smith, the funds for the iPads were requested by Associate Director of Public Services Patricia Flanagan a year in advance. He also said that the iPads were bought not only to keep up with what other libraries such as those in the Boston Library Consortium-including Tufts University, Boston College, Wellesley College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-are providing, but also to respond to student requests reflected in online surveys.

According to one survey conducted by LTS, 100 percent of students who said they would likely borrow an iPad also owned a laptop. The survey also showed that the top three uses for iPads by students are surfing the web, reading ebooks or articles and taking notes.

"I use them every day. I take my notes and write my papers on them; I save everything to their Cloud. And they're small, they're portable, they're lighter to carry around than my computer," said Iosefa Percival '15, who works for LTS, in an interview with the Justice.

The iPads feature a few purchased apps as well as other free installed apps.

Among the apps are: Ebrary, YouTube, Adobe Reader, Dropbox, Firefly, Keynote and Kindle. The iPads also have direct links to Loufind, RefWorks, Academic Search Premier, JSTOR and other resources.

User Experience Librarian Jennifer Giordano emphasized in an email to the Justice that LTS is open to suggestions from students on apps they would like to have installed.

Accordingly, a scientific calculator app is set to be added this week.

Since the iPads are more fragile than other technological equipment, a protection plan was purchased for them by the library; a student would only need to pay $50 if damage, such as cracks to the screen, should occur during the borrowing period.

"I think it's really great because I didn't expect something like that," said Leia Ruseva '15 in an interview with the Justice. "I knew about the laptops, but they're really old and kind of outdated. I rented one when mine was broken, so I needed to. But the iPads, that's really convenient, you don't have to have your bag stuffed, ... which is really nice."

The library posts announcements on their website and on their library advertisement screen.

Smith added that in a few weeks the library will be adding six Macbook Airs, which will be available for four hours at a time. The laptops are now in the process of being configured. The library is also looking into purchasing Chromebooks in the future.