Public Domain eBooks: now right at your doorstep!

Exciting news! We have a new addition to our eBooks offering at Winnipeg Public Libraries! We now are providing access to over 20,000+ free eBooks – that don’t count against your download limit, that are always available, and that you can never have fines on! Meet our new Public Domain Collection – books that were either published as Creative Commons books or have entered the public domain because their copyright has expired.

This collection is provided by Project Gutenberg, and is separate and distinct from the regular eBook collection. This means: 

• these books will not appear in regular searches from our catalogue – you must follow the link from our eLM site to a separate collection
• you do NOT need to sign in to download titles
• eBooks checked out in this way do not count against your checkout limit
• these titles have no licence limits, so are always available for download – perfect if you just want to read something right now!
• these titles do NOT expire like regular library books – perfect for if you are going on long holidays!
• you will still need Adobe Digital Editions or a mobile device with the OverDrive Media Console app installed in order to open eBooks 

As it is a free collection, you should be aware of the following:

• formatting may not be as ‘pretty’ as you are used to in purchased eBooks. It doesn’t mean your display is broken or there is something wrong with the file. Generally, this is most evident with Tables of Contents and images – the book text is usually fine.
• Most of the resources in the collection predate 1917, due to the way copyright law works in theUS. However, this means that there is a vast wealth of the classics in the collection – you can find books by Plato, Oscar Wilde, Charlotte Bronte, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and many many more.
• Searching and browsing in the interface is different from using our regular catalogue. 

For a great start to the books offered, check out the Top 100 downloads from Project Gutenberg – this page is updated daily with the previous day’s hot titles. Currently, thanks to the Disney release of John Carter, the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs are high on the list!

Finding/ Using the Collection 

This new collection is available from the left hand sidebar of the eLM site, with an image of books and the caption Additional eBooks. Always Available.

This will take you to the Public Domain section of the site, where you can browse by subject or search for specific titles.

Click on Download in order to access the eBook. You will still need a program in order to read the eBook. We strongly recommend Adobe Digital Editions.  You will be given the opportunity to either save or open their file. From this stage forward, getting the eBook to an eReader or other device is the same as with library books – you just skip the checkout step. If you have more questions about your device, a complete list of resources for each device is available at: http://www.overdrive.com/resources/drc/

You can also use the OverDrive app in order to get eBooks on mobile devices such as iPads, iPhones, Android phones, and some newer eReaders such as the Kobo Vox! The interface is a little different. In order to find the collection, go to Browse. ‘Browse Public Domain eBook Titles’ now appears at the bottom of the list.

Clicking on this link will bring you to an outside page with a different look and feel. Here, you can search or browse the books in much the same way as the website version.

When you find a book you want, simply click on download.  Again, the app will not ask for any credential or library information – this is a link to a permanent download of the file, with no checkout or return required.

 An icon with the file will open. You can now open the file and enjoy your book instantly and forever!

-Brianne

BlackBerry PlayBook & OverDrive

There’s good news if you recently bought a BlackBerry Playbook tablet and were hoping to use it as an eReader!  

With the recent release of OS 2.0 for the PlayBook (an operating system upgrade, details here: ca.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/), the library’s OverDrive Media Console (OMC) app is now available for download on PlayBook devices, which means you can now use your PlayBook to download and read free eBooks from the Library. 

Until just recently, the PlayBook tablet was not compatible with OverDrive downloads, as the OMC app was never released for the original PlayBookoperating system. Now, once you’ve completed the operating system upgrade, you should be able to download and install the OMC app on your device. The PlayBook version of the OMC app works exactly like the iPad and Android tablet apps, allowing you to browse a mobile-friendly version of the Library’s eLibraries Manitoba site and download eBooks and audiobooks directly to your tablet over a Wifi connection.  

You can find out more about the free OMC app at appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/80929/?lang=en or search for “OverDrive” in the AppWorld store on your PlayBook device. A successful upgrade to OS 2.0 is required before the app will work on the device.

We see this as VERY good news, as the PlayBook has been a popular purchase over the past few months. The PlayBook’s size makes it an attractive choice as an eReader, and we’re ever so happy that our patrons will soon be downloading our Library books to this handy little tablet.

