Santa Clara County Library District cardholders can now check out eBooks in Spanish.

The district has hundreds of titles in its virtual library that cardholders can access via Odilo, an eBook distribution service.

Odilo is based in Spain and distributes more than 100,000 titles of digital literature to libraries in a variety of languages, primarily Spanish. The collection features literature for all ages, including some best-sellers and old favorites.

We live in a wonderfully diverse community, said county librarian Nancy Howe in a press statement. While our libraries already have varied international collection of books, DVDs and CDs, we wanted to go above and beyond in the selection, availability and quality of Spanish literature and broadcasts currently found in our libraries.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than half of Santa Clara County residents over the age of 5 speak a language other than English. Of the 1.9 million people living in the county, more than 19 percent speak Spanish in their homes.

Spanish eBooks can be downloaded from any device, such as computers, tablets, eBook readers and iOS or Android devices. Titles can be checked out for a three weeks before the file expires, thus eliminating late fees.

Lili Smith, the districts public communication specialist, said eBook checkout has been talked about for a long time, and librarians are available to help patrons with downloading and accessing the books. Instructions are also available in Spanish on the districts website.

The Santa Clara County Library District has more than 1.9 million books, videos, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, eBooks and online resources for card holders. The district serves patrons through two bookmobiles, an online library, seven community libraries and one branch library serving cities in the Santa Clara County.

Last year there were more than 270,000 library card holders and the district welcomed 3.3 million visitors who borrowed 9.1 million items.

For more information, visit bit.ly/2w6V55D.

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Santa Clara County library district offering eBooks in Spanish - The Mercury News