Borrowing free ebooks is easier....

It's now even easier to find the books you want to borrow from Derbyshire County Council's ebook loan service following the introduction of a new innovation on its website.

Readers who want to borrow a free ebook from the authority's library service can filter the results to show available stock only.

This means you do not need to waste time looking at titles which are already on loan.

You can still reserve any book online if it is already out, but the new filter makes it easier to make your choices.

The new facility was introduced as the service celebrates its first birthday with a bumper number of users, far outstripping expectations.

The authority started lending out ebooks for use on smartphones, tablets, PCs and laptops in July last year. Since then it has:

* Issued more than 16,000 ebooks
* Increased its ebook stock to 3,000 items
* Registered 4,000 users - including many new customers and people who haven't used their library card for a while.

Leader of Derbyshire County Council and cabinet member for culture Councillor Andrew Lewer said the service was proving very popular.

"Going on what other authorities have achieved, we did not expect the service to take off so quickly,' said Councillor Lewer.

"It is proving very popular and thousands of people are now enjoying library ebooks on the move. There is more choice than ever, with new titles becoming available all the time.

"And while the number of ebooks we loan out free of charge is only a fraction of the four million printed books borrowed from our libraries every year, it is obviously proving to be a very welcome addition to our library services.'

Derbyshire County Council has 45 libraries and 11 mobile libraries which cover all areas of the county. It holds more than a million Items, including books, audio books, DVDs and reference titles. All libraries have computers with free access to the internet and 20 libraries have free wifi.

Ebook stock includes the classics, teenage fiction, children's books and travel.

To register and start borrowing straight away, go to www.derbyshire.gov.uk/ebooks

You need to be a member of Derbyshire County Council libraries, but you can join online.

Currently, market leader Amazon does not allow loaned books to be used on its Kindle device but this may change in the future.

Titles proving popular with Derbyshire's ebook borrowers include:
* The Help by Kathryn Stockett
* Skills by Dick Francis
* Anybody out There by Marian Keyes

Councillor Lewer is urging anyone who has not given it a go yet to sign up.

"There are plenty of books to choose from and it is easy to use, so why not try it out,' he urged.

"You can browse the collection online from the comfort of your own home, office or on the go from your smartphone. It is available 24 hours a day, which is a big plus.'

Ebooks can be borrowed for a maximum of three weeks although users can set their own borrowing period.
Books are deleted automatically following a warning sent out 24 hours before the loan is up.