JOHN DAY The use of new online services specifically for eastern Oregon residents in 16 counties, including Grant County, has increased steadily since launched last fall, according to Lyn Craig, executive director of the nonprofit Libraries of Eastern Oregon.

She said more residents are taking advantage of the free offerings, which include more than 30,000 free downloadable audio-books, e-books and videos, and educational resources offered as remote services by public libraries.

The services are available 24/7 from any Internet connection at school, home, work or on the go.

The services are provided through LEO and include:

Library2Go, a free service managed by the Oregon Digital Library Consortium, offers more than 1200 videos, 16,000 downloadable audiobooks and 13,000 e-books current editions and classics that can be immediately downloaded to a computer or other personal electronic device such as Kindle, Nook, iPod, iPad or MP3 player.

The World Book Encyclopedia Public Libraries Edition On Line, which features the entire 2012 adult and student encyclopedia editions in English and Spanish with interactive content for persons of all ages.

Tutor.com, offering free tutoring in several subjects from 2-10 p.m. each day for homeschoolers, K-12 students and college students.

As of this month weve had 258 tutoring and skills center sessions since September, with 100 percent of responses that the service has helped with homework assignments, helped improve grades and helped learners feel more confident about school work, said Craig. Being able to offer Tutor.com and the other free services through the regions public libraries is an asset for the region, as subscriptions for families or individuals are costly.

The public libraries in 16 eastern Oregon counties contributed funding to LEO to help pay for the services, as did the Templeton, Wal-Mart and Wildhorse Foundations.

The LEO board of directors intends to offer additional online services in the future and surveyed the regions library directors this month to determine which other on line offerings are desired.

For more information about the online library services, contact the Grant County Library at 541-575-1992 or leolibraries@gmail.com.