Downloading OverDrive Audiobooks

Transcription

1 Downloading OverDrive Audiobooks through the Brown County Library You may check out and download audiobooks from Wisconsin s Digital Library (OverDrive) using your Brown County Library card. Many of these titles can be listened to on your computer, MP3 player, or burned to a CD. Audiobooks come in two formats: MP3 WMA Different devices support different formats. To verify which formats are supported by your device, check OverDrive s Help website (found at: Before you can download audiobooks, you must first complete two steps: download and install the OverDrive software, and if you own a Windows computer, you will have to upgrade your version of Windows Media Player. After the first two steps are finished, the final step may be repeated again and again to get free library audiobooks! First, download and install the necessary software: To download the free OverDrive software, you need a computer with Windows XP, Vista or 7 or Macintosh OS (or newer). If you have an iphone, ipad, ipod Touch, Windows 8 computer, tablet or phone or Android tablet or phone, please see our separate OverDrive App 3.0 instructions for information on how to install the necessary app directly to your device. 1. Go to the OverDrive software download page by going to the following web address: 2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the app version that you need (for example, if you are installing to a Windows computer or laptop, select the Windows Desktop option). 3. A pop up will ask if you would like to run or save the file select Run (the appearance of this pop up may vary from computer to computer it may appear in the middle of the screen or near the bottom of your browser window). 4. The software installer will run. Continue through the installer by selecting Next several times, and make sure to agree to the licensing agreement. Eventually the software will begin to install, which may take several minutes. When the installation is finished, select Close. The OverDrive software has now been installed on your computer. If you have a Windows computer, now complete the following: Windows users must also run the Windows Media Security Upgrade in order to play digital rights management (DRM) protected files. This is a security measure required by publishers to help curb the unlawful use of copyright protected content, such as the audiobooks available on the OverDrive website. Just like the previous step, this security upgrade only needs to be completed one time. Macintosh users do not need to run the security upgrade, and can move on to the final section.

2 1. Open the Overdrive program (either through a shortcut on your desktop or through the Start Menu button in the lower left corner of your screen select All Programs and then Overdrive). You also must be connected to the Internet. 2. Once the program opens, under the Tools menu, select Windows Media Player Security Upgrade. 3. A new dialog box will pop up informing you that you need to run a security upgrade. Click OK to start the upgrade. 4. Another dialog box will open and Windows Media Player will start. In the new dialog box, click on the Upgrade button. The upgrade will indicate that it is connecting to server. Once complete, it will automatically download the upgrade and install. Once installed, click on the close button on the Windows Media Player dialog box. 5. A dialog box will tell you that the upgrade was successfully installed. Click on the Play button to complete the upgrade. A Windows Media Player box will play through a short file to complete the process make sure to let the file play through entirely. 6. Once the clip has played, you may close the Windows Media Player box. The upgrade is now complete. You are now ready to search and download library audiobooks: 1. Go to the website for Wisconsin s Digital Library (OverDrive). You can get there from the Brown County Library website (browncountylibrary.org), by clicking on the link on the OverDrive page, found under the Books, Movies & Music tab, or go directly to the Digital Library by typing the following web address in to your browser: dbooks.wplc.info 2. Log in by selecting the Sign in link in the upper right hand corner of the page. Start typing Brown County Library as your library system and then select it from the dropdown menu. Then enter your Brown County Library card number and four digit PIN. Your PIN is usually the last four digits of your phone number. 3. You can search for audiobooks using several methods. - Use the Search bar on the top of the page enter a title, author or keyword. - Click on the Advanced Search link underneath the Search bar. - Browse by subject or genre - options are on blue menu bar along the top of the page. 2

