Anyone with a PC or laptop and a compatible portable device can now choose from over 700 eBook titles and download them for free thanks to a new pilot service being launched throughout Bath & North East Somerset Council’s public libraries.
The new service is being launched as part of a week-long UK-wide celebration of libraries leading up to National Libraries Day on the 4th February.
Although the service is not compatible with the Kindle it can be used with a number of other leading products such as the Sony Reader, Kobo, Nook, iPad, iPhone and Android devices.
Library members can choose titles they wish to read, and download them for up to 21 days each by visiting http://www.librarieswest.org.uk/. All titles can be borrowed and reserved for free, and loans automatically expire so there are no overdue charges to worry about. The service is free to all library members across the five authorities in the LibrariesWest consortium, including Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Councillor David Dixon (Lib-Dem, Oldfield), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council’s libraries are always seeking ways to improve the service and meet the changing needs and expectations of users. This new service is easy to use and available 24/7 – and best of all it’s free. Users of the new service are now able to download and read eBooks at a time and place to suit them.
“We hope our customers will see this as an add-on to their library membership and they will also use all the other resources the library has at their disposal for our customers. Furthermore we are highlighting the wide variety of services available at our libraries on Saturday 4 February for National Libraries Day, and we welcome everyone to come along and find out what’s on offer.“
New eBooks are being added to the collection all the time, among them are bestselling autobiographies by Stephen Fry, Dawn French and Michael McIntyre, and popular novelists such as Jonathan Kellerman, Nicci French and Lynda La Plante.
The collection also includes titles across a range of popular genres including travel, computing, gardening and crafts.
To find out more about National Libraries Day visit http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/NationalLibrariesDay for a list of events and activities taking place in Bath & North East Somerset Council’s libraries in Bath, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton. As well as events in these main libraries, the Council will also be holding some special activities in all of its libraries.
The LibrariesWest consortium comprises the five public library services in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
