Congratulations on making it this far! I'm happy to tell you, the end is in sight. Just a couple more exercises to complete, and you could own a fancy new MP3.Once you have your new MP3 player, you'll probably want to put it to use. That's why this Thing explores the downloadable audiobook options available at the LPLS website. While we're there, we'll also take a look at downloadable videos. Anyone with a LPLS library card can download ebooks, audiobooks, and videos to their personal computer and even transfer audiobooks onto their own MP3 player for listening on-the-go!
Our library system has access to ebooks and audiobooks through R.E.A.D.S. (Regional eBook & Audiobook Download System), a service funded by the State of Tennessee and the Institute of Museum and Library Services and powered by OverDrive. R.E.A.D.S. offers popular fiction titles, consumer nonfiction, and selections for children and young adults. For this discovery exercise, you merely need to familiarize yourself a bit with the structure of the R.E.A.D.S. site and get an idea of the types of titles you can find here. Take a look around and locate a few titles of interest.
We also offer downloadable videos through MyLibraryDV. LPLS has a subscription to this service. MyLibraryDV gives you 24/7 access to hundreds of great video programs, including classic movies, independent films from the Film Movement series, PBS Kids shows, and popular television programs on lifestyle, health, travel, and cooking. The cost to our patrons to be able to access DVD-quality video on demand? Free. The second part of this exercise is to simply familiarize yourself with the MyLibraryDV service.
Discovery Resources
Explore the following resources, as needed, to learn more about these services:
- Watch the Download Digital Media Guided Tour tutorials to learn more about how to use R.E.A.D.S. (Each tutorial is 3 minutes or less.)
- Read through the Quick Start Guide (including the system requirements and necessary software) and other Help options available at R.E.A.D.S.
- Watch the MyLibraryDV commercial (Windows Media Player required).
- Read the MyLibraryDV system requirements and the MyLibraryDV FAQ.
- NOTE: Be sure you know how to sign in to R.E.A.D.S and how to get started with MyLibraryDV (item 2 in the FAQ), so you can instruct patrons on how to access these services. A library card is required for either service.
Discovery Exercise
- Visit the R.E.A.D.S. site and explore the thousands of ebook and audiobook titles available. Try searching for a specific title or author to see if it is available.
- Browse the list of videos available from MyLibraryDV (PDF).
- Write a blog post about your findings. Did you locate any titles at R.E.A.D.S. that you might want to download once you have your player? Were you surprised by anything you discovered in this exercise?
Discover More
You don't have to wait until you have your MP3 player to enjoy R.E.A.D.S. You can download books to listen to (or read) on your home computer; some books also may be burned to CD. You can also start downloading videos today from MyLibraryDV.
If you're up to the challenge, sign in to either site, download and install the necessary software, download a book or video, and enjoy! Be sure to blog about your experience.
If you don't have a home computer, or if you're unable to download and install the software to your staff computer, you can use the R.E.A.D.S. download kiosk at Linebaugh Library. This kiosk lets library patrons download free audiobooks to their MP3 or WMA audio player using the library's connection.
1 comment:
I want to share a comment Mel made in her blog, about READS:
I tell patrons that, once you have overdrive installed, browsing READS and checking out books is as easy as shopping on Amazon. Only instead of your credit card information, you enter your library card number. And READS has an amazing selection!
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