Ebook app update

If you installed the ebook/audiobook app for Overdrive, there are new elements in store.
If you have not yet tried an ebook, now is a great time to explore.

Enjoy eBooks & more from Ruidoso Public Library with the all-new OverDrive Media Console v3.0!

Reading eBooks from our digital library, http://nm.lib.overdrive.com, is now easier than ever. The app to enjoy digital titles on your mobile device, OverDrive Media Console (OMC), has been completely redesigned with ease of use top of mind. A new version of the app will be available on August 20. Check out a preview of the new app here. Some highlighted features include:

·         A redesigned user interface with an all-new look, streamlined navigation, and a one-stop reorganized menu.

·         Sync bookmarks and reading progress across multiple devices using a free, opt-in registration service called OverDrive One.

·         Variable speed playback for iOS. Audiobook users’ most requested feature.

System Requirements: OMC v3.0 for Android users requires Android OS v4.0 (or newer). OMC for Android v2.6.5 will remain available for download. OMC for iOS requires iOS 6 (or newer).

If you already have OverDrive Media Console installed on your device, you will be prompted to update, or it will happen automatically depending on your device settings. To install OverDrive Media Console, or for more information, visit http://omc.overdrive.com. Happy reading!

N.B.: Ruidoso Public Library is closed today for Labor Day, but our online resources are available 24/7.  We will open tomorrow at 9 am.

Free audiobooks this summer!

I hope you recall SYNC from last summer.  If it is new to you, here is a great opportunity to catch up on classics and current titles. I'd love to hear your experiences from the last two summers in the comments below.

As you may have experienced while downloading audiobooks from the library, you usually have only two weeks to listen to it.  The SYNC summer titles are different.  The publishers are giving away open copies.  The hitch is: you can only download that week's title during that week.

Luckily, you can receive a text message (SMS) reminder on your phone to know when each new title becomes available.  Last year I programmed reminders in my email calendar.  This year, I may try the texts.

Last year, I really enjoyed The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud, read by Simon Jones, and Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, read by Khristine Hvam.

Here's the schedule for this summer, beginning May 30 [which means you still have a day or two to catch the first titles!].

You will need the Overdrive software or app to play the audiobooks.  You may want to download them on a computer in case you want to listen to several of them (again!) later.

Remember, ebooks count for summer reading at Ruidoso Public Library.  Comment below or on this blog's Summer Reading Program page to tell Cheryl and Kari Dawn which books you downloaded to read or listen to.  If you are under 13, ask your parent or guardian to help with an email address.

Speak up for Libraries' Access to Ebooks (and craft requests for Children's Library)

If you have not yet heard, there's a controversy out there.

Many of the newest, most popular books, are not available to libraries as ebooks.  Some that are have prices (to libraries) that might cause your jaw to drop.  Luckily, action is possible now.  Several websites are hosting information or petitions. Facebook has a group.  [Did you know Facebook changed the rules recently on "liking Pages"?  Now you not only have to like the page, but then, on that page, click on the little box with a gear and select "add to list"--and you may need to name that list the first time--in order to ever see that page's posts in your regular news-stream.]

One library advocate made a short video, comparing which titles you are accustomed to seeing in hardback at the library and which are still not available to libraries electronically.  http://youtu.be/l5anyt9jooI or

The blog where this video first posted is:
http://ebooksforlibraries.com/news/libraries-advocacy-and-ebooks-whos-doing-what/
It is one place to keep current with developments on this issue.

One library system is leading the charge.  Here is their specific list of actions to take: http://www.piercecountylibrary.org/books-materials/audiobooks-ebooks/Default.htm#scrooge

Does this affect you? Let us know in the comments or chat with us during your next visit.

P. S.: The Children's department hopes to collect stacks of the following items for this year's Summer Reading Programs crafts:
styrofoam trays (the kind under meats or produce at the store)
oatmeal containers
metal coffee cans (1 to 2 lb and 5 lb)
scrap 2x4s (about 5 inches)
net bags (the orange mesh around fruit and root vegetables)
everlasting flowers, or fresh flowers to dehydrate into everlasting displays
And just as a reminder: the rolls in wrapping paper or paper towels
the lids on juice bottles or milk jugs

Book Review: Under the Black Flag

David Cordingly wrote a history of piracy, Under the Black Flag, available as an audio download (MP3 or WMA) or a print book at the library.

Audio cover

Using primary documents (diaries, newsprint, and government records of trials, naval pursuits, and hangings), Cordingly presents the facts in a lively narrative.  Learn about the female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, or the Chinese Queen, Ching Shih, and even the now locally famous Grace O'Malley.  Cordingly explores life on the ship, the original careers of many pirates (willing or unwilling), the typical journey and importance of a navigator, even through the changes in laws, trials, and punishments.  This book sets you straight on the differences between privateers, pirates, corsairs, and buccaneers.

