JOHN DAY – The Grant County Library will begin offering residents online access to World Book’s encyclopedia programs in the next week.

Anyone interested in learning about and using World Book Online can attend a free public workshop at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at the Outpost Restaurant in John Day.

The session will cover how to access the online program and the types of features available for children through adults, including interactive maps, illustrations, music, videos and research capabilities.

Libraries of Eastern Oregon teamed up with local libraries including Grant County’s to make the service available. LEO was able to acquire the online service, with a group buy at significantly reduced cost, for 53 libraries in 16 counties. The member libraries are contributing what they can for the service.

The service can be accessed with a library card from any location – at home, the library or on the go – as long as there is an Internet connection.

The Grant County Library is just developing its card system, however, so users will be issued a special code for the World Book access. Librarian Amy Turnbull said the library plans to begin issuing library cards by this fall.