The number of electronic materials available through Warren Public Library has increased.

A new Reciprocal Lending Agreement (RLA) involving the Seneca Library District, of which Warren is a part, and New Castle, Oil Creek, and Erie/Crawford districts, allows patrons at any of the locations to access electronic materials from all of them.

“The RLA allows patrons to use all five OverDrive collections with just their home library card to access over 38,000 e-books and audiobooks,” according to a release from Warren Public Library Director Kelli Knapp. “The OverDrive resource provides free access to digital content such as e-books and audiobooks through a web browser or mobile app, and content is available to any public library card holder within the Northwest Pennsylvania region.”

“Access is a core value of our districts, and entering into the RLA allows us the expanded benefit of improved patron service and a greater return on investment for the materials we purchase for our digital collections,” Jessica Church of Erie/Crawford Library District said.

“The expanded RLA began on April 12, 2021, and our patrons are very happy with the project,” Erin Joyce of Oil Creek District said. “Our collections are relatively small, but they each have a different selection of materials, so our patrons are really getting a whole different library to explore.”

The SNOE (Seneca, New Castle, Oil Creek, Erie/Crawford) region is excited to add another layer of cooperation between the districts and systems in the Northwest. There is a long history of cooperation between the four districts, but this project is the most patron-centric so far. “We are always looking for ways to maximize the impact of our limited resources,” Amy Geisinger of New Castle Library District said.

“With so many of our member libraries being very small and very rural, this agreement allows them to provide resources that they would not be able to afford on their own – and that makes all of us better,” Leslie LaBarte of Seneca Library District said.

Those interested in more information may visit https://warrenlibrary.org/books-media/e-books-overdrive/