Downloads in Tennessee's Regional E-book and Audio Download System, or READS, increased 77 percent in the past year.
The free program offers thousands of digital e-books and audio books to patrons of public libraries belonging to the Tennessee Regional Library System. Digital titles can be downloaded to a personal computer or a variety of portable devices. Books downloaded across the state in the past year was almost 702,000. The program began in 2005, primarily with audio books.