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 5th 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!
We just had a patron come in with her 3G Nook with a question of gaining access to the ebooks without the use of a computer. Would I be correct in telling her you HAVE to have a computer in order to access the overdrive software. She supposedly doesn't trust her laptop. This might be a repeat question,so sorry in advance.
ReplyDeleteThat's correct. Her 3G connection will work to purchase books directly from Barnes & Noble to her Nook, but the 3G connection doesn't allow for free downloads from other sites, so she won't be able to download Overdrive titles directly to her Nook.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, the only devices that allow direct Overdrive eBook downloads are the iPhone/iPad and Android phones.
Thanks for asking!
I can't seem to find any picture books on Overdrive. Will we be adding any?
ReplyDeleteHere's a response from Mary Oliver:
ReplyDeleteI will be placing a picture book order but it will be an limited, unusual collection--many of the authors you would expect to see are not available from overdrive on first search. I am hoping that when I put more time into the search I will come up with a bigger pool of titles and authors. I am also guessing that Overdrive will see a market for these and start increasing their catalog of titles.