SBHS Library: Ebooks

An ebook (e-book, eBook), short for electronic book, is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. These documents can be read on a computer or on dedicated devices known as ebook readers (ie. Amazon's Kindle). Some mobile phones and ipods can also be used to read ebooks. Although the library does not currently subscribe to ebooks, many sources of free ebook downloads are available online. Here are some of the sites available, along with a short explanation of each.

Project Gutenberg has over 27,000 free ebook titles available through their online catalog. Audio books and books in various languages can be found here. Many classical works of literature, and other texts in the public domain, can be downloaded in various formats. For example, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley can be downloaded in Plucker, html and plain text formats, as well as in an audio book.

www.booksinmyphone.com formats and packages books so that you can read them on a java enabled phone (most phones sold today are java enabled). The site lists several ways to get an ebook onto your phone.

www.literature.org provides "the full and unabridged texts of classic works of English literature." The scope is much smaller than Project Gutenberg, and the text is available in web page format. Works can be accessed through the author index.

manybooks.net offers 23,240 free ebooks for your PDA, iPhone or ebook reader in many different formats organized by author, title, category or genre and language.

Fiction: the Eserver Collection "offers works of and about fiction collected from our members, contributing authors worldwide, and texts in the public domain" (description from their home page). Most notable is the Short Fiction section, which includes short stories such as Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game. Some literary criticism and biographies can also be found here.

Chicago Public Library's Downloadable Media Catalog offers ebooks and downloadable audiobooks to patrons with a valid CPL card.