3 Available Not Available Advantage Titles 4. When browsing audiobook covers, you can distinguish what is currently available for checkout by noting the headphones icon in the upper right hand corner of each image. When the icon is darkened, the title is currently available. To only view books with copies that are currently available for checkout, select Available Now from the Show Me menu at the top left side of the page. If you see an Advantage symbol (see left), this indicates that Brown County Library has purchased additional copies of this title that are exclusively available for BCL patrons only, so the wait time for a popular book may be reduced! 5. To find out more about a book, hover over the cover image. Click on the More symbol in the bottom right to get more information, such as the formats and number of copies available and to read a synopsis. You can also select the orange Borrow button to immediately borrow the book (or Hold if no copies are available) or the bookmark symbol to add the book to your Wish List (which are books that you don t want to borrow or place on hold right now, but you would like to read in the future). Add to Wish List Find out more 6. Click on the More button to find out more about the book. Look on the right side of the page to check the available formats: MP3 or WMA. Choose any format that will work with your device. For more compatibility information, scroll to the bottom of the page. Under the Digital Rights Information tab, you can check if the audiobook can be transferred to a device (such as an ipod) or burned to CDs. 7. The first time you check an item out, your default lending period will be 7 days. You can change this by selecting Change your lending period above the Borrow button. Choose your default lending periods (7 or 14 days for audiobooks). You can have up to 10 items checked out from OverDrive at any given time. 8. Once you have selected a book title, look to the right under Copies to see how many copies are available for checkout. If zero copies are available, click on the Place a Hold button to be added to the waiting list for the book. When it becomes available, the library will you. If there are copies available, click on the Borrow button. This book has two copies available for checkout. 3

4 9. If you have not already signed in, you will be prompted to do so now. 10. After selecting Borrow, you are taken to your Bookshelf (which lists all of the books you currently have checked out). Select the orange download button next to the title that you just checked out, and choose the format that you would like to use. 11. Select Confirm & Download. It is important to note that once you download a title, you cannot change the format unless you first return and then re-checkout the book. 12. Your computer will ask if you would like to save the audiobook in an Audiobooks folder on your computer click OK. Click yes if you are asked if you would like to create that folder. NOTE: These prompts may vary by computer. 13. The OverDrive program will then tell you that the audiobook is broken up into parts. You may choose to download a few or all of the parts. Keep in the mind that the more parts you choose to download, the longer the process will take. When you have selected all of the parts of the audiobook you want, click OK. Notice that there is a download progress bar on the bottom of the OMC. 14. Once the download is complete, you may listen to the audiobook on your PC or transfer it to a portable device. Some titles may also allow you to burn the audiobook to CD. To play an audiobook: Select the play button on the OverDrive toolbar when the audiobook title is highlighted or double click on the title. This will bring up the OverDrive Media Explorer, where you can listen to the audiobook right from your computer. To burn an audiobook to CD: Highlight (click on) the title that you want to burn to a CD, and select the burn button on the toolbar. The OverDrive Burn Wizard will walk you through the process. Note that not all titles can be burned to CD; publishers choose whether or not a title will be eligible. The title s record on the Wisconsin s Digital Library website will indicate whether or not the title can be burned to a CD. To transfer to an ipod or other MP3 player (ipod users see note at end first): 1. In the OverDrive program, select the book you want to transfer to a portable MP3 player. 2. Click on the transfer button on the OverDrive toolbar. Use this toolbar to listen to, transfer or burn the Download highlighted audiobook Status Bar 4

5 3. The Transfer Wizard will walk you through the process. Plug your MP3 player in to the computer (when you do so, you may be asked what you would like to do with the device - just close that box). It may take a few moments for your computer to recognize the device. Click Next in the Transfer Wizard. 4. The Transfer Wizard will verify the MP3 player and which parts of the audiobooks you would like transferred. Select next when ready. 5. The files will transfer to your device. Depending on the file sizes and length of the audiobook, this may take several minutes. 6. The Transfer Wizard will alert you when the transfer is complete. You may then disconnect the MP3 player and listen to the audiobook! ipod Users only: Before transferring audiobooks to your ipod, verify that you have the newest version of itunes installed, and that you have set your ipod to Manually manage music files. To do this, plug your ipod in and open itunes. Select the ipod, and on the summary page, under Options, select Manually manage music. Click the Apply button in the lower right hand corner of itunes. Some final tips: When an audiobook loan period expires, the book will no longer play in the OverDrive program. You can then delete it from your computer and device. You do not have to manually return the book, and you cannot accrue any late fees. You can see all of your library ebooks and audiobook checkouts and items on your hold list on the Wisconsin s Digital Library website under Account. Audiobook titles can be downloaded to multiple computers and mobile devices, though you will have to install all of the necessary software on each computer or device that you would like to use. Then find the books you have checked out on the OverDrive website by going to My Account -> My Bookshelf and select the Download button. WMA audiobooks cannot be returned early; they will be returned automatically after the loan period expires. MP3 audiobooks can be returned early by selecting the book in the OverDrive program and then choosing Delete in the toolbar. 5