eBook Readers Can Now Return an eBook on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch

Library customers who read their eBooks on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch can now return books early directly from their device! They no longer have to return their books early through Adobe Digital Editions installed on a PC.

Customers will need to have the latest OverDrive Media Console app running on their device, which is v2.3.1. If they need to upgrade to Version 2.3.1, here’s what they should do, from their device:

• Tap the App Store icon;
• Tap Updates (lower right hand corner on an iPad).
• Locate the OverDrive Media Console app and tap the “free” button.
• Tap the “install” button.
• An iTunes password is needed at this point.
• iTunes installs the upgraded app to the device.

To return a book early, from the device,

• At the OveDrive titles list, swipe the cover of the book to be returned.
• Tap “delete”
• A message will be displayed that says, “This title has not yet expired. Would you like to return it to your library early? (Expired titles are returned automatically)”.
• Choose either:
• Return and Delete - Tap this option! The book is deleted from the device and is returned.  Another title may be checked out immediately.
• Delete without Returning – Customers still have the option to delete a title from their device without returning it.

I think this is great news for mobile users!

Question to Ask Customers When Issuing a New Library Card

Sometimes a library customer places requests on OverDrive eBooks and then they are issued a new library card.  They are notified by email that their eBook is ready for them to check out, but that eBook request is tied to their old inactive card.  At that point OverDrive won’t allow them to check out the title on the old card because it’s invalid and OverDrive won’t allow them to check out the title on the new card because the request is tied to the old card.  Because OverDrive and Sirsi only connect to validate a card, there is no way to address this in Sirsi.  OverDrive must make the necessary change to allow the title to be checked out on the new card.

What do you need to do when issuing a new library card?

Ask the customer if they use our eBook service.  If they don’t use our eBooks, you don’t need to do anything.  If they do use our eBooks, you’ll need to send an email asking to have their old library card and new library card numbers merged in the Overdrive patron database.

Go to Outlook email and send a message to:  Libraryebookhelp@co.anoka.mn.us

·         Use “Card Merge Request” as the email subject.

·         Provide this information in the body of the email: 

“Customer has received a new library card and needs to access requests on their old card.  Please merge these accounts:   22085XXXX (provide old barcode number) and 22085XXXX (provide new barcode number).”

This should be done when the new card is issued, so the customer does not lose their place in the queue for their eBooks on request and so they can continue to access the eBooks they currently have checked out and their wish lists.

How to Use the Desktop Inteface on an iPad

These days when a customer installs OverDrive Media Console on a mobile device, they automatically get a mobile browser downloaded to their device.  It’s a much simpler version of the OverDrive interface we see on our desktop computers.

This is done for a lot of good reasons, including having the ability to navigate more easily on a small device and the ability for OverDrive to block display of titles that won’t work on a mobile device, like the Adobe PDF eBooks.

However, the desktop interface is much richer, more image-driven, and is easy to use on an iPad.  You may find iPad users who will want the richer desktop interface on their device, instead of the default mobile interface.  It is possible for iPad users to use the desktop version by following these steps:

·         On a computer, go to our OverDrive interface.

·         Copy the url in the address bar and send that to the user in an email.

·         On their iPad, the user opens the email, clicks the url link, and is taken to the desktop interface.

·        For convenience in the future, the user can create a shortcut to the desktop interface on the iPad home screen by clicking “Add to Home Screen”.  See example below.

 

"User not Authorized" message

Fix for “User is not Authorized” message on the Nook

Some customers are getting this message.  It happens after they’ve installed Adobe Digitial Editions software successfully with an ID, downloaded a book, and transferred it to their Nook.  When they try to open the downloaded book on the Nook, they receive the message “User is not Authorized”.  Here’s something to suggest they try. 

1.    Plug your Nook into your computer.

2.    Go to “My Computer” (or the equivalent on your PC or Mac) and click on the Nook drive. 

3.    Find and delete the “.adobe-digital-editions file.

4.    Close ADE if open.
5.    Unplug Nook

6.    Restart ADE
7.    Plug Nook into computer

You should be prompted to “Authorize Device”, which will create a new connection between Adobe Digital Editions and your Nook. 

If that doesn't happen, unplug the Nook and uninstall ADE software:
       1.  Go to Control Panel
       2.  Go to Programs
       3.  Go to uninstall programs
       4.  Select "Adobe Digital Editions and click on uninstall

Install ADE software at http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/ 
Open ADE and authorize the computer.
Plug Nook into computer and authorize the Nook.

If you are not prompted to authorize the Nook, repeat steps 1 and 2 from the first set of instructions above, then find and delete the "Digital Editions" file and repeat steps 4-7.

Overdrive - Public Domain Collection

Along with the collection we’ve purchased from Overdrive, we can also give our customers access to free public domain EPUB eBooks from within our Overdrive interface.  To take a look, go to our Overdrive Digital Downloads page and look for this graphic:

Here are some of the highlights of this collection:

·         This collection of eBooks is separate from our OverDrive collection.

·         This collection contains over 15,000 titles.

·         Patrons do NOT need to sign in to download the titles.

·         When a patron hovers over a book cover, the available metadata displays to them. 

·         Checkouts from the collection do not count against our regular checkout/lending options.

·         There are unlimited simultaneous downloads to these titles and downloads do not expire.

·         This collection uses Adobe Digital Editions software, the same software our customers use to access Overdrive.

·         Please refer to the ‘tips’ link at the top of the introduction to the collection for instructions on how to download content.

