Houston library offers free online books with “TumbleBook” program

Children and adults can access books online for free as part of a new service from the Houston County Public Library System.

The library has purchased the TumbleBook Library for its patrons as part of an effort to promote reading.

More than 1,000 children’s books are available as well as 1,000 books for adults and teens.

“There is no limit to how many people play it,” said J. Sara Paulk, director of the Houston library system.

There also is no app to download. The link can be used on smart phones, tablets or computers.

Graphic novels, videos and audio books are available for teens through adults.

Children from kindergarten to sixth grade can view picture books that read to the child and underline the words being read.

Titles such as “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand and “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells are among the audio books in the science fiction category for adults.

Audio books for children include “Mahalia Mouse Goes to College” narrated by author and actor John Lithgow.

The books are not downloaded and are only available with a Wi-Fi connection or the internet.

The library launched the service Dec. 15.

TumbleBook Library is being offered as a trial for a year to see how users respond.

Zinio, another free service, might be discontinued by the library system due to lack of interest.

Zinio is an app-based service that allows the user to download magazines such as “Newsweek” and “National Geographic.”

The program allows users to, say, download magazines before getting on a plane or traveling, which is useful because the app lets the users access the titles even when offline, Paulk said.

“We’d hate to get rid of it, but people just don’t use it,” Paulk said.

Paulk hopes that TumbleBook takes off.

“It’s always available and there are no hoops to jump through,” she said.

The book club also will be ramping up after the holidays.

The January book will be “The Humans” by Matt Haig and the discussion will be Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Nola Brantley Memorial Library.

For more information on the TumbleBook Library, Zinio or other offerings at the library, visit houpl.org or call 478-923-0128.

This story was originally published December 24, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Houston library offers free online books with “TumbleBook” program ."