Ebook demand at the library has taken off since Christmas and the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) has responded by adding over 1,400 new titles to its digital book collection free to all library members in the region. The ORL had been part of a consortium of B.C. libraries that shared in a collection of eBooks and eAudiobooks called “Library to Go”, but changes to the software distributor’s contract required the ORL to start its own collection called “ORL eBooks”. Access to both collections of digital books can be found on the ORL’s homepage www.orl.bc.ca by clicking on the “Library to Go” or “ORL eBooks” buttons.
The new “ORL eBooks” collection includes 1,380 titles of digital eBooks that can be read on compatible computers, eReader devices, and mobile smartphones, and 47 eAudiobooks that can be listened to through an mp3 player. New content is being added each week. Since the service went live a month ago, members in the ORL region have already checked out items over 2,000 times.
“We’re really starting to see that shift to our members using digital content, especially the spike after the holidays after many people got eReaders as presents,” says ORL’s Executive Director Lesley Dieno.
The eBook and eAudiobooks can be requested and borrowed just like physical books for up to three weeks . The files include digital rights management (DRM) coding to ensure they cannot be shared and they are automatically returned to the library when the loan period is up.
“It can take a bit of patience to learn how to use the system and download the initial software needed to work with the files, but once that’s done customers can place holds, download content, and read or listen for free,” explains Dieno. “And one great advantage, especially for customers who live a distance from one of our branches, is that the content can be accessed 24/7 from a home computer.”
The ORL has been part of the province-wide “Library to Go” service since 2009, and saw an 82 per cent increase in downloads in 2010 and a 151 per cent rise in 2011. ORL customers will still have access to “Library to Go” materials purchased before the end of this month as well as its new ORL eBooks collection.