If you got a new tablet during the recent holiday season or already had a tablet and want to get free eBooks, get your library card out and visit the Portage Library Consortium’s new eBook service, Axis 360. The Portage Library Consortium, a partnership between Kent Free Library, Portage County District Library, and Reed Memorial Library, makes this service available to all of their library patrons at no charge. Included in the digital collection are a wide range of fiction titles of interest to adults, teens and children, as well as a growing collection of non-fiction eBooks.
Axis 360 is a digital media platform which provides an engaging reading experience through its use of Blio, a free app featuring full-color, full-layout digital versions of print books on devices that support the app. Devices that do not support Blio need the Adobe Editions download for the ePub and PDF versions of eBooks. Blio and Adobe Editions can be downloaded for free from the Axis 360 site.
The Axis 360 eBook collection can be accessed through the library home pages of Kent Free, Portage County District or Reed Memorial, or by going directly to the site at http://plc.axis360.baker-taylor.com. To begin, select “Login” from the upper corner of the screen. Enter your library barcode number and select a PIN. Next, enter an email address along with your selected PIN. Select the title you would like to download, and choose the type of download (Blio or EPub.) It’s just that easy. Enjoy your favorite authors and titles right away. Click a title for more information or search the site for specific authors and titles. Your selections will check out for 14 days, or you can get a shorter loan period by first adding the book to your checkout list and choosing a shorter loan while viewing your list. Each account may have up to ten titles checked out at any one time. There’s no need to worry about returns because the titles will expire when the loan period ends so nothing is ever overdue.
The three libraries also subscribe separately to the OverDrive digital download service, which includes downloadable audio books. Kent Free and Reed Memorial participate in the statewide Ohio eBook Project for their patrons. Portage County District Library cardholders can use PCDL’s OverDrive site. Access these collections through the home page of the library matching your library card.
Visit Kent Free Library at www.kentfreelibrary.org, Portage County District Library at www.portagelibrary.org, or Reed Memorial Library at www.reedlibrary.org to get started reading eBooks at no charge.
Library to Add Sesame Street eBooks to Digital Library Collection
Portage County District Library has announced that it has added more than 150 free Sesame Street eBooks to its digital library collection. Available anywhere, anytime, you’ll be able to enjoy classic as well as brand-new Sesame Street eBooks. All eBooks are based on Sesame Street’s early childhood curriculum. Service includes four different kinds of eBooks: read along books, audiobooks, animated books, and interactive books. When you read a Sesame Street eBook with your child, you can make story time extra engaging with bright pages, audio narration, interactivity, animation, and more. Best of all, Sesame Street eBooks are ready to read right here, right now. To access these exciting books, visit www.portagelibrary.org and select the “Download Ebooks Audiobooks” link at the lower left-hand position on the screen. Then select the appropriate link (inside or outside a branch library) to begin enjoying the collection.
This service is available to anyone with a Portage County District Library card in good standing. Visit www.portagelibrary.org to learn more about this service or for more information about other Portage County District Library services and programs. Don’t have a Portage County District Library card yet? Visit any one of our five branch locations or visit us online at www.portagelibrary.org. Branch locations include Aurora Memorial, Garrettsville, Pierce Streetsboro, Randolph, Windham, and Outreach Services (includes Home Delivery and Library Express.) Library Express locations include Aurora, Brimfield, Edinburg, Hiram, Mantua, Randolph, Rootstown, and Shalersville. Find us on Facebook.
