Zhejiang Library provides English e-books and audiobooks online

Zhejiang Library and OverDrive staff announce the launch of a bilingual reading platform in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province on March 15. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

An English e-book and audiobook reading platform was launched online by Zhejiang Library on March 15.

The platform (zjlib.overdrivechina.cn), jointly created by the provincial library and OverDrive, an American distributor of digital e-books, audiobooks and videos, is the first of its kind that Zhejiang Library has introduced to mobile terminals.

There are currently more than 2,000 types of high-quality e-books and audiobooks in various languages available on the bilingual platform.

Its collections, covering a wide range of genres and topics, include winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize, as well as global best sellers such as Brief History of Humankind, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Power of Habit, The Pillars of the Earth and the full Harry Potter series.

Dubbed audiobooks for children are another great resource the platform provides. Young readers can read and listen at the same time. Moreover, the books have been divided into categories for children of different ages.

The platform allows parents to choose English books suitable for their kids, said Liu Xiaoqing, a chief expert at Zhejiang Library, who added that if parents take full advantage of the platform's resources, their children will be able to read English books like American children.

According to the library, e-books and audiobooks can be rented for 21 days and 14 days, respectively.