The University of Wisconsin is continuing its experimentation with digital media in the classroom this semester by offering the Amazon Kindle, which has received mixed reviews from students and faculty.

Twenty Kindles — hardware and software platforms fostered by Amazon.com, which allow students to store and carry their textbooks electronically on the device — were purchased by Ken Frazier this year, director of libraries at UW, for use in professor Jeremi Suri’s history seminar.

Frazier made the decision to purchase the Kindles as a result of numerous faculty members’ interest in the devices.

“We wanted to have experience with electronic readers,” Frazier said. “I think they are going to become important in the future.”

The Kindles were purchased using gift funds donated to UW.

According to Frazier, the Kindles are intended to undergo university marketing; depending on the type of reviews the devices get from faculty and students, more will be purchased and distributed on a larger scale.

“I really think it’s important to test this in a small scale before going on to a larger one,” Frazier said. “We want to get it right before we make a larger investment in the device.”

Frazier also said opinions on the Kindle’s effectiveness have varied, and there seems to be no solid viewpoint on the device among students.

“Truthfully, the devices are getting a mixed reaction,” Frazier said. “The students are interested in being a part of the experiment, but recently some students have already gone back to print.”

Frazier added it is unacceptable the device is not accessible to blind people.

Suri’s opinion of the Kindle was more positive.

“It has been terrific,” Suri said, “but not because it always works.”

Professor Suri said the Kindle’s two biggest advantages are its cost for students and the fact it allows them to access material from home. According to Suri, the library lends them to students for the semester. Suri said its advantages to students stretch beyond the fact it’s portable and free.

“It’s a different way to think about reading and it makes things more interactive,” Suri said.

As far as the pros and cons from the students’ perspective, Frazier said students in particular disliked the Kindles’ note-taking features, as well as the photos that are only available in black and white.

Although students have become very comfortable with reading from the screen, there have also been a number of technical problems with the Kindle, according to Frazier.

Suri said he is also intrigued by the ability of the device to put time into perspective.

“We’re reading material that is over 2,500 years old on a device that’s from the 21st century,” Suri said. “Mixing the old with the new.”

During the second semester, UW history professor William Cronon and students enrolled in his environmental history course will have the opportunity to experiment with the Kindles.