You will need:

a valid Catawba County Library card

access to the Internet

SETUP

Go to http://ncdigital.lib.overdrive.com

Download & install Overdrive Media Console from the site.

OverDrive Media Console utilizes Windows Media Player® 9 Series or newer to play audio files, burn audio book files to CD (when allowed by the publisher), and transfer files to portable devices. The first time that Windows Media Player attempts to open a protected file, it will alert you that a Security Update must be performed before the file may be opened. The update takes just a few moments, and is a one-time process that must be performed before Microsoft Windows Media Player will allow any copyright-protected files to be played.

CHECKOUT

Browse or search the Overdrive site for digital audiobooks. When you locate a title of interest, simply add it to your NCDL eBookBag. You may put up to 5 books in your NCDL eBookBag at once, but only 4 may be checked out . If the desired digital book is not available, you may place a hold on the title. Once you have checked out the digital book, a download page will be displayed. Click the download link to download your digital book. Once the download is complete, you can close your Internet connection and enjoy your audiobook offline.

PLAYING YOUR AUDIOBOOK

You may play your audiobook in different ways:

1. On your computer via the Overdrive Media Console. When the book has finished downloading, click the 'Play' button in OverDrive Media Console. The 'OverDrive Media Explorer window is displayed and the file begins playing. If desired, you can click the 'Stop' button and navigate directly to a desired section of the audio book using MediaMarkers. Each OverDrive audio book is divided into parts, and parts are then divided into logical sections (such as chapters). The beginning point of these logical sections are MediaMarkers, which are displayed as hyperlinks. When you click on a 'Part', the MediaMarkers associated with that Part are displayed in the right-hand portion of the 'OverDrive Media Explorer' window. Click on a MediaMarker to jump directly to, and begin playing, the desired section of the audio book.

2. Some titles may be burned to CDs.The publisher of each title decides whether or not to allow the title to be burned to CD; this decision is at the publisher’s discretion. Many publishers enable this functionality while others choose not to permit this use of their content. To tell whether a book may be burned, search for the desired title, and click the title to bring up the page displaying details about the title. At this page, look for the heading 'Digital Rights Information'. The information listed here will state whether or not the publisher has enabled the burn to CD functionality.

3. Transfer to your MP3 player Your player must be one that supports protected Windows Media content at 32kbps. A list of compatible devices can be found on the site. Apple iPods are not compatible.To transfer your audiobook to your device, hit the Transfer button on the OverDrive Media Console to launch the Transfer Wizard and follow the directions.

HOW MANY & FOR HOW LONG?

You can have up to 4 digital books checked out at any given time. The loan period is 7 days. You will never accrue late fees with digital books. At the end of the digital book loan period, the title will expire and be automatically 'returned' to the library. At this time, you can delete the expired file from your machine. You may renew 1 time if there are no holds on the item.

NOTE: Will not play on Apple iPod.