Library expands eBook selection

The Flathead County Library System has expanded its collection of downloadable materials with the addition of EPUB eBooks.

Library-card holders can visit www.flatheadcountylibrary.org to browse the collection, check out and download eBooks and audiobooks at any time of day or night.

Similar to Adobe PDF eBooks, EPUB eBooks can be read on a PC or Mac using the free reader software Adobe Digital Editions. They also are compatible with many digital devices, according to Adult Services Librarian Rishara Finsel.

EPUB features reflowable text and interactive graphic options, including the ability to resize the text and alter the display to fit any size screen.

“EPUB is the future of eBook reading and we are excited to offer the new format,” Finsel said in a press release. “We have hundreds of best-selling titles available and they are all compatible with many of the new e-reader devices such as iPad, iPhone, Android devices, the Sony Reader and the Barnes and Noble Nook.”

As part of a consortium of Montana libraries, the opening collection of eBooks features 1,100 titles including popular fiction, nonfiction, young adult and children’s titles.

To check out titles, a patron needs a valid library card, computer and Internet connection. Once downloaded, eBooks and audiobooks can be used on a computer or other supported portable devices such as MP3 players, iPods, Smartphones and many personal digital assistants.

Many audio titles also can be burned to CDs. At the end of the lending period, titles automatically expire and are returned to the library’s collection.

Flathead County Library System is a member of MontanaLibrary2Go (http://montanalibrary2go.org/) and partners with OverDrive Inc. a global leader in digital media services, to offer the downloadable audio and e-books.