Beaconsfield library launches new online platform

Its new online catalogue, iThèque, was launched today. It now allows all members to access more than 150,000 electronic documents – music files, audio books, e-books, videos and games – from any computer equipped with Internet access.

“We want to give them an access to leisure,” said Anne Bourel, head of circulation.

She said the library already set up a small coffee space within its walls sometime ago to make reading more convivial, but the new catalogue now brings audiovisual documents directly to the comfort of the members’ homes.

Users are given a username and a password and are able to either consult documents online or download them on their computers through an interface available in three languages: French, English and Spanish. It is entirely free of charge for them, yet totally legal – iThèque, an independent company, is paying artists and authors according to the number of clicks they get.

Beaconsfield is the first library to be equipped with the service in North America. Although iThèque is a Montreal-based company, it first collaborated with libraries in France, where it is benefiting from an increasing attention. The project started about two and a half years ago out of the media platform Tonality www.tonality.ca) to meet the demands of libraries for digital material.

Its content is still mainly Canadian, with an almost equal proportion of French and English works, but it also offers international products, such as music from Maghreb and South America, through a partnership with foreign labels.

iThèque wants to make sure the artists get their share of income. It will soon introduce the concept of 'chronodegradability' in its catalogue, which will allow the users to consult and download the files for a limited amount of time only. They will be able to buy the documents online through Tonality’s website if they are interested in the product.

“Culture has to be consumed intelligently,” said Nathalie Tremblay, director of iThèque Amérique.

She thinks that digital technologies are a great medium for culture, especially because it’s entirely ecological.

Beaconsfield library took a one-year subscription to try the service and get some feedback from the users. So far, all the libraries that have subscribed to iThèque have renewed their membership.