It's a sign of the digital age. America's libraries, in an attempt to keep with the times and draw back readers, have greatly expanded its selection of digital titles, from e-books, to movies, to music, that can be downloaded by library patrons for use on their gadgets.

Better still, all of the media they're putting up is free, so long as you've got a library card.

An example that Reuters recently gave was that of various libraries in Phoenix, that have banded together to produce a digital library of 50,000 titles. The initiative is supported by a campaign to inform people of the availability of said media for download via the library's website.

Here's how it works: Folks need a library card, access to the internet, and some specific software - the Adobe Digital Editions, the Mobipocket Reader or the OverDrive Media Console. Equipped with this, they can visit their library's website and choose from the library's available selection of downloadable media. The media disappears after 2-3 weeks, ensuring that you don't have to return the "book" you borrowed and that you keep coming back for more downloadable goodies.

All in all, it looks like a good answer to the whole business of getting people to read, as well as enticing folks to visit their local libraries. After all, the library just happens to be a veritable vault of knowledge that can be used by everyone, and best of all, it's not a secret that's it's cheap and user-friendly.

---

Related Articles:

• New E-book Technical Standard Adapted
• Iranian inventor creates talking e-book reader to teach kids