netLibrary Inc. announced the availability of the netLibrary eBook Reader, a free personal software application that users can download to their PCs to read eBooks without being connected to the Internet. netLibrary distributes full-length digital versions of publishers’ books that can be searched, previewed, and accessed over the Internet. Currently, patrons of more than 1,000 academic, K-12, corporate, and public libraries around the world have access to eBooks through netLibrary. The netLibrary eBook Reader enables those library patrons to check out eBooks from their library’s eBook collection, download them to their PCs, and read them offline. This capability is paired with netLibrary’s online eBook reading solution, which enables searching, previewing, and checking out eBooks through a Web browser and live Internet connection. netLibrary also is working to make its publishers’ eBooks available through additional eBook reading platforms such as the Glassbook readers for PCs and the Peanut Reader for Palm and Windows CE handheld computers. The netLibrary eBook Reader(TM) is available now as a free download from the netLibrary Web site. The software application requires approximately 5.5 megabytes of hard disc space, and takes about 20 minutes to download on a 56k modem. The hardware requirements for running the netLibrary eBook Reader are a Pentium 100 or equivalent processor, 32 megabytes of RAM, and 20 megabytes of free hard disk space, and Windows 95/98/NT 4.0 or greater. www.netLibrary.com