Research Blog : overdrive

Service unavailability on Thursday, September 13, 2012

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:28:00 GMT

A number of services at EVPL locations and on our website will be unavailable most of the day Thursday, September 13 due to system maintenance.

Unavailable Services
Classic Catalog, Encore, & Mobile Catalog	Checkouts of eBooks or downloadable audiobooks
Freegal Music	Self-Checkout Stations
MediaBank DVD Dispenser	Creating new cards
Checkout without a physical library card	Account activities: paying fines, editing info, placing holds
Account lookup	Certain databases: Books 24x7, Digital Sanborn Maps, LitFinder, Million Dollar Database, & Value Line Research Center

The following services will still be available.

Available Services
Most of the EVPL website	Most databases
Browsing OverDrive & Axis 360 collections	In-library public computers with internet access
Checkout at the desk with a physical library card

The maintenance is expected to take most of the day. We appreciate your patience during the downtime and apologize for any inconvenience it may cause.

If you have questions, feel free to submit them below or call any EVPL location.

Thinking of buying an e-reader?

kiya@evpl — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:56:00 GMT

Wouldn't it be nice to look over all the major brands at once, seeing what the print looks like, learning how they feel in your hands, all without the sales pressure found at a store?

Now you can drop by the library on Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 6:30-7:30 pm and MEET THE E-READERS!

Come to the Large Group Room. We'll have the best known e-readers for you to try.

See how they work!

Learn which ones accept FREE downloads from Overdrive @ EVPL, the library's digital collection!

Find out which readers require you to purchase content, and what sources are available to you.

It's your chance to look them over, try them out, and ask questions of someone who isn't trying to sell one. See you there!

Helpful links:

What has your experience been with e-readers?

I use the eReader app and the Kindle for iPhone app on my iTouch, but it is too small for me to use on a regular basis. Still, it is great for an emergency book, and while traveling. The backlit screen even lets me read at night in the hotel room without bothering others who are sleeping.

Central Library, Large Group Room

200 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd

Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 6:30-7:30 pm

Now You Can Download eBooks to Your Sony® Reader!

Bufkinite@evpl — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:10:00 GMT

EVPL customers have been asking about when they'll be able to load eBooks onto their Sony® Readers or Amazon Kindles. Beginning May 15th, they can start downloading eBooks to the Sony® Readers, thanks to the availability of eBooks from OverDrive in the new Adobe® EPUB format.

On the OverDrive pages, there is an entire page devoted to frequently asked questions about the EPUB format, as well a page listing all of the titles available for download in the new format.

More about the Sony® Reader can be found at Sony's web site.

Due to Digital Rights Management (DRM) issues, and the fact that it was primarily invented to push proprietary content, the Amazon Kindle is not supported by any format currently provided by OverDrive. Also, early reviews about difficulty migrating Kindle 1 content to the Kindle 2 device should give avid readers pause when it comes to investing in a Kindle.

OverDrive @ EVPL now Mac compatible!

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:31:00 GMT

OverDrive @ EVPL is a collection of downloadable materials (including audiobooks, eBooks, movies, & music) available free of charge to all EVPL cardholders. Since launch, patrons with Windows PCs have been downloading countless items from this digital collection...unforunately, Mac users were out of luck.

That is no more, as a Mac version of the OverDrive Media Console (the software required to download items) has just been released! Mac users can now download MP3 audiobooks and transfer them to iPods.

Unfortunately, there are a couple caveats for Mac users:

OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks are the ONLY compatible format available for Mac users. OverDrive WMA Audiobooks, OverDrive Music, & OverDrive Video all use Microsoft-based DRM and therefore are not compatible with Macs. Unless Apple were to license this DRM, which is very unlikely, these formats will never be playable on Macs.
OverDrive Media Console (aka OMC) for Macs can only transfer content to Apple iPods. Transferring to a MP3 player/portable device other than an iPod requires the Windows version of OMC, which only runs on Windows-based PCs.
OMC is unable to transfer content to the iPod Shuffle. Owners of these devices can transfer content to their device using iTunes.
Windows users with iPods will continue to use the Windows version of OMC to transfer content to their device. The Windows version of OMC is also compatible with a wide variety of additional devices, including the Microsoft Zune, Creative Zen series, and more.

Visit OverDrive @ EVPL, browse our collection, install the required software, and download to your heart's content! If you have any questions about the recently-added Mac compatibility, or if you have any questions/comments about OverDrive in general, please post them in the comments section below or contact us via Ask EVPL.

More Information

OverDrive @ EVPL: Visit our OverDrive site to start downloading our digital materials!
What is OverDrive?: Check out this guided tour of OverDrive to discover what it is and how to use it.
Compatible Portable Devices: A list of compatible portable media players that can be transferred to using the Windows version of OMC.

Recent changes to our website

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:32:00 GMT

Ever since launching our new website on May 1, we've been implementing minor tweaks based on feedback from patrons and staff. One suggestion I've received regularly was to make our digital materials easier to locate.

As of this morning, our "Virtual Library" section has been replaced with a redesigned "Downloads" section. Click the "Downloads" tab above to check out this new section, featuring the following content:

OverDrive @ EVPL: While we've offered downloadable WMA audiobooks & eBooks for some time, our new OverDrive section also features downloadable MP3 audiobooks, video (including movies & TV shows), and music! All it takes is a library card and installation of some free software. OverDrive @ EVPL replaces the EVPL Digital Catalog and MyLibraryDV services previously on our site.
EVPL Toolbar: Installing this toolbar on your home computer gives you one-click access to important areas of our website, as well as searching our online catalog! An optional scrolling ticker also keeps you up-to-date on library happenings.
eNewsletters: We have 25 different newsletters, on a wide variety of topics, that you can subscribe to via email. Receive lists of recommended titles, with links to our online catalog, in your inbox!

We're committed to making our website have the best browsing experience possible. If you have questions or comments about our new "Downloads" section, or have suggestions for improving other areas of our site, we'd love to hear them! Please submit them in the comments section below, or submit them via Ask EVPL.