    

To save a public domain EPUB to a Windows computer:

·         Right-click the 'Download' link.

·         Select 'Save Target As...' or 'Save Link As...'.
A dialog box is displayed that allows you to select a location on your computer to which to save the eBook.

·         Select a location.

·         Click 'Save'.
The eBook is saved to your computer.

To add a public domain EPUB to the Adobe Digital Editions Library:

·         Open Adobe Digital Editions.

·         Click the Library icon in the upper left corner.
The Library is displayed.

·         Click the word 'Library' in the upper left corner.

·         Select 'Add Item to Library'.
The 'Select items to add to library' dialog box is displayed.

·         Navigate to location to which you saved the eBook.

·         Select the eBook.

·         On Windows, click 'Open'. On Mac, click 'Add'.
The eBook is added to the Adobe Digital Editions Library.

Launch Date is January 20th - Revised Training & Visit Schedule

eBooks are Coming on January 20th!

Good news:  We have an official Overdrive eBooks launch date now!

Bad news:     We’ve had to reschedule some visits to get to every building before next week. 

Here is the new revised schedule (with the exception of NTN).  I'll schedule NTN with Ben when he returns to work tomorrow.

Friday                         January 14th            STF                 8:30-9:30

Tuesday                     January 18th            NCL                10:30-11:30

Wednesday               January 19th            CEN               11:30-12:30

Wednesday               January 19th            RUM               1:30-2:30

Wednesday               January 19th            JOH                3:00-4:00

Wednesday               January 19th            CRL                5:00-6:00

Wednesday               January 19th            MIS                 6:30-7:30

See you soon!

You May Be Wondering....

Staff have been asking lots of good questions about our eBook collection and how the Overdrive interface works.  Here are some questions I've received in the last couple of weeks, most of which haven't been shared yet on this blog:

What kinds of eBooks are available?

Our eBook collection includes adult, teen and kids fiction and nonfiction titles.  The titles available through Overdrive are mostly best-sellers and popular titles with broad appeal, so there will be very few specialized titles.

How often will new titles be added and will the number of titles remain the same?

New titles will be added on a monthly basis.  Once we own a title, we keep it, so our collection will continue to grow every month.

What type of fine limits will affect ability to download books?

This is a circulating collection, so we’re using the same criteria we use for print materials.  If a customer has fines, they’ll need to pay them down to below $10, to be able to check out eBooks.

Can library customers make “purchase requests” for eBooks?

A library customer will be able to submit requests for eBooks through our website, just like any other material.  Requests will be forwarded to the eBook selector, but there is no guarantee that the title requested will even be available through Overdrive.

Can an eBook be renewed?

eBooks cannot be renewed, but as soon as the lending period expires, if no one else has requested the title, it may be checked out again.

Is there a limit on how many people can check out the same eBook at one time?

Yes.  Titles are purchased individually, so the service is one book/one user and only one person can have a copy of a book checked out at any given time.  However, for popular titles, we’ve added more than one copy, so it's possible that more than one person could have the same title checked out at the same time.  We should be able to run reports on a regular basis to determine the possible need to add copies of a title.

The book I want to check out doesn’t have an “Add to Cart” button.  Why is that?

If the book you want doesn’t have an “Add to Cart” button, you should see a “Place a Request” button in its place.  This means the book is already checked out and is currently unavailable fo you for check out.

How do I request a book if it's checked out?

Click on the “Place a Request” button and you will be prompted for an email address.  Enter the email address where you’d like to receive notification when your request is ready and click “Place a Request”.  You should get this message: “You will receive an email when the selected title becomes available for checkout. Once you receive the email, you will have 3 days to check out the selected title”.

If a patron finishes a book before it’s due, can it be returned early? If so, can they then immediately check out another book?

Yes and yes.  See the Adult Services Blog posting dated January 5^th for details about how to return a book early. And the customer can check out another book immediately.

Can you create and keep lists of books that you want to download in the future? 

Yes, while browsing the collection, if you see a title you like and want to keep track of it for future use, click on the book cover to go into the title entry.  Then click on the “Add to Wish List” button, located right under “Add to Cart or “Place a Request”.  To see the titles in your wish list, click on “My Digital Account”, then click on “My Wish List”.

If an e-reader has wifi can you download directly to it?

Right now, most eReader devices only allow direct download of books to the device by a purchase through their online store.  So there are no direct-to-device downloads of free Overdrive titles to most eReader devices.  That may change in the future.  iPhones, iPads, and Android devices do allow for direct download to the device and that's how they're used.

Is there any way for library customers to download Overdrive books in our libraries?

Customers with iPhones, iPads and Androids can download Overdrive books anyplace they have service, so they can download to their own devices in our libraries. 

Customers with eReader devices are able to download within our libraries if they bring their own laptop and eReader.  After connecting to our wifi, they would follow the same procedure to download a book that we use on our staff computers, using their own equipment.

What’s the graphic for, in the bottom left corner of the Overdrive screen that says “Enjoy Additional eBooks Today”?

This a “free” public domain collection provided by Project Gutenberg.  These are mostly older classics that don’t have copyright restrictions.  We didn’t have to buy these titles, unlimited numbers of users can have the same title at the same time, and these titles don’t count against a customer’s 4 check outs.

Who can I contact if I have more questions?

Please post additional questions to this blog.  Just click on the word “comments” under any post.  Enter your question in the box provided.  In the box next to “Comment as”, choose “Anonymous” from the drop-down menu and click “Post Comment”.  By posting your question, other staff with similar questions will benefit from your question and the response.

Thanks!