The James V. Brown Library, 19 E. Fourth St., will promote International Read an ebook Day, an annual holiday to celebrate and raise awareness for reading on digital devices, on September 18.

In recent years, the popularity of ebooks has soared and readers are taking advantage of the ebook technology and popular titles available at their local library.

Readers with a Lycoming County Library System library card can access ebooks on all devices including iPhone, iPad, Nook, Android phones and tablets, Chromebook, and Kindle, anytime, anywhere by visiting jvbrown.edu and selecting Online Resources and then click Digital Resources for a link to the free Libby app (https://libbyapp.com/library/ebranch2go). James V. Brown Library cardholders who live in Williamsport, South Williamsport and Loyalsock Township also have access to ebooks, audiobooks, movies and music through the free Hoopla app (https://www.hoopladigital.com/).

Readers around the world are encouraged to take part in the largest digital reading event by choosing from the many titles of free ebooks from their local library.

“ebooks have proven to be a convenient, beneficial complement to traditional, physical books,” said Dana Brigandi, Development, Marketing and Public Relations Director at the James V. Brown Library. “When physical books are not available or practical – such as when you’d like to carry many at once or you want to change the font or text size of what you’re reading – ebooks offer a great alternative for instant access to reading.”

On July 4, 1971, Michael S. Hart created the first ebook in the world, the U.S. Declaration of Independence. He shared it among other users of the computer network at the University of Illinois. Since then, ebooks have become a popular format for readers of all genres.

According to Simon & Schuster, Stephen King’s “Riding the Bullet” novella was the world’s first mass-market ebook and 400,000 copies were downloaded in just 24 hours in March 2000. According to a report published by Statista Research Department, the total number of e-book readers in 2023 was nearly 98.2 million users and continues to grow at a rate of about 9% each year.

Read an ebook Day falls in the middle of Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the James V. Brown Library and libraries within the Lycoming County Library System join the American Library Association and public libraries nationwide to make sure that every student has the most important school supply of all – a free library card. To sign up for a library card, visit any LCLS library in person.

The James V. Brown Library is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. To place a hold, visit www.jvbrown.edu or call 570-326-0536 during the library’s operating hours. Walk-in passport services are available from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

The James V. Brown Library, 19 E. Fourth St., Williamsport, is the place to go to learn, connect and grow. Founded in June 1907, the library champions the love of reading, opens new doors to lifelong learning, provides a haven to those who seek and ensures the preservation of public library services for future generations. The library has more than 225,000 visitors in a year and circulates a half-million items annually.