ired of travelling to your local library and spending half your time searching for parking space? Or wondering how to find time to return a book on time when office deadlines loom large?

The first online library that has come to Bangalore brings with it a host of simple solutions. Now you can select your books online, have them dropped at home and picked up when you've finished reading them. Or you could browse through a vast selection of books just for the sheer pleasure of doing so.

Easy Library that doubles up as an online borrowing centre was launched recently and already has over 200 members. The books range from thrillers, inspirational books, classics, novels and nonfiction that spans through works of philosophy, architecture, management or self-help.

The website is easylib.com and though you will need to register as a member to access the site, no fee is required to check out the selection.

Vanishree Mahesh, young software engineer who designed the website herself, and is proprietor of the enterprise, has always been passionate about books. "I always wanted to start something I knew something about and to get involved in a business that is Internet-enabled," she says. "And since it had always been a problem for me to physically go to a library and also because I've loved online shopping, I decided to start a library myself."

Vanishree who completed a course in electronic engineering before going to do a masters degree in the US, worked with IBM in San Jose for three years before deciding to return to India. "When we (my husband, Mahesh and I) returned to India, I toyed with the idea of getting into e-commerce," she adds. "But once I hit upon the idea of an online library, things just got moving. Initially I wanted to find a VC but then I got started on my own and frankly, I have had no problems to date."

Vanishree has tied up with a courier company that delivers the books at homes anywhere across the city. There is also a walk-in library, in case members want to come and see the books themselves. Those who would only like to work online can choose and reserve books as required.

"All the books in my library are handpicked," explains Vanishree. "I don't just buy anything and everything. I go through online reviews, look into readers' suggestions and buy books with great care. Since I am still in the process of expanding my library, I add at least 300 books a month but this might change later."

Vanishree also plans to launch a readers' review area on the site, hold book reading sessions and have an interactive interface. "I also need to find a large and centralised location," she says. "But what really surprises me is the fact that reading is still so important for so many people even today. I have so many serious members now and the numbers seem to be growing by the day."