PARIS — The Paris Public Library recently added to its Web page, located at www.paris.lib.me.us, the ability to apply for a library card online.

With the expansion of the Maine Infonet Download Library to include eBooks, along with its audiobook collection, people may now access library materials 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new link to receive a library patron number at the Paris Public Library will allow people easy access to these Web resources.

Through the link, applicants will be asked to supply basic contact information and to agree to the library’s lending policies. Within one business day of submitting an application, a Paris Public Library card number will be issued and sent back.

More than 1,400 books spanning best-selling fiction, nonfiction, young adult and children’s content are available through Maine InfoNet as downloadable eBooks. This is in addition to the growing collection of downloadable audiobooks also available at the site, currently totaling 1,800.

The eBook collection is made possible through a grant from the Davis Family Foundation and through contributions from participating libraries from across the state.

Audiobooks may be burned to CDs (where permitted by the publisher), or transferred to hundreds of supported audio devices such as MP3 players, IPods (if permitted by the publisher) or Zune players.

eBooks are designed for transfer to devices that support the Adobe ePub format. These devices include most computers, the Nook, the Sony eReader and the Kobo, among many others. IPads should work soon as an app for the ePub format is in development. The Amazon Kindle does not work with this service.

To access eBooks or audiobooks, members may log in by selecting the name of a participating library and enter a library card number from that library. Members may borrow up to three items at a time, eBooks and/or audiobooks, for usually two weeks, after which time, the item becomes an unreadable file. There is a “Quick Start Guide” explaining how to get started.

The Paris Public Library also recently purchased a Nook for those wishing see what eBook readers look like and how they operate.

The library’s Web page also features access to its catalogue, a list of newly arrived materials, event information and links to the Download Library, the Children’s Blog and the Teens’ Blog. Contributions may be made to the library via the Web.

For more information about the online library card application, the Maine InfoNet Download Library or other questions, contact the library by calling 743-6994 or e-mailing paris.public.library@MSLN.net.