Downloadable ebooks and Audiobooks at McKinney Public Library Contents 1. How to Borrow a Title 2. EPUB ebooks: Using Adobe Digital Editions 3. EPUB ebooks: Using the OverDrive App (includes Kindle Fire) 4. Kindle ebooks: Downloading to Amazon Account and Transferring to Kindle 5. Audiobooks: Downloading to Computer and Transferring to Device 6. Audiobooks: itunes for iphone, ipod Touch, and ipad 7. Audiobooks: Downloading to Mobile Device Using the OverDrive App Tips You can choose 7 or 14 day checkouts in your Settings. You can borrow 6 items at a time, including a mix of ebooks and audiobooks. You can place up to 6 titles on hold at a given time. An item will be held for you for 3 days (exactly 72 hours) from the time you re emailed that the title is available. Optionally, you can choose to have the item instantly checked out to you as soon as it s available. This date and time is shown on the notification in your Holds. Items are returned automatically at the end of their lending period. You can return an ebook early through Adobe Digital Editions on PCs/Macs, or via the OverDrive app for smartphones and tablets. Kindle ebooks can be returned early through the "Manage Your Content and Devices" function in your amazon.com account. Due to licensing agreements, WMA format audiobooks can t be returned prior to the due date, but you can return an MP3 audiobook early on a mobile device. A title may be renewed if there are no other holds on it three days before it s due. Items may be renewed only once. OverDrive also includes Project Gutenberg (public domain) ebooks which can be downloaded and kept indefinitely on your device. These titles can be checked out without a library card and don t count toward your checkout totals. Useful Internet Addresses McKinney Public Library OverDrive website: http://mckinney.lib.overdrive.com OverDrive Help: http://help.overdrive.com/ - constantly updated information, including device-specific instructions and compatible devices Download the OverDrive app: http://app.overdrive.com Download Adobe Digital Editions: http://www.adobe.com/products/digital-editions.html Create an Adobe ID: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/membership/index.cfm Questions? Contact library staff at McKinneyRef@mckinneytexas.org 1
1. How to Borrow a Title Go to the Library s OverDrive site at http://mckinney.lib.overdrive.com. Hover over a cover image from any of the lists like the example below: OR: Click a link from the Menu. OR: Search for a specific title. 2
A solid icon (book image for ebooks and headphone image for audiobooks) in the top-right corner of a cover image means that the title is available for checkout. If a title isn t available, the icon will be grayed out, but you can still place a hold on it. Once you find an available title to borrow, move your mouse over the title (or tap it on a mobile device) and click Borrow. You ll be prompted to sign in if you haven t done so already. Borrowed titles will appear on your Bookshelf under your Account. If an item isn t available for checkout, it won t show Borrow but Place a Hold. You re notified by email when a hold item becomes available for you to check out. You ll find the Item in your Bookshelf under Holds, and the Borrow button will now be showing for you to check the book out and then download. 3
Once you ve clicked Borrow, you re taken to your Bookshelf, which shows your borrowed title(s). From here you can either download the book to your chosen device (ebook or audiobook), or you can read the title in your browser (ebook). To download, check the format you want, then Confirm & Download. Free helping software is required: OverDrive: one-time software installation - transfers audiobooks from a PC or Mac to device, or directly downloads EPUB ebooks and MP3 audiobooks to mobile devices OR Adobe Digital Editions: one-time software installation - transfers EPUB format ebooks to an ereader from a PC or Mac To read an ebook in your browser: OverDrive Read is a browser-based ebook reader - no software installation is needed. Once you ve borrowed a title, click its Read button to open it in a new tab or window. 4
Tips The Menu bar is available from any page. Click the 3-lined Menu icon to expand or collapse it. From your Account page, you can view your Bookshelf (items currently checked out to you), Holds (items you ve placed on hold and items you ve been notified are ready for you to borrow), Lists (Wish List, Rated titles, and Recommendations), and Settings (where you can change your lending periods). If you ve checked out an item, but not yet downloaded it, you can return it early from your Bookshelf by clicking the Return Title button. Once you ve downloaded an item, you can still return it early, but must do so through the program you used to download it, either the OverDrive software or Adobe Digital Editions. (See specific information in the sections below.) One exception: WMA format audiobooks cannot be returned early. Hovering over a cover image will give you other options as well: Click the ribbon icon below a title to add or remove it from your Wish List. Click the arrow icon to share information about the book on social media. Click the more icon for detailed book information. 5
