Arizonans now have easy access to more than 500 books about their state, thanks to a new ebook platform hosted by the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records. Titles range from historical fiction to academic biographies, haunted tour guides to thrilling mysteries.

The State Library formally launched Reading Arizona (www.readingarizona.org), the statewide ebook platform, at the Arizona Library Association conference, Nov. 13-14.

The ebooks available through Reading Arizona may be borrowed within the state simultaneously by multiple users. Readers get to decide how long they want to keep a title, rather than being tied to a traditional return date. Reading Arizona is powered by BiblioBoard, the content management system from BiblioLabs, and is available on iOS, Android, and Kindle tablets through BiblioBoard Library.

Patrons accessing the website inside Arizona will be able to see the collection and create a user account to mark favorites, download ebooks to an offline bookshelf, and offer ratings and comments. Once patrons create an account, they can access the site even when traveling outside the state. A Getting Started guide provides further instructions online.

The project is funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant through the Institute of Museum and Library Services.