If you enjoyed the special features on the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, specifically the one narrated by David Cordingly, then this book fills in all the holes.

P.S. Our Children's Department is looking for wrapping paper rolls for summer reading programs.  As you wrap gifts this spring, if you remember, please drop off the empty tubes when you visit.

P.P.S.  Cheryl, in Children's, hopes to facilitate a new Tiny Tots program, led by community mothers.  The first planning meeting is Thursday, January 17 (next week) at 10:15 am, downstairs.  Please visit to learn how easy it can be to host one hour's stories and crafts.

#4: Electronic or Digital Materials & Access

By Pete unseth [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

Millennia ago, libraries held scrolls.  A few centuries ago, the scrolls became quartos, folios, and palimpsests. 

via Wikimedia Commons

Today and tomorrow, library buildings provide the people, tools, and access to information that has left the physical world due to costs or access limitations.


Ruidoso Public Library joined New Mexico Library To Go (a group of libraries on Overdrive) just last week.  Now you may download a book (ebook or e-audiobook) for a few days onto most devices or play them on your computer.  Nook, Sony, Kindle, Kobo, mp3 players and iPods, among others, are welcome.  Most devices are supported, though older models and some newer ones may not work.  


These books are available in different file formats, from epub to pdf, .azw to .wma or mp3.  That alphabet soup explains which files will work on which devices.  It also indicates the current confusion and changing nature of ebooks and e-audiobooks.  This is an ever-changing landscape of ereaders and sound systems, which continues to learn and offer new opportunities to test out.  


At Ruidoso Public Library, we can help you find articles, encyclopediae, books, or recordings on many formats and on many topics, for many age-groups.  We have non-fiction (or reference books) and fiction. We can show you projects releasing free books to the world, such as Gutenberg Project or Librivox.org where volunteers put the files of public domain titles online, to read or listen.


Currently the books you can access through Overdrive may not be the latest or most popular because the publishers do not release everything electronically.  Other titles are available in files locked with "DRM" (digital rights management) in an attempt to stop piracy.  This means you may not have a book at the same time as another user, and may only access the file for a few days. Some files require plugging your device into a computer to download while others may transfer over WiFi.  In future this may mean you cannot download the title at home, in the evening, but only at the library, during open hours.  


If you are ready to sample something digital please ask at the library.  We may not be able to demonstrate everything at the library (our public computers run Linux, which is not supported by Overdrive), but if your laptop works on wireless, we can guide you through the basic download and installation process.  We do not touch your computers (due to liability issues); please think of it as your learning opportunity instead. 


What is your perspective on ereaders?  Have you tried one (a friend's, at the store, an app on your phone)?  How about audiobooks? (This link will have 2 free audiobooks each week starting June 14; one classic and one new young adult.)  Have you seen our weed identification, gardening, or Chilton's Automotive Manuals online?

The most commercial week of the year!

In honor of the shopping frenzy besieging us this week, I offer two resources to help with some high tech shopping questions.

Image at Digital Trends

First, this link or this link provide a list of questions to consider before purchasing an e-reader.  If you have, or might soon adopt a smart phone, there are (or will be) many apps to provide e-reader access on the major smartphones (Apple and Android).  I shared the first list with my mom and she reports she had more questions afterwards, which is a good thing!

Some of RPL's titles (click to enlarge)

Second, I am hosting another e-audiobook session on Wednesday, Dec 21, at 4 pm.  MP3 players (such as iPods) are a handy, last-minute gift that offers something new all year.  After the initial purchase, the library can connect you with 3,000 professional, unabridged (even current!) novels, self-help books, and juvenile titles.  This session includes a "tech petting zoo" to get a chance to hold these devices and the gadgets that help them play in the car or for a crowd.  I strongly encourage you to try out the buttons (and especially the touch-screens if you have long nails!) to find one large enough to read and control on your own.   

eAudio Class Wednesday 2pm

image by Black Glenn

2pm, Wednesday, January 12th: eAudio Information

If you haven't heard in the paper or while visiting the library, Jennifer hosts a chance for you to explore digital media.  Check out a "tech petting zoo"--see what the gadgets look like, hold one in your hand, and meet other people interested in plunging into the 21st century.

If you have been testing our NetLibrary resource, but still have a question, please drop in to ask!

Jennifer looks forward to seeing you at the Ruidoso Public Library to set up your NetLibrary account. :-)