Audio Downloads, Music Streaming and Digital E-Books
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News About Wisconsin's Digital Library!
Do you read our e-books? Then you'll be interested in knowing that Wisconsin's Digital Library has been redesigned to be more intuitive and faster. Learn more about the Next Generation experience. More help is also available at the Overdrive software site.
OverDrive will release an updated version of the OverDrive Media Console (OMC) mobile app for iOS and Android (v2.6.5) on Tuesday, May 28. It will include enhancements to improve the speed of the in-aoo browser; bug fixes; and reauthorization of Adobe ID for All iOS users, required by Apple. The OMC for iOS v2.6.5 update will de-authorize every users’ Adobe ID and prompt them to authorize again. Audiobook users will be unaffected unless attempting to download parts from a book that was only partially downloaded prior to the v2.6.5 update.
Digital audiobooks and e-books are available to Mead Library customers at Wisconsin's Digital Library which is brought to you by Eastern Shores Library System and the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium. To download, you must have the free software available from OverDrive. To see a list of audiobooks and e-books available for download by Mead Library customers, go to the Mead catalog, and do a general keyword search using the term "overdrive." Or, go to the Wisconsin's Digital Library website and click on "View all audio Books" or "View all video" or "View all e-books" to see the titles. This page, Quick start guide from Wisconsin's Digital Library, is also a good starting point. A frequently asked support question is whether books can be returned early.
NEW!! Mead librarians have created step-by-step "cheat sheets" for downloading OverDrive books to Kindles, iPads, and Nooks!
Want to learn to download free library books onto your mobile device or iPad? Drop in and find out how easy it is to download e-books through Wisconsin's Digital Library. No signup; help provided on first-come basis. Bring along your e-reader, cords, library card, and passwords. You can even bring along a laptop, if you prefer. Here's the summer schedule: Thursday, June 6, 2-3 p.m.; Wednesday, June 19, 10-11 a.m.; Thursday, July 11, 10-11 a.m.; Wednesday, July 24, 2-3 p.m.; Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2-3 p.m.; Wednesday, Aug. 21, 10-11 a.m. If none of these times work for you, please call for an appointment if you need help with e-books, 459-3400, ext. 3422.
The OverDrive Digital Download Center is a one stop resource center for digital downloads of audiobooks, electronic books, video and music. The downloads work on a variety of formats including PCs or Macs, smart phones, iPods and MP3 players and some e-book readers including the Nook and now, also the Kindle.
Amazon Kindle® compatibility with Mead Public Library's eBook collection allows most existing OverDrive eBooks to be read on all Kindle devices or by using free Kindle apps on iPhone®, iPad®, Android™, and other mobile devices. Here's information from Amazon about public library books on your Kindle. Having trouble trasnferring to Kindle via USB? Try Amazon's support page on "Transferring Content Via USB." Also, note that due to restrictions placed by Penguin Publishing, their books cannot be wirelessly transferred onto Kindles.
OverDrive has produced a series of online video demonstrations called the "Digital Books Tour."
Here are some other resources to get you started:
PDF two-page "how to" guide
OverDrive glossary
OverDrive FAQ
Wisconsin Digital Book Center FAQ
Overdrive Help from the Wisconsin's Digital Library
List of devices compatible with OverDrive
A dedicated download station at Mead Library may be used to download OverDrive audiobooks and music directly to your device. It's located on the second floor, near the elevators.
We offer links to these sites as sources for free e-books. These services are not associated with Mead Library, so we regret that we cannot offer support or answer questions about how to use them.
Baen Books- Publisher of science fiction and fantasy. 120 titles currently available from established authors. Formats available for most devices. They have handy download instructions.
Classicly- Public domain classics. Available to read online and download (Kindle and PDF formats)
DigiLibraries- Variety of titles including both fiction and non-fiction. Available to be read online and downloaded (e-pub and Kindle.) Check out the DigiLibraries FAQ’s for more information on how to start reading.
Digital Book Index- Acts as an e-book-site search engine, dredging up links to more than 165,000 full-text e-books. Rather than downloading directly from this site, you’ll be directed to another site where you can get the e-book. Tip: After searching for the title you want, click on the “Format” link to get the file or online text.
eReaderIQ- For Kindles and Kindle apps, this website lists the free books available from Amazon in different categories, including most recently added.
Feedbooks-Both pay and free e-books available for e-pub, PDF and Kindle devices. Check out their help section.
InkMesh- Search engine that makes it easier to find free e-books and compare e-book prices for the Kindle, iPad, Sony Reader, Nook and more.
ManyBooks- Contains more than 29,000 free downloadable e-books in multiple formats. Most of the books are public-domain texts from Project Gutenberg. For more recent e-books, browse the Post-1930 category. The site also features user ratings and recommendations.
Online Books Page- Index of over a million free e-books which includes mostly non-fiction works . Primarily meant to be read online, but some available for download (mostly PDF).
Open Library- Their goal is to provide a page on the web for every book ever published. Not all of the titles are available for free, but those that are for free are available for most e-readers.
Project Gutenberg- The original site for free e-books has access to more than 33,000 titles (mostly classics and public domain titles). Works with most e-readers. Consult the Mobile Readers How to Guide for help downloading titles.
Smashwords- You can find free books or purchase titles through this site. Wide variety of genres covered. Formats available for most e-readers. See their FAQ’s for help downloading titles.
Blogs- Keep up to date with what’s going on with e-books and e-readers