SOUTHERNILLINOIS - Several Southern Illinois libraries - including Carbondale, Murphysboro, Marion and Sparta - now will be offering their patrons eBooks, thanks to their participation in a new initiative.

These eBooks are "electronic versions of print books that can be downloaded from the Internet and read either from a computer screen or a handheld device such as a PDA or Pocket PC," said Donella Odum, director of the Sallie Logan Public Library in Murphysboro. The books even can be downloaded to "smart phones," she said.

This week has been designated "Read an eBook Week" to officially launch the new service offered at Carbondale Public Library, Sallie Logan Public Library and Marion Carnegie Library, but many patrons already are using the service. Connie Steudel, Carbondale's head librarian, said the service is ready there, but Carbondale's "big push" for electronic books will be during National Library Week in mid-April.

The Sparta Public Library isn't yet ready for a launch, but hopes to introduce eBooks during National Library Week, librarian Christy Stupegia said.

The area libraries are among 42 public and school libraries across Illinois participating in a cooperative project called WE CAN DO IT. The acronym stands for, "With E-resources Cooperating Agencies Now Develop Online Initiatives Together."

Other downstate libraries participating include Mount Vernon, Salem and Vandalia.

The Illinois libraries obtained a $130,000 federal grant through the Illinois State Library to implement the project and set up an "eBranch service" at each site.

The eBook setup is rather simple, Odum said. "Patrons can download the titles 365 days a year, 24/7. The titles are downloaded for a set period (three weeks for Carbondale and two weeks for the

other libraries) and then the title 'expires' and deletes automatically." If a patron hasn't finished the book, he or she can download it again unless another reader has placed a "hold" on it.

The librarians know eBooks will never replace printed books and magazines, but also see their advantages. Once the patron enters a code, the book will download in seconds. Those with vision problems can "read" a much larger page on a computer screen than in a standard hardcover or paperback book, Odum said. "Travelers will find that books on a PDA are light and take up almost no room in their suitcase." The backlight on a PDA makes it easy to read in the dark while others are sleeping, she added.

Linda Mathias, head librarian at the Marion Carnegie Library, noted eBooks can't be left on planes or in hotel rooms, or covered with sand at the beach, as printed books sometimes are.

Librarians whose lives turn hectic when teachers assign the same book to 25 or more students can appreciate the beauty of the eBooks, Odum said. Now, everyone can "check out" the same title simultaneously if it's on the classics list. The most popular titles can only be downloaded by one user at a time, but classics are available to multiple users.

Sallie Logan Public Library already has 784 titles available on eBooks, Odum said. Each participating library was given the basic eBranch setup and 100 titles, plus funding to purchase additional titles.

Shopping from a catalog of eBooks was fun, Odum said. The titles range from 49 cents to $49 each, with an average price around $17 or $18. She picked general fiction, Westerns, mysteries, cookbooks, self-help titles and other nonfiction.

"We got 600 classic titles for $500," Mathias said. "I was just blown away with what they called classics," she added. "It's not just Dickens but also books like 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'" The Marion library has 200 other titles in addition to the classics, Mathias added.

Carbondale has a total of 812 e-titles available, Steudel said. She's hoping later to acquire a wider selection of eBooks for children and young adults.

"I thought I wouldn't like reading a book on a PDA," Steudel confessed, "but it's OK. You can change the font size to make it easier to read." She likes the idea of being able to read on a PDA wherever she may be.

Steudel also likes the idea that the books self-delete when the borrowing period expires. "You don't have to send out any overdue notices," she said.

Stupegia said the initiative is "a very exciting project" for a smaller library like Sparta, enabling it to provide new ways of bringing its services to patrons. She sees eBooks as a means of reaching younger readers who eagerly embrace the technology of PDAs and smart phones.

With scheduled opening of the World Trapshooting Complex in Sparta, an influx of visitors is expected in the community. Stupegia hopes to be able to provide those visitors - many expected to spend three to four weeks in Sparta - with eBooks as well as Internet access. "We're still working out the details," she said.

"I'm really glad we're reaching out to provide more services to our communities," she added.

Mathias agreed. "So many people think libraries don't change," she said, but they really are constantly evolving. From exclusively print books, they added books on tape, then moved to CDs. The eBooks are just another chapter in "keeping up with the demands of our patrons," she said.

In fact, Mathias said, once they have a library card, patrons "may never set foot in a library" to read eBooks.

To register, those who already have a library card can visit the library Web site and click on the eBranch link. The program then will walk a user through the registration process.

Web sites include www.carbondale.lib.il.us for Carbondale, www.murphysboro.lib.il.us for Murphysboro, www.marioncarnegielibrary.org for Marion.

The librarians added that anyone needing help with registration need only call their library for help. And they still need to show up in person to obtain a library card.

linda.rush@;thesouthern.com[

618-529-5454 ext. 15079[