E-services have become increasingly popular and the demand from Lee County Library customers has grown. In the last fiscal year, almost 2.5 million items were accessed electronically. To meet the demand, the Lee County Library System continues to expand the online services being offered.
Residents in Lee County only need a valid library card to access a wide array of digital materials from the Library System’s digital collection. If you live, work or go to school in Lee County, you can get a free library card.
E-services offered by the Lee County Library System include:
- Online chat assistance from library staff
- eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and videos offered through OverDrive
- eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and access to Craftsy, The Great Courses, Qello Concerts and iNDIEFLIX available through OverDrive’s Libby app
- eBooks, audiobooks, music, comics, graphic novels and videos accessible through hoopla
- Language learning with Rosetta Stone and Mango Languages
- Plus interactive virtual courses, test preparation, materials for students, genealogy resources and more.
Readers can use phones, tablets, e-readers or computers to access all of these materials for free from the library’s digital content providers.
The Lee County Board of Commissioners voted on Feb. 1 to approve a $1.2 million budgeted library e-service expenditure for 2022, which will expand a contract with OverDrive, an online service that provides e-books and other downloadable content. In 2021, Lee County’s library cardholders checked out close to 1.6 million digital items from OverDrive.
On Jan. 18, a $652,000 expenditure was approved after a vote by the Board of Commissioners that expanded a contract with Midwest Tape, for physical materials and the e-service hoopla.