Of course, once you’ve downloaded and installed the OMC app on your tablet, you should check out our newly renovated eLM Help page  for all kinds of great advice on how to make the most out of your eLibraries experience. The new OverDrive Help feature lets you search for popular articles, device-specific instructions and even common error messages, allowing for quick and easy troubleshooting on a wide variety of devices.

Happy eReading!

Did Santa bring you an ereader?

If you were lucky enough to receive an ereader or tablet for Christmas, check out the following links to help you get started with borrowing Library ebooks.

FAQs for new ereader owners.
http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/onlineresources/ebookfaqs.asp

Step-by-step guide for mobile devices (tablets and smartphones).
http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/elm-mobiledevices.pdf

Step-by-step guide for ereaders such as Sony Reader and Kobo.
http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/elm-ereaders.pdf

Wishing you all a happy ePUB season!

Early in November, my daughter excitedly told me she knew what we could get my husband for Christmas. I was puzzled (and a little suspicious) at her exceedingly early holiday preparations. As a rule, we generally begin our holiday shopping on the 23^rd. Our out-of-town friends and family know to expect New Year’s, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, or even, I’m ashamed to admit, Canada Day gifts, rather than Christmas gifts. It’s the thought that counts, not when it actually arrives, as I’ve pointed out to my niece on numerous occasions.

Not only am I a procrastinator when it comes to gift buying, but I really, really hate picking out something for my husband. He’s impossible to buy for, as he always answers the question, “What would you like for Christmas/your birthday/our wedding anniversary?” with a shrug and a mumbled, “Whatever you think I might like.” This year, my daughter saved me from hours of annoyed shopping at the mall by stating that we would buy her dad a Kobo Vox™. Not only would he love having a new electronic toy, but the price couldn’t be beat, she explained. As an added bonus, she would get her own eBook reader back, as he’s been hogging it since the summer.

I know we won’t be the only family opening a new eBook reader this holiday season. In fact, WPL has been busy preparing for the expected surge in demand for eBooks. Since November we selectors have purchased over 1,500 ePUB titles, with more to come next week. Now, I won’t list ALL 1,500 new titles, as I suspect that the blog editors might get a bit cranky. Here then, for your future reading pleasure, is a small selection of titles I want to read myself (when I get to hog my daughter’s eBook reader): 

Angels of darkness, by Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh and Sharon Shinn. Three masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance explore the rapture of the heavens above, and the darkness below in three all-new stories of angels and guardians, and good and evil.

Down these strange streets, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. This all-new collection of urban fantasy stories explores the places where mystery waits at the end of every alley and where the things that go bump in the night have something to fear.

1Q84, by Haruki Murakami. A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s — 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination.

Falling Backwards, by Jann Arden. Jann Arden is funny. And sincere. She has legions of devoted fans. And a radio show. She is a darling of the music scene–always candid, always unplugged. You thought you knew Jann Arden, but there is more–to her readers’ delight, in Falling Backwards Jann reveals her childhood, her bond with family, her struggle in the formative years, and what keeps her so grounded in the whirlwind entertainment industry. Jann has always been true to herself, except for a minor lapse when she was young. Oh wait, wasn’t that all of us?

Knocking on heaven’s door: how physics and scientific thinking illuminate the universe and the modern world, by Lisa Randall. Dispelling the idea that science is based on unchanging rules, Harvard physicist Randall offers an insider’s view of modern physics, a vital, continually “evolving body of knowledge” in which previous ideas are always open to change-or even disposal, when researchers discover a theory which better fits observational evidence.

The novice: a story of true love, by Thich Nhat Hanh. A poignant and beautiful teaching novel from one of our great spiritual leaders, a timeless parable about the first Buddhist nun.

- Barbara

Getting the Library’s PDF eBooks on your Android tablet

…and yes, this is just for Android (sorry iPad users, for once, it’s you that’s excluded!)

Tested on the Samsung Galaxy tablet, Kobo Vox and Samsung GalaxyS Phone:

A recent question at one of our public eBooks Show & Tell courses has got us into deep-thoughts and research mode.  Our patron wanted to know: if gadgets like the iPad and Android tabs have beautiful screens which can display pdf documents georgeously, why can’t they be used to download and display Adobe PDF ebooks, which are best for images?