2. EPUB ebooks: Using Adobe Digital Editions (Downloads a title to PC or Mac and transfers it to an EPUB reader such as a Nook) 1. After choosing EPUB format, click Confirm & Download. The EPUB format requires free Adobe Digital Editions software. To install it, go to the Adobe website and follow the prompts. If you don t already have an Adobe ID, you ll be prompted to create one using your email address and a password. 2. At the choice of Open or Save, click Open. The title opens in Adobe Digital Editions. 3. Attach your ereader to your computer. For your first use, follow the prompts to authorize your device with the same Adobe ID you created above. 4. Adobe Digital Editions has two main views, Reading, for reading a book, and Library, where you can transfer your ebook to your reader with a simple drag and drop. This screen shows Adobe Digital Editions Reading view and its link to Library view. 5. In Library view, drag the icon for your book to your ereader showing on the left pane: This screen shows Library view. Click the Read button to return to Reading view. Here s where you locate your plugged-in ereader and where you can drag and drop your downloaded ebooks from the right pane to your device. Right click the book image to get this menu which gives options including Return Borrowed Item (checks the book back in and removes it from Adobe Digital Editions) and Remove from Library (only removes the book from Adobe Digital Editions, leaving it still checked out to you). 6. After the checkout period ends, the ebook automatically checks back in, but you can return ebooks early through Adobe Digital Editions. In Library view, in the Bookshelves - All Items pane, right click on the chosen book and select Return Borrowed Item. 6
3. EPUB ebooks: Using the OverDrive App (includes Kindle Fire) Downloads an EPUB format ebook directly to a smartphone, tablet, or similar device. Compatible Mobile Devices The OverDrive app is available for devices such as Android, BlackBerry, iphone, ipad, ipod touch, Windows Mobile, Nook HD, Nook HD+, Nook Tablet, Nook Color, and Kindle Fire. The free download of the app can be obtained from: o Overdrive at http://app.overdrive.com o Apple Store for ios devices (iphone, ipad, ipod Touch) o Google Play Store for Android devices o Barnes and Noble for Nook tablets o Amazon for Kindle tablets. An Adobe ID is no longer required, but new users need to create an OverDrive Account, which is also useful for synchronizing your reading across many devices. Basic Procedure (applies with slight differences to both ios and Android devices): 1. Open the OverDrive app on your device. 2. Swipe from the left edge of your screen to open the Home menu. 3. Tap McKinney Public Library on your list of libraries to go to the McKinney Public Library OverDrive website. (If your list is empty, tap Add a Library, search for and add McKinney Public Library, then open it.) 4. On the McKinney site (this is the mobile OverDrive version) find a title to borrow. 5. Tap the desired title, then Borrow. If prompted, sign in with your library card. 6. Select the EPUB ebook format to download the title to the OverDrive app. 7. Downloaded titles can be found on your OverDrive bookshelf. From there, tap a title to open it and begin reading. Returning ebooks Early 1. From the OverDrive bookshelf, tap and hold a title to display the return options. 2. You can Return a book to the library, which also deletes it from your device. 3. You can Delete a book from your device, but you ll still have it checked out to your library account. Detailed instructions plus support videos are available from http://help.overdrive.com by searching for the name of your device. 7
4. Kindle ebooks: Downloading to Amazon Account and Transferring to Kindle Downloads a Kindle ebook via PC/Mac to your amazon.com account, then transfers it to your Kindle. 1. On your PC or Mac, log into your amazon.com account in a separate browser tab. 2. Find a title on McKinney Public Library s OverDrive site, click Borrow, choose Kindle format, and download. 3. Your amazon account then opens. Select a Kindle device, then click Get library book. 4. The item is delivered to your Kindle the next time it syncs with the amazon site. An active WiFi connection is required for wireless delivery. If you can t get an active WiFi connection, the Amazon site has instructions on how to download via USB. 5. To return an ebook early, go to Your Account / Manage Your Content and Devices, click the Actions dropdown menu, and choose Return this book. 8
