East Hampton Library Website Offers Music and More

Most of us know that the East Hampton Library has a lot to offer within the building, but what you may not know is that the library's website is a haven for the tech savvy.

While the library is focusing on its children's wing addition, there are also some additions to the website, including the ability to download items on two opposite ends of the spectrum —  free, new, music and 2,000 historic images. 

Cardholders have access to Sony Music's catalog of over 3 million songs. The library recently joined with Library Ideas, a network of public library website. The Freegal Music Service offers access to over 10,000 music labels from 65 different countries, according to the library.

Those registered can download three Freegal Music tracks in the MP3 format each week for free through the library website or through free mobile apps, available to registered East Hampton Library cardholders. The apps are available in the Apple App Store and Google Play. You'll need your library card number, for verification, to download music for free.

“We have been waiting a long time for a service like this that delivers great music, compatibility with lots of devices and simplicity of use,” said Dennis Fabiszak, the library director.

"I'm using it on my iPad and my iPhone. You can also use it on the computer. Anybody with an iPhone or iPad or an Android phone or tablet can download music," he said.

Users can see what the top songs in the country are and even what the top songs downloaded by East Hampton Library users. Coming in at number one is "Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk, and at number two is "Skyfall" by Adele.

Soon streaming will also be a feature available. "Starting in June, our cardholders will be able to stream three hours of music per day, create their own playlists, and listen to playlists that have been set up by the company," Fabiszak said.

“We think this service will be incredibly popular with the residents of our community,” said Donald Hunting, the library board president.

Although not a new feature on the website, there are now more images than ever in "Digital Long Island Collection," the library’s online searchable database of high-resolution historic documents, images and artifacts. Late last month, the library counted more than 2,000 items. has surpassed the 2,000 item mark.

Like the Long Island Collection at the library, the online collection includes searchable scans of deeds, drawings, etchings, inventories, letters, maps, paintings, pardons, patents, photographs, plans, postcards, prints, sculptures, sketches, textiles, tiles, whaling logs, yearbooks and more. The Thomas Moran Biographical Art Collection of artwork and biographical materials is also apart it.

Newly featured items include the complete East Hampton High School yearbooks, from 1956–1981, the first pages of 25 of the collection’s whaling logs from the 1800s, and nearly 700 historic East End postcards.

In 2007, the library began digitizing the Long Island Collection in order to provide remote access to the collection.

“In addition to being a wonderful resource for historians, students and history buffs, the Digital Long Island Collection is an essential resource for the writers and editors of our local media outlets," Fabiszak said. Patch has used images once or twice from the collection.

Have you downloaded music through the library or used Digital Long Island? Tell us in the comments below if you think these are useful components of your overall library experience.