FREADING BRINGS EBOOKS

We are excited to announce that beginning February 13, Lincoln County Library patrons will be able to check out eBooks.  The Wyoming State Library has contracted for an eBook lending service, Freading, that offers simultaneous access to a wide variety of books from small and independent publishers.

Over 20,000 titles will be available, and more will be added weekly.  Users will log in with their library card number and PIN and have full access to the entire collection.  Each user is allotted a set number of tokens per week which are used to exchange for eBook checkouts. 

Checkouts of Freading eBook titles are for two weeks.  Books can be renewed and can be returned early.  Online instructions will lead you through the process.

Most popular eReading devices will work with Freading with the exception of the standard Amazon Kindle.  The company is working to achieve Kindle compatability, but no one is speculating on when it might be available.

Looking to improve your financial literacy?  Check out these online resources provided by the Association of Rural & Small Libraries.

Annual Credit Report https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/ Request a free credit report once every 12 months.

Fighting Back Against Identity Theft http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ Learn how to deter, detect and defend against identity theft.

OnguardOnline.gov http://www.onguardonline.gov/ Practical tips from government and the technology industry sources to help protect against internet fraud.

Choose to Save Saving Tips http://www.choosetosave.org/calculators/ Wide variety of savings and financial calculators.

Ballpark Estimate http://choosetosave.org/ballpark/ Worksheet for calculating how much you need for retirement.

Fastweb http://www.fastweb.com/ One of the oldest and largest scholarship sites.

Basics of Money http://www.kiplinger.com/basics/ How to budget, spend and manage your money wisely from Kiplinger’s.

Taxes http://www.360taxes.org Public service sites sponsored by the AICPA offering tips & checklists for tax planning.

Financial Football http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/games/trainingcamp/ VISA & the NFL offer this fast-paced, interactive game that teaches money management skills.

BizKid$ http://www.bizkids/com/ Companion site for the public TV series that teaches kids and teens about money & business.

FREE E-BOOKS

Not surprisingly, we are receiving a number of inquiries about the availability of e-books–downloadable books for e-readers and other devices–through the library.  At the present time, Lincoln County libraries do not offer e-books, but we are exploring the possibility.

In the meantime, however, there are some Internet sites that offer free e-books.  Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/, offers more than 33,000 free books that work well with any e-reader platform.  You’ll find mostly classics and public domain works.

Baen Books, http://www.bean.com/, publisher of science fiction and fantasy offers a number of their titles as free downloads.  Authors including Eric Lint, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mercedes Lackey, and David Weber can be found here.  There are currently 120 titles available with new titles added every month. 

Now that Kindle and Nook are open to file sharing, eBookFling, http://ebookfling.com/, offers users the chance to swap e-books for free with other readers nationwide while still retaining ownership.  For every five books listed to loan out, users get one “credit” toward borrowing.