Walhalla, S.C. -- Wish you could take Darkly Dreaming Dexter, A Storm of Swords or The Snowman to the beach this summer on your iPad®, iPod®, iPhone®, Sony® Reader™, or Nook?
Beginning on June 30th, the Oconee County Public Library system will expand its services to include eBooks as well as downloadable audiobooks. Branch library and bookmobile patrons will be able to download digital books from the library's website. The new service, which is called OverDrive, allows library card holders to check out and download the digital media anytime.
Users will be able to browse the library's OverDrive collection online, check out with a valid library card, and download to their computer or many common mobile devices including those working on the Android or BlackBerry platform. A complete list can be accessed at http://overdrive.com/resources/drc/. Amazon Kindles will soon work with the service as well. Some of the audio titles offered can also be burned to CD. Titles will automatically expire from the device at the end of the lending period.
According to Sue Baldwin, Director of the Oconee County Public Library system, library users are very interested in downloadable media, "a lot of folks received new devices as gifts during the holidays, so we have been asked repeatedly for this service since the beginning of the year. We were happy to be able to say that we would soon be providing it."
"Overdrive was chosen because it's compatible with a wide variety of devices, and it is the leading vendor of digital lending media for libraries, "Baldwin said.
The Oconee County Public Library currently offers approximately 180,000 materials in print, making the small e-book collection seem almost insignificant. But the library is dedicated to making the e-book collection grow.
Stacie Powell, project manager of OCPL's OverDrive account, says "it's a growing collection that just started from scratch, and we're always looking for feedback to help purchase more. We can't buy everything, but we'll buy as much as we can. We're not giving up on print, and the majority of our budget still goes to print books, but the new e-books and digital audio books take it up a notch and let people check out books whenever they want. This is the new direction of publishing and reading."
OCPL is the only library in the Tri-County area to offer OverDrive to patrons.
The majority of the library's e-books and audio books work just like a traditional print book -- each copy can only be downloaded by one patron at a time. The system allows e-books and e-audiobooks to be borrowed for a set period, usually seven to twenty-one days. Once the check-out period ends, the file automatically deactivates itself so there is no worrying about library late fees or waiting in line to return books!
For more information, please visit any one of the OCPL branches or the library's website. The service will be available beginning next week to all patrons of the Oconee County Library system who have a valid library card in good standing. Check it out at www.oconee.lib.sc.us.
For more information, contact Stacie Powell, Asst. Branch Manager, 864-638-4133 spowell@oconeesc.com.
