Research Blog : overdrive, ebooks

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.