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Illinois
Libraries Launch 24/7 "Media Mall"
Popular titles now available
for checkout and download to PCs, MP3s, PDAs
(WHEELING, IL - 09/7/05) - For
many Illinois residents, accessing popular Audiobooks and eBooks has
just become easier…and best of all it's free. With a new online service,
MyMediaMall ( www.mymediamall.net
), patrons of participating libraries can check out and download
popular digital Audiobooks and eBooks anytime of day from the comfort
of their home. The digital books can be enjoyed on a wide range of devices
including MP3 players and PDAs, providing a unique "anytime, anywhere"
book experience.
MyMediaMall is the result of
20 Illinois libraries working together with the North Suburban Library
System to offer patrons throughout the Chicago suburbs and other locations
in northern and central Illinois 24/7 access to the latest digital materials.
The consortium's online collection
provides hundreds of exceptional titles to choose from, including bestsellers
and classics, fiction and non-fiction from popular authors and leading
publishers. Titles include the works of Dean Koontz, Ridley Pearson,
Charles Dickens, Nora Roberts, Catherine Coulter, and many more.
To access materials patrons first
download free reader software from the web site, pick titles, then download
the digital books to their personal computers. Audiobooks can be enjoyed
on PCs and hundreds of portable devices. Audiobooks can be transferred
to portable WMA/MP3 players, or burned to CD for use on any standard
CD player. eBooks can be read on personal computers, PDAs and Smartphones.
"Digital technology and books
were a marriage meant to happen," said Sarah Long, director of the North
Suburban Library System. "Downloadable books prove what librarians knew
all along, that computers and the Internet would support expansive growth
of library services, not the death that many predicted."
The anytime-anywhere service
offers countless advantages for students, business travelers, or any
avid, multi-tasking reader. Users find the automatic return feature
extremely convenient; when the loan period is over the file expires
and the materials are checked back in. If a book is already checked
out, users can have the book put on hold and they will be notified by
e-mail when it is available. OverDrive, Inc., the leading vendor of
downloadable Audiobooks and eBooks, supplied the technology for the
new service.
To browse the collection, visit
www.mymediamall.net . A valid
library card from a participating library is all that's required to
checkout and download books. A list of participating libraries is on
the Web site.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Judy Hoffman, North Suburban
Library System, (847) 353-7137
jhoffman@nsls.info
Brian Wright, OverDrive, (216)
573-6886, x207
bwright@overdrive.com
The North Suburban Library System
( www.nsls.info ) is an organization
of 650 public, academic, school and special libraries in the north Chicago
suburbs. Located in Wheeling, Illinois, it is one of nine multi-type
library systems funded through the Illinois State Library.
OverDrive, Inc. ( www.overdrive.com
) is the leading distributor of eBooks and other digital content
to retailers and public libraries in the US and the UK.
