Thanks to a new service purchased in this new fiscal year by the Edgartown and Vineyard Haven Public Libraries, card-holding patrons in both towns now have access to free songs from the Sony Music catalog of recording artists.

Beginning this month, each library patron will be able to select and download two songs each week from hundreds of thousands of songs, in more than 100 musical genres, in the Sony Music Entertainment catalog. Unlike downloadable audiobooks and ebooks, which the libraries also make available online, these music files never expire – they are the patrons’ files to keep and enjoy for as long as they like.

This digital music is available in the popular MP3 format for direct download, with no special computer software necessary. MP3 music files can be enjoyed on a wide variety of popular consumer electronics, from mobile devices to portable MP3 players, laptop and desktop computers.

To access the new service, called Freegal, Edgartown and Vineyard Haven patrons should visit their library’s web page and look for the music link.