E-books continue to grow in popularity in the Louisville Free Public Library system, but the electronic catalog has expanded well past literature.
In April, the library system added music. Users can stream jazz, classical and world music genres and LFPL director Craig Buthod says the library is eventually interested in adding video. Last year, there were around 7,200 downloads per month. Now, he says there are over 30,000. “Our magazines are a big hit. That’s partly because the format is so conducive to enjoying the bright colors and the great layout and the format of magazines really works on an iPad or on another tablet computer to be able to sit and page through a whole magazine," Buthod says. According to monthly averages from the first half of this year, library members have checked out around 11,200 e-books, 2,000 audiobooks, downloaded 9,000 magazine downloads, and 9,000 songs. Buthod doesn’t know if the e-phenomenon will plateau at any point in the near future, but he says publishers continue struggling with how to best distribute and sell electronic content. E-books were introduced in Louisville public libraries in December 2011. Here's a list of over 160 free magazines you can download from LFPL. Once you check it out, its yours until you delete it. The most popular magazine is Consumer Reports, Buthod says.
