The Farmingdale Public Library is now making eBooks available to their users via the Internet. eBooks are full-text electronic versions of printed books. They can be borrowed, read and returned over the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Through a cooperative venture of the Nassau Library System, its member libraries and netLibrary, Nassau County residents can now access more than 5,500 titles online. Approximately 1,500 copyrighted titles have been purchased for countywide use by the Levittown and East Meadow Libraries, the co-central libraries of the Nassau Library System. This eBook collection is comprised of non fiction titles with broad appeal. Popular series such as the Complete Idiot's Guides and the Chicken Soup books have been selected. Subjects featured include travel, health, computers and business. Literary criticism, Cliff Notes and other titles particularly useful for homework assignments have also been chosen. The other 4,000 titles, mostly literature and history classics, are works in the public domain.

Those wishing to access this collection must register at the reference desk of the library. Registration is quick and easy. Once registered, these eBooks may be accessed at computers in the libraries as well as from any Internet-connected computer whether it is located at home, work, school or elsewhere.

"We are pleased to offer eBooks as an additional, convenient way of accessing information, even when libraries are closed," said Robyn Klose, manager of Electronic Resources and Services at the Nassau Library System.

To learn more or to register, stop by the Farmingdale Public Library and ask a reference librarian about this exciting new service. A list of the public libraries in Nassau County, along with addresses, phone numbers and links to the libraries' websites, is available online at www.nassaulibrary.org. Click on "visit your library online" for the Farmingdale Library's home page or "search your library's databases" for specific information about netLibrary eBooks as well as other online databases one can access via their local library.

Farmingdale Public Library Director Carol Ahrens said that the time for eBooks is perfect in libraries for many reasons. "They don't need to be reshelved after usage; they can't be stolen, and they put libraries on the cutting edge of new technology," she said. "eBooks are excellent for complementing traditional library sources in today's changing world."

Library Board President Larry Jorgensen added, "The Farmingdale Public Library has seen many changes in library service, but the coming years will be more challenging than ever before. Library service is changing at a rapid pace, bringing new services, new ways to service the public and new ways to use the library."