PDFs vs. ePUBs: A PDF eBook is basically a photo image of the printed book (margins, page numbers, images remain in place) whereas an ePUB has resizable text and margins. PDFs are great if the design & layout of the page is important to the reading experience (Children’s picture books that mix image and text on the page are a good example). EPUBs, on the other hand, are better for novel reading, because you can resize the fonts and margins to suit your comfort level (PDFs can be resized, but only by zooming in, which usually then requires you to scroll up and down to see all the text – not too comfortable).

The standard answer is: because they can’t.  The Overdrive eBooks app (available for iPad, Android, Blackberry and Windows) is only set up to download two file types: MP3 audio and ePUB ebooks (What’s an ePUB? What’s a PDF? What’s the diff? See sidebar for more).   We’re not sure what the reasoning is behind the limitation (either it was set up that way because the app was initially designed for iPhones and PDFs just aren’t readable (too tiny) on a phone screen, or the file size of the PDFs is larger, or something) but in the end, because the app belongs to the Overdrive corporation, we have no control over the options.

Of course, we’re not satisfied with that answer any more than you are.  After a bit of digging, we’ve found that the LONG answer—at least for Android tab users—is that it totally IS possible.  You just need to get a different app. 

It’s not that we don’t recommend using the Overdrive app (we use it and love it!).  And if you use an iPad, we can’t help you, because we still haven’t found anything that will allow you to load or transfer our DRM-protected PDF files to an iPad(although we’re happy to hear if you’ve found one!).  But if you’re an Android (phone or tablet) user, we’ve found that the FREE Aldiko Book Reader app is an alternative that works just like the Overdrive app (meaning that it communicates with the eLibraries catalogue and lets you download direct to your device), except that it ALSO allows PDF downloads.  If you’re willing to put in the time to get it set up and aren’t worried about troubleshooting things yourself, it’s worth a try!

Instructions for getting Aldiko set up on your Android Tablet:

1. Download and install the Aldiko app using the Android Market (FYI: on the Kobo Vox, you need to side-load the app because it’s not listed in the Kobo market. Luckily, you can download and install it from http://slideme.org/application/aldiko).   
2. Once you’ve got the app installed, open Aldiko and set it up with an Adobe ID (create one for free at adobe.com if you haven’t got one already).  To get to the Adobe ID screen, go to settings > Adobe DRM > add your info. 
3. Next, click on the little “home” icon to open the main page, open “My Catalogs”, click the “+” symbol and add eLM with the exact URL http://elm.lib.overdrive.com/10/482/en/default.htm (it has to be that exact URL or else you’ll be directed to the mobile version of the site and won’t be able to search for or download PDF files).
4. Click on the link that you’ve just created; eLibraries should open. Search for something fun to download (if you’ve got a title in mind, go find it; if you just want to test it, open the advanced search page, choose Adobe PDF in the format box and then limit to available titles, search and browse the results). 
5. When you’ve found something to download, add it to your cart, login with your card to proceed to checkout, then choose your lending period and confirm the checkout.  Next, click download to start the file transfer.  The file should automatically start to load into Aldiko.
6. When it’s finished loading, open and enjoy!

Note:  This method only works if you’ve got eLibraries MB set up as one of your Aldiko “catalogues.”  If it’s not set up, the eLibraries site will try to open the book in the Overdrive app instead, and you’ll get an error message saying that the device doesn’t support PDF downloads. 

When the library book expires, you should be able to go back to the library catalogue, check it out again (assuming there aren’t holds) and download it again to keep reading, just like in the Overdrive app.

Happy eReading!

-Sophie

Ebooks for Kids!

 Children’s books are the cornerstone of literacy.  From a very early age, children are introduced to books that allow them to dream about faraway lands and colorful characters through vibrant illustrations and powerful words.

 To this very day, Madeline, Corduroy, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar rank at the top of my all-time-favourites list, right along with A Thousand Splendid Suns and Eat Pray Love.  Perhaps it’s the childhood memory of reading with my mother, or the fact that these books sparked my love of reading.  Children’s books are more popular than ever, but they are now at the point of format transformation.

