The library is a feast for the eyes —now it’s music to the ears.
There is a free downloadable music service — Freegal — at Port Hardy’s branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL).
It offers hundreds of songs from more than 50 record labels and 100 genres of music, from 1940’s crooners to modern day bands and singers.
“During last year’s public consultations our customers expressed a desire for free downloadable music, and we’re pleased to offer this new feature,” said Fiona Anderson, director of library services at VIRL.
“We’ve been waiting for a service like this that delivers great music, compatibility with lots of devices, and simplicity of use,” she said.
“The best thing for our customers is the fact that they get to keep the music, and we think this will be very popular.”
This service will work on : iPods, MP3 players, iPads or iPhones and can be loaded into iTunes.
“The idea is that it’s free to the library users,” says Janet Delgatty, library manager.
The library requires a VIRL card number and a four-digit ID number.
If you have access to the Internet, you can retrieve this service and download as many as three songs per week.
Freegal can be found at www.virl.bc.ca.
Just click on eMusic and you will be directed to the login page where there’s an entire catalog of Sony Music Entertainment.