Library adds music service

By Dean Shipley

Staff Writer

Free music?

What’s not to like?

There’s all kind of buzz about “likes” on that seemingly ubiquitous social media site on the Internet, but here’s a “like” right in Mt. Sterling at the public library.

It’s called Freegal music. It’s a service through which card-carrying patrons of the library may download popular MP3 music from the library’s website to a home computer, tablet or mobile device, either an Android or I-phone.

“Anything that has Internet access,” said Chris Siscoe, director.

He said the library anted up $1,200 for the annual fee for the service to provide a music source to patrons who have a Mt. Sterling Public Library card. It is the key to gaining access to the service.

Card carriers access the site by first going to the library’s website. A large Freegal logo appears on the left.

Even with a limit of three songs per week, that’s 156 songs per year. The site provides a way to keep track of a person’s downloads. Before a person downloads a song, a clip of it can be heard before the final decision is made.

Library users have a weekly download limit. You will be able to keep track of your downloads in the upper right corner of the site. Every song has a sample clip you can listen to before you download.

The genre list is extensive, a literal from A to Z. Plenty of listings exist under each genre. The user will be similar to the proverbial “kid in a candy store” with so many selections available. Picking the “right” three songs in a week could be a fun challenge.

For more information call the library at (740) 869-2430 or access its website at www.mtsterlingpubliclibrary.org/