Fill your e-reader, tablet or iPad with great literature – some that you can keep and enjoy forever. Ahem, now that we have your attention. We’ll get to the free stuff, but first…

Many of our customers are just figuring out how to operate their e-readers, said Shari Schawo, our e-book specialist.

“E-readers are still fairly new on the market, and they are increasingly popular. We as a library have been proactively addressing the learning curve offering how-to classes and in-house demos for some time,” Schawo said.

Most of the e-book titles available are a shared resource, electronically moving onto the next customer after the due date – meaning you’ll never have a late fee because they return themselves. However, thousands of the classics that are out of copyright are yours to download and keep.  Yay, free stuff!

The copyright-free titles are provided through Project Gutenberg. In OverDrive, the software that powers this digital library, scroll down to the bottom and click on the button that says “Additional e-books Always Available” to find copyright-free titles. They include books like Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, which fits a bit more neatly on a device than on a crowded bookshelf anyway.

About 2,000 e-books including newly released titles, some great obscure stuff and a few classics thrown in can be checked out through OverDrive. Get connected to OverDrive to start downloading e-books.

Sometimes titles you want are checked out. You can place a hold on those e-books, and you will be notified via email when they are available.

E-books, which are checked in, are accessible 24/7. OverDrive also offers downloadable audiobooks, music and videos. All you need is your library card.

And when that’s not enough, we’ll help get you into that novel with friendly and thorough technical support. Schedule a one-hour training session with Shari and you’ll thank yourself. Book it here!

“People leave happy. I have so many customers come in frustrated who don’t know how to use their e-reader at all, and they leave excited, happy and ready to try it out,” Shari said.

Shari’s top 4 troubleshooting tips

  1. Watch a tutorial. Shari walks you through downloading and installing the software, so you can spend less time fussing over technology and more time enjoying literature
  2. Try out Overdrive’s new “My Help” feature (beta version)
  3. Check out the “Only Show Available titles box” for a quick look at what you can download today
  4. Smartphone users, install the Overdrive App from your app store to begin downloading books directly to your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or Android tablet