Who doesn’t love free things, especially when those “things” can add value to your life? And, what adds more value than the book of your choice? You can learn a new language, learn how to knit, escape with a romance novel, brush up on your history, etc.
If you have a library card to your local library, you can download the free OverDrive app (available on Windows, Mac, i
OS, Android, Kindle Fire, and Nook) to access free e-books and audio books from your local library. If using iOS or Android, you can even access the library’s video rentals.
Once you download the app, you have to sign up with your email or Facebook account. (I opened to use my email.)
Then, you have to find the library that matches your library card. The app give you the choice of searching my name or zip code. I choose zip code and got the following results:
Once I selected the library that I usually visit, I was connected to their system (C/W MARS in this example) and prompted to enter my library card number. After that, I was able to search for books by relevance. Just for fun I entered “Dyer” into the search bar to browse books by author Wayne Dyer. I quickly realized that I should have been more specific, since books with Dyer in their title were the first search results. (Wayne Dyer books did appear, just not as the top results.)
Then, I did a search for Gretchen Rubin. Her book, The Happiness Project, came up. When I selected it, I learned that it was not immediately available. As shown below, I was given the option to put it on hold and be notified when it became available.
I then decided to browse the selection of children’s books since it was prominently featured as a separate search After asking my seven year old what she would like to read, she said requested books similar to those that they had obtained on their last visit to the library; I decided to search Paula Danziger, a popular children’s author. Paula Danziger books, both e-book options and audio options appeared. I was pleased to discover that I could add it to my “bookshelf” immediately. As the first picture below shows, I also discovered that I would be able to do this for six more titles, for a total of seven books on my bookshelf. As the second picture below shows, I discovered that I could opt to either download or immediately read the Paula Danziger selection. I decided to read it in my browser, and VOILA the book immediately appeared as shown in the third picture below.
Encouraged by my daughter, I then searched for “Fancy Nancy” children’s book. I found a Fancy Nancy audiobook, and I was able to download it immediately and listen to it on my phone.
In theory, I really like this app. After all, what is not to like; it’s free, and it gives you access to many of the same resources available at the public library, except you don’t have to leave your house.
However, I did find using the app itself a little “clunky.” I felt like I had to make multiple clicks before being able to access the resource that came up in my search.
I was also disappointed that I wasn’t able to immediately access the Wayne Dyer or Gretchen Rubin books. However, I guess that I can’t be too demanding when I am accessing these resources for free. 😉
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OverDrive
Pros
- Free
- Read, listen, and/or watch resources from the public library without having to drive there
- Thousands of resources available
Cons
- Interface is a little
- Some resources were not immediately available
- Even with the thousands of resources available, I wasn't able to find everything that I was looking to find.