A free application called OverDrive Media Console is now available for users of the Marin County Free Library — which includes Novato’s two — and it enables users to download library eBooks free of charge directly to their iPads, iPhones or Android hand-held devices.
“This is a first-time-ever thing,” reports Donna Mettier, a manager with the Marin County Free Library. “Library books load direct to my tablet, wherever I am, as long as I’m connected to wi-fi or a network. I can curl up in my favorite chair at home with my iPad, surf the Marin County Library eBranch, download an eBook, and I’m reading minutes later.”
Mettier says she timed a library OverDrive download vs. a Kindle App download and both clocked in as about 3 ½ minute wireless transactions.
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“This makes using the library more convenient for people like commuters, parents and homebound patrons who have trouble getting to one of our branches,” says Amanda Foust, the county’s electronic services librarian. “Our eBranch has a good range of eBooks, including children’s, teen and adult popular fiction.”
Check-outs work just like real books: If it’s on the eShelf, a reader can have it immediately. If it’s checked out, a reader can place a hold to be next in line.
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“We have multiple copies of titles like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,” Foust reported, “So availability is good.”
Users need to have a valid Marin County Free Library card and reside in the county library service area: Novato, Fairfax, Corte Madera or in unincorporated Marin County.
Even better: There’s never an overdue fee. Readers get to choose their check-out time (7, 14 or 21 days) and when that time is up, the book automatically expires from the iPad or phone.
Foust offers two more pieces of advice: make sure your phone or iPad is running the most current version of its operating system, and if you installed OverDrive previously, she recommends deleting the old app and installing the updated app fresh. Users should also know that the first time set-up takes a few minutes (download the app free from the app store, for starters.) But after that, selecting and checking out your library book is a quick process.
Take a look at the Marin County Free Library eBranch here : http://ebranch.marinlibrary.org
For more online info for iPad/iPhone/Android users there’s a MyHelp! link.
Residents outside the county library service areas can contact their local city library for their local options.
“As always,” Foust says, “Feel free to call or drop into your nearest library for help. We’re happy to do that.”
Top 20 Most Checked-Out eBook Titles from Marin County Free Library, 3/10/11
- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
- Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson
- Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese
- Girl Who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson
- Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
- The Help, Kathryn Stockett
- The Search, Nora Roberts
- Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern
- Bed of Roses, Nora Roberts
10. The God of the Hive, Laurie R. King
11. Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman
12. Private, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
13. What the Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell
14. 61 Hours, Lee Child
15. Imperfect Birds, Anne Lamott
16. The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver
17. This Body of Death, Elizabeth George
18. Vision in White, Nora Roberts
19. Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, Daniel G. Amen
20. Committed, Elizabeth Gilbert
— Provided by Marin County Free Library
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