The Naperville Public Library, located in suburban Chicago, announced today the expansion of their 24/7 Digital Services. According to the
press release, the expanded services which are available through the
library's website, include the following new formats:
-- eAudiobooks -- unabridged books that may be enjoyed on PCs and hundreds of portable devices such as compatible MP3 players. They can also be burned to CD for use on any standard CD player, so you can listen to these downloadable books anywhere -- car, home, while exercising!
-- eBooks -- digital versions of print books that include all the pictures, text and graphics. They can be downloaded onto PCs, Macs, laptops, supported PDAs, and other portable devices. Titles include fiction, non-fiction, children's and adult popular fiction. Authors include Jonathan Kellerman, Catherine Coulter, Douglas Adams, the "Frommer's Guides" and "Nolo Press."
Currently, 343 eBook titles are offered in Adobe PDF format, and 45 titles are offered using the Mobipocket Reader format. The 362 eAudiobooks titles currently offered use the Windows-only DRM protected
OverDrive Audio Book format. While the expansion of digital content in public libraries is a good thing, the use of proprietary or non-standard formats is not.