The CITE: Cleveland Public Library becomes first to offer e-book rentals via epub format

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This blog is dedicated to the topics of Course materials, Innovation, and Technology in Education. it is intended as an information source for the college store industry, or anyone interested in how course materials are changing. Suggestions for discussion topics or news stories are welcome.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Cleveland Public Library becomes first to offer e-book rentals via epub format

Last week, the Cleveland Public Library along with the 29 other libraries in the Clevnet Consortium became the first library in the nation to offer e-book downloads via epub format. According to a recent article, the library has been offering e-book downloads in a variety of formats since 2003 but with epub, the text is reflowable and therefore compatible with an increased number of devices including PC and Mac computers and the Sony Reader. Currently, the library offers 143 epub titles through the OverDrive powered download website and plans to expand the collection daily. Readers can choose to check out the e-books for 7, 14, or 21 days and after that time, the files will automatically expire. Additional libraries in New York and Chicago are expected to receive books in epub format within the upcoming months.