The library gets home. Books available on the PC through an online platform

Media Library is a digital service free to users. Ebook and music albums are made available in streaming or download from a thousand public archives of Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria A public library open at all hours. And the books you borrow and consult directly on your home. It 'an innovation made possible by digital platform Online Media Library, which contains already a thousand libraries in four regions: Lombardy leader, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria.

The goal is to involve the other two regions in 2011 and 500 libraries. Who usually goes to the library, can now access the catalog from any computer or mobile support. With a username and password supplied by the you can not only verify the physical availability of texts, CDs, DVDs or magazines, but also look for free digital material.

Once on site, the page is similar to that of any search engine, with the ability to select products by publisher, distributor, language, country and more. A similar service already existed in the United States a few months ago and now is available in Italy. The platform has been produced by Horizons Unlimited, the Consortium has worked with the library system northwest of Milan.

Currently available ebooks are 29 thousand: most of the works consists of classic material and no longer covered by copyright. Online Media Library then have 16 thousand albums: "For now it is available above all classical music, jazz, world music and ethnic all kinds," says Giulio Blasi, CEO of Horizons Unlimited.

"Lombardy is the region with the highest penetration of the service. That is pretty common even in the town of Piacenza and Reggio Emilia. " Contacts have been taken to involve libraries in the Capital. For users the service is free. The costs are borne by libraries. "For us it is a business - says Blasi - and at libraries, creating networks, the platform may have advantages in the medium term.

He cut costs on the loan physical, ranging from 3 to 6 €, and the cost of warehousing and transportation. " Electronic books will always be available to users? "It depends on the number of licenses acquired by libraries.

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