Virginia Cooperative Extension began offering free e-book versions of several of its most popular publications in 2012. Since then, the e-books have been downloaded more than 2,000 times and Extension is releasing two to three new e-books every few months.

Publications are chosen from the hundreds of peer-reviewed resources written by Extension specialists. They address key issues in agriculture, finance, animals, home and family, community development, lawn and garden, the environment, and foods, nutrition, and health.

Besides being an environmentally friendly way to disseminate valuable and practical information, e-books have other advantages over hard copies, including the ability to search for keywords, copy and email content, add notes or highlight text, and adjust font size.

“The e-books reflect our commitment to reach larger and more diverse audiences,” said Ed Jones, director of Extension. “They provide another valuable tool for putting knowledge into the hands of Virginians.”

E-books are available for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, as well as non-Apple e-reader devices. Publications will continue to be available in PDF format for desktop and laptop users.

To see a complete listing of available e-books, visit http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/category/ebooks.html.