Checking out e-books and audio books from the Tulsa City-County Library can be done in a matter of minutes, with the help of a free app for your smartphone or tablet.
Overdrive Media’s Digital Bookmobile visited Tulsa Tuesday and Wednesday to familiarize library patrons with the platform.
“It’s just an app you would download right out of your app store, called the Overdrive Media Console,” said Dan Conochan, who staffs the Bookmobile. “There’s a little bit of a set up, just a couple simple steps, and then you can download books.”
The app will ask you to find the Tulsa City-County Library, and you’ll then be able to search its collection from the app.
Find something you like? You’ll select it for your “cart” and check out. You’ll be prompted for your library card number, which you can tell the app to remember.
You’ll also need an Adobe ID. It’s free to sign up if you don’t have one.
Tulsa’s collection features over 11,000 e-book titles and over 5,000 audiobooks.
Electronic lending doesn’t mean there’s unlimited access to those books. The library purchases individual licenses for each e- or audiobook copy.
You can place a hold on a title, and will receive an email when your copy is ready.
Conochan says the electronic waiting process tends to be faster than for hard copies.
“People can just return it right from home, they don’t have to go to the library to return it, so it always inevitably ends up happening faster,” he said.
The best part? With electronic lending, there are never any fines.