 The eBook phenomenon is upon us, and although it has taken a while to really hit the children’s book market, more and more titles are being released every day.  As color eReaders and tablets rapidly enter the market, publishers are beginning to see the picture book eReading experience a much more viable one.  After all, what would Brown Bear, Brown Bear be without its radiant illustrations? 

 At Winnipeg Public Library, our catalog of children’s eBooks is rapidly expanding.  Just over the past few months, we’ve added The Berenstain Bears, Thomas the Tank Engine, Curious George, and many more titles to our OverDrive database.  And better yet, these titles are available 24/7, and many can be downloaded onto any computer , iPod®, iPhone®, iPad™, Android™, Sony® Reader, and hundreds of other mobile devices.  Talk about the perfect road-trip solution!   

 How do we know that these eBooks are growing in popularity?  Over the past 6 months, the circulation of children’s eBooks at OverDrive libraries has soared 474%, making it one of the fastest growing genres. While some might attribute this to the general boom in eBook circulation across all genres, statistics show otherwise.  Two of the most popular genres, Mystery and Romance, increased 329% and 297% respectively, much less than children’s fiction.

 There is no question that children’s eBooks are here to stay. What is uncertain is how parents and educators will embrace and implement this new technology into entertaining and educating the newest generation of kids.  In his blog post The Future of Children’s eBooks, GeekDad discusses the opportunities that children’s eBooks offer for interactive learning.  The best eBooks will allow children to control the narrative, nurture exploration, and support 21st century skills.  Time, innovation, and good old fashioned imagination will take children’s eBooks to the next level — and I can’t wait to see where we end up!

Lindsay

The ebook revolution is here

Some naysayers signal an upcoming apocalypse because people don’t seem to be reading books anymore… which would be sad, except for the fact that we may be undergoing a revolution towards reading ebooks instead. Unless you were lost on a desert island or tragically caught in a coma, it would be hard to have missed the publicity. Electronic readers such as the Kindle, iPad, Sony Reader, and the Kobo eReader have held the industry spotlight this past year. Time magazine reports that in 2010, at least in the U.S., ebooks outsold hardcovers, and are gaining on the leader, the paperback!

It would be foolish to think it’s any different here in Canada. At the Winnipeg Public Library, ebook and digital audiobook checkouts doubled from 2009 to 2010. Check out the growing list of titles we offer at elm.lib.overdrive.com. (Now optimized for iPad use!)

The future seems to be touch computing, but it’s taken a while. I confess I was nerdy enough to be an early adopter of one of the first ebook readers. Back in ’98 I bought a monochrome, low-resolution Rocket ebook reader and loved it, for a while. There just wasn’t enough selection in ebooks back then. And it was kind of klunky. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to sell it on eBay.

Now with my own iPad, I’m enjoying the resurgence of ebooks — along with a lot of other people. (It’s great to have company.) Although I too enjoy the feel of ‘real’ books, and will continue to read tree-based tomes, ebooks are becoming my favourite medium for reading. Right now I have several on the go (including a great read, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak), but I don’t need to strain my arms carrying all of them when I go somewhere. They’re all tucked away, byte by byte, in a few ”apps” on my iPad. My favourites are the Kindle and Kobo apps for iPad.

Other ebook benefits include: 1) you can change the font and text size at any time to suit your fancy; 2) you can read white text on black with the lights out in bed, so as not to disturb your spouse!; 3) you can add electronic notes in the margins or highlight favourite texts with ease; 4) you can check a built-in dictionary when new words arise; 5) making a bookmark by turning down an e-page seems a lot less harmful than folding a ‘real’ page in a pristine paper book; and, wait for it… 6) ebooks are cheaper, although to me they still seem a tad high given how much easier they are to make.

And did I mention that you can carry a library of books (plus magazines and newspapers), read and unread, easily under your arm in a compact, lightweight device?

It won’t be long before ebooks comprise the majority of book industry sales. For those who haven’t tried an ereader yet, I would recommend you borrow a friend’s or relative’s and give it a spin. You can also test drive a library ebook on your desktop, laptop, or smartphone and get ready for the revolution.

Just make sure you’ve charged the batteries before hitting the couch or walking out the door.

- Lyle