Huge e-book upgrade for Vernon Area Library patrons

Fans of e-books or downloadable audiobooks will be pleased to find more than 280,000 additional e-books and digital audiobooks, plus new digital magazines, the next time they use their Vernon Area Public Library card to log in to OverDrive or Libby.

The upgrades are the results of Vernon Area's new membership in the Digital Library of Illinois (DLIL).

The Digital Library of Illinois is the largest consortium in the state for digital material on OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide.

By joining, Vernon Area Public Library triples its offerings of e-book and audiobook titles and increase the number of copies available for checkout from 17,134 to more than 300,000.

For patrons, this means more choice and shorter waits for popular materials, such as current bestsellers The Women by Kristin Hannah or The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

“We are excited to provide patrons with access to more content, and more quickly,” said Vernon Area Public Library Director Anne Rasmussen. “This agreement allows us to expand the breadth and depth of our digital offerings, decrease hold times on popular materials, and deliver better value for taxpayers by sharing materials with our neighbors.”

The upgrade also provides Vernon Area patrons with a new collection of digital magazines, including popular periodicals covering news and politics, health and fitness, food and cooking, crafts, sports, and other subjects.

The Digital Library of Illinois (DLIL) is managed by the Electronic Content Consortium (ECC), a nonprofit collaborative of libraries across Illinois. The ECC leverages economies of scale to jointly negotiate and purchase electronic content at terms that may not be available to standalone libraries.

More than 120 Illinois libraries participate in DLIL, including nearby Deerfield, Palatine, Highland Park, Mount Prospect, and Northbrook public libraries.