OverDrive eBook Help  

Access to electronic content (for which the State, the Minuteman Library Network or the individual library pays a subscription fee) from outside of a library often requires authentication to determine that the user is eligible for access. The user is asked to enter the library card number. The Minuteman Library Network only provides the outside database provider with an indication of whether or not the user is eligible for access to this database.

Minuteman Library Network works with a variety of partners to provide Electronic Content (eContent) to our users. Before checking out any of Minuteman’s eContent, users should read the privacy policy of the company that is providing the service in question. For example, users who check out eBooks from Minuteman’s website for use on their Kindle (or via a Kindle app) will receive those eBooks via Amazon. Amazon’s privacy policy describes the kind of information that is collected and stored in connection with such transactions, and we encourage our users to familiarize themselves with that policy before engaging in such transactions. In reading Amazon’s privacy policy, users will learn, for example, that Amazon retains (on a long term basis) information about the eBook a user borrows as well as any notes or highlights added to the text by the user.

Kindle Fire works with OverDrive. Instead of downloading via USB to computer, you download via “Deliver to Kindle” action from your amazon account. If you don’t see the new OverDrive ebook on your bookshelf immediately after downloading, turn off your Kindle Fire. The new ebook should show up on your bookshelf when you turn it on again. [Note: you have to pre-register your Kindle Fire on your amazon account before you can download ebooks from OverDrive

NEW!!! EBOOKS FROM THE LIBRARY NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE KINDLE!

Books downloaded from the Newton Free Library via OverDrive work on a variety of platforms.

The links below explain how to access a book on a variety of devices.

Please note: Some of the instructions listed below were composed prior to the change-over to Overdrive's new User Interface in March 2013. However, as general guides, they are accurate enough to be useful to new eReader users. "New" instructions are marked as such.

Q: How many items can I have checked out?
A: 5

Q: How many items can I be on the waiting list for?
A: 5

Q: How many items can I have in my cart?
A: 7

Q: Can I return a Kindle Book early?

A: Yes, library users can return Kindle Books early. If you go to Manage Your Kindle on the Amazon site (under Your Digital Items or Your Account), you can view your library loans. There is an action button for each item and one of the choices is to return the item early.

Q: I accidentally checked out a book but cannot download it, so how can I possibly return it?

A: This can happen if you choose the wrong format (e.g. audiobooks when you meant to choose Kindle titles; WMA titles when you have a Mac, etc.). Eventually these will expire from your record.  If you can’t wait for some reason, you should fill out the Help form (linked at the bottom of any OverDrive page) and we will contact OverDrive. Only OverDrive can remove checked-out titles from patron records, combine library card accounts, change waiting lists, etc.

Q: I can't find my OverDrive item in "My Digital Media Account"; where is it?

A: Make sure you are looking using the correct card number, and not a family member’s card number.

Q: Does it matter if I log-in to OverDrive with my card number before I start searching?

A: Yes! You should log-in BEFORE searching, so that you will see the Advantage titles (extra copies of eBooks) purchased by your library.

Q: Can I see where I am on a waiting list?

A: Yes. Go to "My Requests" in "My Digital Media Account" to see where you are on a waiting list. Once it is your turn, you will have 5 days to "pick up" [check out] your item.

Q1.  Patron says they downloaded a title, but cannot find it on their Kindle.

1. The title was a WMA audiobook, not an ebook.  Audiobooks will not work on the Kindle.  (It was also in WMA format, which was not compatible with her Mac.) 

2. Click on any OverDrive title to determine which formats we have.

3. Click on "Now Available - Library ebooks for Kindle" in the left sidebar of the OverDrive page to see all the titles available for the Kindle.

4. Patrons can use Advanced Search or the links in the OverDrive catalog sidebar to limit to specific formats.

Q2.   What is the difference between EPUB or PDF format eBooks?
-Nook, Sony Reader or Kobo users can choose between EPUB or PDF format eBooks. With EPUB, you may change the font size of your eBook, and the text automatically reflows within the display screen. EPUB is perfect for creating an instant large print eBook, or for reading on an eBook reader. In PDF eBooks the text and graphics remain fixed. For larger print, you may zoom in on the text. PDF is ideal for eBooks with many images such as picture books and graphic novels.
-iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, Blackberry, or Windows Phone 7 should select the EPUB format
-Kindle users should select the Kindle format

Q3. Will I be able to download OverDrive eBooks while I am out of the US?

The library's OverDrive-powered website and the OverDrive Media Console Mobile Apps should work overseas, as long as the device has Internet access (depending on the device, WiFi is needed) and the country that is being visited allows this type of downloading.

eBook and Audio Book Catalogs Available Here:

• Schedule a 15 minute appointment
• Librarian e-Book Specialist, one-on-one
• Bring your eReader, tablet, or device
• Please request a 15 min. session by email (only): ereaders@newtonfreelibrary.net
• Preregistration Required. No Walk-in Appointments will be accepted.
• Appointments as available on a first-served basis

Do you have a question not covered in the help, tutorials, or instructions?

calibre has become a comprehensive tool for the management of digital texts, allowing you to do whatever you could possibly imagine with your e-book library. It is used in over 200 countries and has been translated into a dozen different languages by volunteers.

We wanted to start asking authors, publishers, and thinkers we knew: How do you read now? And how is it going to change? In that vein we want to welcome you to “How We Will Read,” a series of conversations about social reading, digital media, and annotation with literary minds like Clay Shirky, Maud Newton, Laura Miller, and Richard Nash. We kick off “How We Will Read” with author Steven Johnson.

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