You don’t need to buy an eReader or tablet or spend a lot of money to have access to millions of books and movies. All you need is your library card. If your local library is one of thousands that use the OverDrive app, you can go to the library right on your PC.
We’ve discussed the OverDrive app for phones and tablets before, but I’ve never give you a tour of the PC version. Start by heading over to OverDrive.com.
Then click Sign up in the upper right of the page. If you already have an OverDrive account, you can just log in.
You can sign up with Facebook or enter your name and e-mail address, then set a password.
You’ll receive an e-mail that asks you to verify your account. Click on the link in that e-mail to verify.
You’ll be taken to your account settings.
Click libraries and you can find your local library if it’s a member of Overdrive. Type in the ZIP code or name of your library.
When you find your system, you can hit Save so that OverDrive remembers it.
Now let’s look for a book. Click the Search icon in the upper right of the page.
You can either search my Title or Author or choose to browse by subjects like Fiction or Technology.
Here, I’ll choose Fiction and see a selection of books to choose from.
When you find a title you like, click on it. You’ll get information about the book including a synopsis, reviews and what types of formats it’s available in. To Borrow, just click the borrow button.
Then you’ll have the option to immediately borrow or place a hold. Just as with physical books, libraries have a limited number of copies of eBooks that they are allowed to own. For popular books, you may need to wait awhile.
You’ll then have to enter your library card and PIN number. If you haven’t set that up with your local library yet, you will need to make sure you have a card and a password or PIN number to log in.
You can then download a version of the book to read in a reading app or read it in your browser.
The book looks like this in the browser.
You can also download audio books and movies using your OverDive account.
~ Cynthia