5. Audiobooks: Downloading to Computer and Transferring to Device Downloads an audiobook to your computer and then transfers it to your device. 1. Find an audiobook on McKinney Public Library s OverDrive site, click Borrow, choose MP3 or WMA format, and download. This opens up the OverDrive software on your computer. If you haven t already downloaded the OverDrive software, you ll be prompted to do so now. OverDrive for Windows uses Windows Media Player to play DRM-protected files. The first time that Windows Media Player attempts to open a DRM-protected file, it will alert you that a security upgrade must be performed before the file can be opened. The free upgrade takes just a few moments. Further information for Windows 8 users can be found on OverDrive s help page. Search for the keywords Windows 8 audiobooks. 2. Either listen to the book on the computer though the OverDrive software, or use the software to transfer the title to a CD or your portable device. ipod, iphone, and ipad users can transfer both MP3 and WMA format audiobooks from a Windows-based PC through itunes. However, ipod, iphone, and ipad users can only transfer MP3 format audiobooks from a Mac through itunes. See the itunes setup procedure below. In some cases the publisher may decide not to allow a given title to be transferred to Apple devices; this decision is at the publisher's discretion. 6. Audiobooks: itunes for iphone, ipod Touch, and ipad WMA files can be transferred from a Windows-based PC to the iphone or ipad through itunes. If your laptop is a Mac, this process won t work, because WMA (Windows Media Audio) files are a Windows system. itunes can translate the WMA format so that an iphone or ipad can read them, but this process has to start with a Windows-based computer. Finding MP3 format titles: Directly downloading through the OverDrive app won t work for WMA files, but will with MP3 files. You can filter your search results by choosing any audiobook category from the menu on the McKinney OverDrive homepage, and then, under Format, choosing OverDrive MP3 Audiobook. itunes settings for transfer of audiobooks from a Windows PC to an ios device (iphone, ipad, ipod Touch). In itunes, go to Edit>Preferences. Under General Preferences, click on Import Settings. Make sure your Import Using is set to AAC Encoder. For Setting, choose Spoken Podcast and click OK. Once you ve done this, close itunes, reopen, and if necessary transfer the file again. You'll find your transferred WMA audiobooks under Playlist on your device, and MP3 audiobooks under Music > Albums. 9
7. Audiobooks: Downloading to Mobile Device Using the OverDrive App Downloads directly to an ipad, iphone, Android device, Blackberry, Windows phone, tablet, etc. Only MP3 (not WMA) format audiobooks can be downloaded to these devices. If a WMA title is desired for iphone or ipad, it may be accessed via PC and a transfer using itunes. (See above.) 1) The free download of the OverDrive app can be obtained at http://app.overdrive.com. 2) The same basic procedure for ebooks also applies to audiobooks. a. Open the OverDrive app on your device. b. Swipe from the left edge of your screen to open the Home menu. c. Tap McKinney Public Library on your list of libraries to go to the McKinney Public Library OverDrive website. (If your list is empty, tap Add a Library, search for and add McKinney Public Library, then open it.) d. On the McKinney site (this is the mobile OverDrive version) find a title to borrow. e. Tap the desired title, then Borrow. If prompted, sign in with your library card. f. Select the MP3 format to download the title to the OverDrive app. g. Downloaded titles can be found on your OverDrive bookshelf. From there, tap a title to open it and begin listening. 3) You can return the MP3 audiobooks early. From the OverDrive bookshelf, tap and hold a title to display the return options. Return returns the title to the library as well as deletes it from your device. Delete deletes the title from your device while leaving it checked out to you. Specific instructions can be found for each device at http://help.overdrive.com/. For further assistance: OverDrive Help: http://help.overdrive.com/ includes device-specific instructions Questions? Contact library staff at McKinneyRef@mckinneytexas.org www.mckinneypubliclibrary.org December 2014 10