Free music downloads offered at Indian Trails library

Music can now be easily downloaded from the Indian Trails Library website. Once downloaded, the music can become part of a patron’s permanent library and does not have to be returned.

Tom Simiele, library director, stated that this new service demonstrates how the library is constantly changing and reinventing itself by expanding its services to include all forms of media used by patrons.

Up to three music downloads per week are available to every patron of the library through a service called Freegal, which provides access to the Sony Music Entertainment catalog consisting of hundreds of thousands of songs, over 100 genres of music, and more than 50 different record labels.

To download music, all a patron has to do is access the Freegal service through the Indian Trails Library website (www.indiantrailslibrary.org), enter their library card and pin number which is the last four digits of the patron’s phone number, and choose the songs to be downloaded. The site keeps track of the number of songs downloaded and automatically resets every Monday morning.

The downloaded songs play on any MP3 player, including iPod. Songs can be downloaded into iTunes. Downloads can be accessed by using either a PC or Mac computer.

Freegal is a product of Library Ideas, a company based in Fairfax, Va. The name Freegal was chosen to convey the idea that the music is “free and legal” to all library patrons. In addition to downloadable music, the Indian Trails Library website also provides downloadable e-books, audio books, and videos. These materials may be held for up to two weeks before they are disabled or renewed by the patron.

For information about these downloadable materials, visit the library’s website, www.indiantrailslibrary.org or call the library’s adult reference desk at (847) 459-4100.