Deschutes Public Library lends digital books through its Digital Downloads website:

Transcription

1 Know Digital Books 7/15 Objectives: Identify the three available types of digital books and compatible devices Search and browse for titles Place holds on checked out titles Check out available titles. Download the appropriate software to your computer Access help features Digital Books Digital books are books (either in text or audio format) that have been converted into digital files and can be accessed and read or listened to through a computer or an electronic device such as an ereader or an MP3 player. Deschutes Public Library lends digital books through its Digital Downloads website: 1. Type into your web browser's address bar and press <enter>. 2. Hover your mouse over Explore and a dropdown menu will appear. 3. Hover your mouse over Digital Downloads and click once with the left mouse button.

2 Compatibility There are three types of files on the Digital Downloads site: File type Icon Description File Exts. Audiobooks Sound files you listen to on your computer or an mp3 player. Similar to a book on CD. MP3 OverDrive Listen ebooks Video Text files you read on your computer or an ereader. Video files including animated shorts and movies that you can watch on your computer. EPUB PDF Kindle Book OverDrive Read WMV For ereaders, you will need to find books in epub or PDF format. Both file types should work with most devices, although some might not recognize pdf files as books. Instead, they will put these files in the documents folder on your ereader. For Kindles, you will need to find books available in the Kindle format. Not all of the library s ebooks are available as Kindle Books. epub and epdf files will not work on the Kindle. OverDrive Read and OverDrive Listen books play right in your computer s or mobile device s Internet browser. You can use these books on any device. Click into a book s record to check its format availability. 2

3 Availability Like a physical book, the library is limited in the number of copies of a digital book that can be checked out at a time. Available If a title is available for download, its formattype icon in the upper right-hand corner of the book will be black Checked Out If a title is already checked out, its format-type icon in the upper right-hand corner of the book will be grayed out. Finding Books Browsing You can browse each format s collection in its entirety or by genre. Click on the appropriate link in the orange banner that runs across the top of the page. Scroll down the main page to browse by special collections such as New by Format, Recently Returned, Hidden Gems and Top Downloads. 3

4 Searching You can search for specific authors, titles or topics using the Search bar at the top, right-hand side of the page. Click on Advanced Search under the Search box for more search options such as filtering by file type and limiting your results to those titles that are currently available to check out. 4

5 Book Options Hover your mouse over a book cover to show options and find out more about that title: Sample: Click to view or listen to a sample of the text. More: Click on More to find a full description of the book including its format availability. Bookmark: Click once to add the title to your wish list. Sharing: Click to share the title through social media. Placing Holds 1. If you find a book that is checked out, hover your mouse over the cover and click once on Place a Hold. 2. Enter and submit your address. 3. When the book is ready for you, you will receive an notification and you will have 3 days to check it out to your library account. You can also choose to have the system automatically check the book out to your account when it becomes available. Checking Out Books 1. If you find a book that is available to check out, hover your mouse over the cover and click once on Borrow. 5

6 2. You will be prompted to enter your library barcode number and PIN if you haven t already logged into the site. Your barcode number is the long number beginning with beneath the barcode on the back of your library card. Enter the whole number with no spaces. Your PIN is usually set as the last 4 digits of your phone number. If it doesn t work, call to have it reset. 3. The book will now show up in your Library Account Bookshelf and it is checked out to you. You can look at your Holds, Lists and Settings by clicking on the appropriate button on the right hand side of the page. For supported books, you can also click Return Title to return a book before you download it to your computer or device to read or listen to it. 6

7 Loan Limits You can have up to 15 digital books checked out on your card at any one time, and up to 15 holds (requested items). You can set your own loan periods in Settings: 7, 14, or 21 days for eaudiobooks 7, 14, or 21 days for ebooks 3, 5, or 7 days for Video Click once on the desired loan period and it will turn purple. Then click Save at the bottom of the page. Renewing Digital Books You can renew books three days before they re due from the library s website. 1. Go to DPL s digital downloads site, log into your account and go to your bookshelf. 2. Find the Renew button next to the book you d like to renew. If the button is Green, the renewal will be automatic. If the Renew button is Grey, someone has a hold on it, and you will be added to the wait list. 3. Click on the Renew Button and you will be prompted to enter and confirm your address. Fill in the boxes and click on Renew. Downloading Digital Books For the next steps on downloading digital books and transferring them to your device refer to the device specific handout: Know ereaders: Downloads & Transfers o For all non-kindle ereaders including Nook ereaders, Sony and Pandigital 7

8 Know Kindle Books: Downloads & Transfers o For Kindle ereaders Know e-audiobooks: Downloads & Transfers o For all MP3 players Using Digital Books without Downloading If you want to save space on your computer or device or if your device is not compatible with the library s digital books software, you can still enjoy our digital collection using your Internet Browser. OverDrive Read allows you to read ebooks within your web browser While you need to have an Internet connection to initially open your digital book, you can bookmark or favorite it to maintain access when you disconnect from the Internet. NOTE: While most browsers support Overdrive Read, Internet Explorer users may need to install a plugin available here: 1. Click Read to the right of the book you d like to launch in your browser. 2. A new Internet window will open showing the web version of your ebook. 8

9 3. Follow your browser s instructions for bookmarking a website. You will now be able to access the book from your browser s bookmarks even if you re not connected to the Internet. OverDrive Listen OverDrive Listen allows you to listen to e-audiobooks within your web browser. OverDrive Listen is a streaming service, so you do have to be connected to the Internet to use it. 1. Click Listen to the right of the book you d like to launch in your browser. 2. A new Internet window will open showing the web version of your e-audiobook. Click on the Play button to start the book. Use the Table of Contents link in the upper lefthand corner to move around the book and find tips for using the service. 9

10 Help and Troubleshooting Problems If you run into trouble with the Digital Books there are many features on the site to help you. 1. Click on Help in the Getting Started box in the upper left-hand side of the page. 2. To find out more about using different types of digital files and to access video tutorials on using digital downloads, click on Overdrive Help or Device Resource Center. 3. If you re still having trouble, click on Support to send an , or call the main DPLS reference line at: