I have a public library card...

J_N · Post by **J_N** » July 30th, 2016, 1:25 pm

...and I am in book heaven.

Ok, I always HAD a library card. For my local library. But being in Austria there is not that much on offer in English and no audiobooks.

BUT... now, I have a membership to an US library with a HUGE overdrive database. Until recently I had not realised that was possible from outside the US. Alas, it is.

(It's a non-resident membership for which you have to pay a small amount, but it's SO worth it. [I have easily been spending 1000 EUR a year just on books because I could not borrow them.]) And I rather support a library than audible & co.

I had to share this - I am SO excited. The possibilites! All those lovely books!

Heaven, I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak, and I seem to find the happiness I seek...

dii · Post by **dii** » July 30th, 2016, 1:45 pm

That sounds really exciting! How and where can I do that? I'm in Hungary so I guess similar rules would apply to me

J_N · Post by **J_N** » July 30th, 2016, 1:52 pm

I got a membership with the Fairfax Library (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/).

I checked a couple of libraries with similar offers, but Fairfax seemed to have the largest overdrive offering. (Overdrive is the database most libraries use for ebooks & audiobooks).

[You have to fill-in their membership application for non-residents. They open an account for you and then you pay 27$ via creditcard. Done.]

Post by **Availle** » July 30th, 2016, 4:09 pm

Tempting....

About those ebooks: What thingies do I need on my side to make them accessible? I have no ebook reader, however they are called, do they work on my laptop as well?

Post by **icequeen** » July 30th, 2016, 9:43 pm

At my library, the overdrive system allows a person to read from their computer. I have not tried it because I have two ebook reading thingies, but reading from my computer would be convenient if I needed to do that. And, I don't know anything about non-resident readers getting library cards through my library system, but I'm sure that it is possible.

J_N · Post by **J_N** » July 30th, 2016, 11:14 pm

for ebooks they use Adobe Digital Editions for verification purposes... you can use this to read on computer or transfer to e.g. ebook thingies (my mom has a Tolino Shine [which is about as cheap as it gets for ebook readers in these parts] and it works for her)
for audiobooks overdrive has it's own app through which you can download mp3 and from there transfer to any device of your liking
alternatively, all can be done online in your browser without downloading anything

http://fairfax.lib.overdrive.com/7AED8E66-9D41-4F47-A398-87D225283E89/10/50/de/Default.htm <-- you can take a look without being a member to see if what they offer is tempting

There are a few more databases for ebooks/audiobooks, but overdrive is the most comprehensive.

and a lot of e-research stuff - I have not checked through it all, so not sure how useful the resources are.

(and of course magazines, newspapers, journals etc.)

and there is even a language learning thingy... a bit like duolingo.

Post by **chocoholic** » July 31st, 2016, 7:11 am

You can download the Overdrive app to your mobile device (I use the Android and Windows versions -- the Windows one also works on a computer if you want to use that instead). The app links directly to the libraries you choose. Books can be downloaded as epubs or Kindle versions (which work on the Kindle app if you don't have an actual Kindle). I download mine as epubs (obviously I am not talking about audiobooks...). On Gutenberg, I just click the epub link for a book and download it to the Overdrive app to read; this takes less than a second.

At least that's how it works with my library. My library also has content from Hoopla, Open Library, and some others, but I haven't used them (yet).

carteki · Post by **carteki** » July 31st, 2016, 9:00 am

Oh... $27 / year ... what a lovely idea!!! (It was because of the library where I used to live's overdrive access that I discovered audiobooks!!!) (I feel a bit like Dory in Finding Dory! Soooo many books ... and another ...)
THANK YOU J_N!

(Although at the moment Librivox is serving all my audio book needs.)

Jami · Post by **Jami** » July 31st, 2016, 9:23 am

J_N, Having a library card is soooo worth a celebration. Congratulations! I couldn't survive without mine....and I have three.

The question is, what's the lucky book you are going to check out first.

J_N · Post by **J_N** » July 31st, 2016, 12:06 pm

Jami, I already had a library card for my Austrian library, but now I have one for an US library, too.

Btw, first book was "Humans of New York - Stories" followed by "The Ocean at the end of the Lane"... I have maxed out my hold list - and already have quite a few titles on my wishlist...

And I now have banned myself from buying any books for at least a year (unless my to-read shelf is completely empty, but I don't see that happening any time soon - I'm looking at you, Japanese novels) UNLESS GRRM finally releases the next book

Elizabby · Post by **Elizabby** » July 31st, 2016, 11:49 pm

What a good idea! I'd do that! (I've nearly finished my local library's audiobook collection!)

pnagami · Post by **pnagami** » August 5th, 2016, 2:55 pm

I have a library card and I have the Overdrive app for audiobooks.

But I got fed up with the professional actors chewing the scenery (overacting) and generally prefer the readings by Librivoxers.

Pam

denty28bc · Post by **denty28bc** » June 6th, 2017, 4:47 pm

J_N wrote:I got a membership with the Fairfax Library (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/).

I checked a couple of libraries with similar offers, but Fairfax seemed to have the largest overdrive offering. (Overdrive is the database most libraries use for ebooks & audiobooks).

[You have to fill-in their membership application for non-residents. They open an account for you and then you pay 27$ via creditcard. Done.]

Oh my golly! They still allow the non-resident account, how lovely! I shall certainly keep this in mind for possible future use. It is $27 USD/year which is annoying with my Canadian exchange rate, ah well.
Main thing I wanted to mention is that I noticed that I got denial of ebook, audiobook, CDs and other digital loans from another nearby library. Vancouver used to allow loans to others within lower mainland but no longer. Other cities are now hit & miss too.

Anfinwen · Post by **Anfinwen** » June 17th, 2017, 6:33 pm

Overdrive is wonderful! I don't know if this is the same with every library, but they even let you recommend books you'd like them to acquire. Our library recently teamed up with another database called Hoopla, and it even has music and movies.

Post by **icequeen** » June 18th, 2017, 9:10 pm

Anfinwen wrote:Overdrive is wonderful! I don't know if this is the same with every library, but they even let you recommend books you'd like them to acquire. Our library recently teamed up with another database called Hoopla, and it even has music and movies.

My library has Hoopla now, too! I haven't been able to dig into it too much, but there is a lot of stuff!