From Library Audiobook Rental To My iPod...A Journey Of Discovery

For those of you who have followed this blog for some time, you know my love of audiobooks. We opened an account with Audible.Com (their website can be accessed: HERE) when I was in graduate school and since many of my required reading involved the classics, Audible was a great way to do my homework. But for years, successfully checking out library audiobooks on-line and making them convenient for me to use eluded me...

Until now!

Today I had a breakthrough...one of those moments in life where a simple fix made my day, and I'd like to thank this website: HERE for their assistance. I was so excited when I learned these things that I felt the need to go through the process step-by-step and put it on my blog. You may not care about this (because you don't listen to audiobooks or for other reasons...), but for those who might, let's get started!

Couple of things--I have a MacBook laptop and I am a card-carrying member of the Davis County Library system. The Davis County Library uses the Overdrive program to download and play their audiobooks. I'll show how I got a book from the library to my iPod. I give no guarantees with other programs and/or players (and/or computer systems, for that matter...).
 

First: If your library uses the Overdrive Program and you haven't downloaded it, you can access it: HERE. Choose your system and download the program. After you've successfully installed Overdrive, find an audiobook you want to listen to and check it out of the library. I downloaded "Wings" for this demonstration. "Wings" had an "iPod" icon so I know I can add it to my iPod.

Second: Open Finder and do a search for your book. I searched for "Wings" and found a folder. I clicked on the folder and found the book. "Wings" only has one chapter (it's only 8 minutes long, for Heaven's sake...). When I click on the "Wings" icon in the "Wings" folder, the book automatically goes to my iTunes account.
 

This is good news! It means I'm almost ready to put it on my iPod.

Third: Once the book is listed in my iTunes Music, click on the book, then go to the File tab. From File, select Get Info. From there, click Options and change the selection from Music to Podcast. Now the book will be listed under Podcasts. Once you sync your iPod, add the book to your list of Podcasts and listen away! The book has gone from your library to your iPod just like that. And the BEST thing for me is that I can listen to the audiobook at 2X speed...something that I enjoy...a lot!

 

Now, all of this may seem not a big deal, and to you, it may not be. However, what this means to me is that I can now listen to many many selections without buying them from Audible.Com. Of course, the popular titles on the library audiobook list have several waiting for them--such is the library system. And if I really want to read the book NOW, I can always buy it from Audible.

I hope this helps anyone wanting to listen to audiobooks from their local library. If you've got questions and/or concerns, let me know. I may be able to help. Good luck and good listening!