In July, after I made the request to them, our MVLC consortium added a Teen Room (there was already a Kids Room) to our OverDrive service. Browse the Teen Room here:
Got a suggestion for a list to add to the Teen Room?--please let me know (kclaire@hwlibrary.org). If you've never used OverDrive, download the Libby App. It's the best way to get started with OverDrive. For those of you who have been using the OverDrive app you will probably want to migrate over to Libby as OverDrive is sun-setting the OverDrive app in favor of Libby. Click here for information about that from OverDrive posted on August 9.
The newest list in the Teen Room is: Trending on BookTok. Some of the books are in the scrolling list below. Clicking on any of the covers will take you to our catalog if you would like to borrow a print copy rather than a digital copy. Click on the link below to see the list in the Teen Room:
The Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, as a member of the 35 library Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC), recently expanded services, and now offers downloadable eBooks. Best-sellers and classic titles (including a foreign language learning collection) are available 24/7 at: MVLC OverDrive
The new eBook service, powered by OverDrive (a digital distributor of eBooks and audiobooks), is free for patrons with their library card. To get started downloading and reading the new eBooks, you must first download and install the Adobe® Digital Editions free software at: Digital Editions software
Then browse the eBook titles, add a title to your virtual bookbag, place a hold, or add the title to your wish list. eBook titles can be enjoyed immediately on your computer or transferred to a variety of mobile devices such as an iPod, Sony Reader, Nook, and many others. Titles automatically expire at the end of the lending period … or you can return eBooks early. There are no late fees.
(FYI - Cory Doctorow's 2008 Young Adult book Little
Brother,is available in audiobook
format or in print format. It is Science Fiction set in San Francisco in
the near future, about a terrorist attack, the resulting police state, and computer hacking, with a dash of romance. Highly recommend for science fiction fans, and technophiles.)
Have you used an eBook reader? Recently it was my turn to try out the Barnes and
Noble Nook that our Director, Jan Dempsey, purchased. The Nook was passed to me just as I was
leaving for a week of vacation on South Padre Island. (Librarians have some job perks.)
On a scale of 1 to 10 for intuitive functionality, I give
the Nook a 7, mainly because downloading
an eBook from OverDrive to my computer, and then to the Nook was a bit bumpy and took some patient "try this and
that" time. Also, the control buttons, and the power
on/off button are not as quickly understood as one might wish, and depending on
the button are either not as responsive or too responsive to the touch.
The Nook has its own rhythm to which you must adapt. One staff person quickly brought it back to
pass on to the next person because the electronic page turning was too
intrusive into the reading experience.
It does take a while to become immersed enough in a story to ignore the Nook’s
slight page turning pause. There is no showing off the thick book you are reading
since an electronic device will not divulge that information to your neighbor on the train or at the park. Then again, you do gain a sense of privacy about what you are reading
since there are no exposed covers.
The battery on the Nook lasts a long time. I read all ofThe Help by Kathryn Stockett, 451 pages, without having to charge
the battery. The battery life is longer if
you put the Nook in airplane mode, i.e., turn off the wireless. The Nook comes with an AC adapter for USB 2.0
cable. This was a happy discovery since I forgot to bring
my iPod charger. The Nook adapter worked with the iPod cable so I was able to
charge my iPod too.
The Nook has 2 gigs of internal storage, but has the possibility to
expand up to 16 gigs via an SD (secure digital) card. 2 gigs is
about 1500 books. The 6-inch eInk screen was easy on the eyes with the ability to enlarge or shrink the size of the letters.
On the whole the Nook was a good reading experience. I'd like to try other devices like the Kindle and the iPad, and would eventually like to own an electronic reading device. It was great for travel, and would
be ideal for a college student short on living and backpack space, or for someone who moves house
a lot.
So, as one of my colleagues asked, "When do we get more devices for our electronic petting zoo?".
