OverDrive – the next generation

OverDrive has launched an updated website. If you are not sure what OverDrive is, then let us call it a treasure chest of over 6,000 e-books and downloadable audiobooks, covering all known areas of human interest.

The changes to the website include:

• Grid and List  title views;
• An “Account” page where you can now view your Holds, Lists (Wish List,  Rated titles, and Recommendations for you), and change your lending period;
• A ribbon below each title to allow you to add or remove it from your Wish List;
• A format icon in the top-right corner of a cover image that will tell you if a title is available – if a title isn’t available, the icon will be greyed out.

There are a few other changes too that can be  discovered by having a play or reading through these instructions.

OverDrive has also introduced OverDrive Read, a new browser-based e-book reading experience. This is another alternative to current download practices as it allows users to just open up an e-book without having to install or activate extra software. You will though still need to check your browsers compatibility. If you want to continue to use an earlier edition of Internet Explorer, then you can install for free  the Google Chrome Frame Plugin or simply use the basic version of OverDrive Read. If you currently use a cable to connect and copy your title you will probably continue to use your current method and choose EPUB.

Our customer contact centre is prepared to assist customers with any technical issues.

To explore these changes further take a gander at this YouTube Video.

 

OverDrive favourites of 2012

Well there is no denying that our OverDrive e-book and audiobook collection is very popular. We are continually adding new titles but as soon as they are in – they are out! I thought it would be interesting to see what are our movers and shakers from last year were – and have to admit some suprise at the result. Despite all the publicity surrounding e-books there are actually just as many fans of downloadable audiobooks. I can understand that – headphones that are visible usually means less interruption.

The most popular OverDrive titles of 2012

1. All Cry Chaos (AudioBook)
2. The Hunger Games (e-book)
3. The Hunger Games (AudioBook)
4. Beachcombers (AudioBook)
5. Dead by Midnight (AudioBook) 

Perhaps this year we will see the popularity of the sequel to The Hunger Games rise in popularity with plans afoot for a Catching Fire  movie. We do have copies of Suzanne Collin’s  Catching Fire and Mockingjay for you in both print, audio and e-book format so we do aim to please!

What has been your favourite OverDrive title? Do you prefer your audio to your e-books? Who got an eReader from Santa?

 

TumbleBookCloud does not include a television

So I may or may not be in trouble with the spirit of Roald Dahl. You see he is quoted as saying:

So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.

So the questions is would he have been as upset with computer screens – even if they are there to convey the content of a book?  Maybe if I had shown him TumbleBookCloud he would have been forgiving? TumbleBookCloud is aimed at young adults but may also be of help to ESOL students. It contains:

•  E-books: the classics such as Macbeth and modern publications such as Victorio’s War;
• Read-alongs: full-length professional narration and highlighted text so you can follow such titles as The Great Gatsby or Battle of the Bands;
• Graphic novels: If you like comics then witness the exploits of  Excalibur: The Legend of King Arthur in all its glory;
• Audiobooks: Hear George Orwell’s 1984 or the award-winning Born Confused ;
• Videos: see a Muhammad Ali biography, explore the Mystery Of The Crop Circles or find out what Snail Zombies are!

This resource can be found through the catalogue and at the Source. It can be used at home as long as you have your library card number and PIN, or in any community library.

If you seek the same sort of resource but for a younger audience try TumbleBooks.

 

Happy 3rd birthday OverDrive!

There were some crazy people out there that said the e-book would be the death knell of libraries – what they didn’t realise was that e-books would simply be another service we offer our customers. The best thing about our e-book and audiobook service OverDrive is that it is free and accessible off an easy to use platform. If you get stuck, there are screens of help. The quality content covers all fiction and non fiction areas. Like so much else in libraries, we are trying desperately to make you happy and give you what you want.

We started in October 2009 with a collection of only 360 downloadable audiobooks. In August of 2012 this year we have over 1,700 audiobooks and 2,730 e-books. You will be pleased to know we continue to add to this collection at around 100 titles per month to try and match growing demand.

If you haven’t used this service yet do have a look. There is something for everyone from picture books for the squealies to a bit of romance  for the lovelorn to adventure for the armchair traveller!

Access to OverDrive is through the library website and at the Source but it can only be used at home with your library card number and PIN. Explore and enjoy!

 

Tumblebooks: children’s stories and then some

When I was a kid, I was told by my parents to go outside and play and be home by dark. They may debate this now but it is true! These days life seems to be more constricted for kids who lead lives closer to home and increasingly in front of a screen. I guess like everything in life, moderation and quality is the key. If your kids love their online activities then make sure they are using the free and safe resources that Christchurch City Libraries has to offer such as Intrepica or TumbleBooks which offers:

• Story Books: old and new favourites with added animation, sound, music and narration. Sit back and listen or read along at your own speed to these entertaining picture books;
• Videos: Cover topics such as science, animals and geography;
• TumblePuzzles and Games: online puzzles, concentration games and spelling games;
• Language Learning: a growing selection of bilingual books in mainly French and  Spanish;
• iPad books: many of your favourite TumbleBooks accessible on your iPads, iPhone 4s, and 4th generation iPod Touches;
• Read alongs: books that combine adjustable text and color with complete narration and sentence by sentence highlighting;
• NonFiction books: “Animals in Camouflage” , “Who Likes The Rain?” and “Meet The Meerkat”.

You can access Tumblebooks through the Source with your library card number and PIN. While there have a look round and see what else is on offer. We are here to service your educational and recreational needs –  even when it is dark outside!

 

‘You’re telling yourself the story all the time’: an interview with Emily Rodda

Rachel was lucky enough to interview Emily Rodda yesterday. Kids (and plenty of adults) love her writing. Here she is talking about writing, quests, high fantasy and the worlds she has created.

[19 min 35 sec, 45.9MB MP3]

• Read our posts from Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2012
• Go to our page on the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2012

 

To Auckland, with love

The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival is nearing kick-offf time. There’s been a bit of a hoo ha about Michael Hastings cancelling his visit, but this is a mere hiccup in the scheme of things as more tickets have been released in response to heavy demand.

Roberta is looking forward to hearing A.D. Miller talk about Snowdrops, and the new Russia it explores:

a land of hedonism and desperation, corruption and kindness, magical dachas and debauched nightclubs; a place where secrets – and corpses – come to light only when the deep snows start to thaw …

There is lots more to come from the Festival. Gird your literary loins!

• Read our posts from Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2012
• Go to our page on the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2012

 

It’s not what they say, it’s the way they say it

Some people choose books by their covers; I often choose talking books by their narrators.

A bad narrator can ruin even a good book, and if you are unlucky enough to get a poor performer and a mediocre work, it’s excruciating.  Particularly if sex scenes are involved.

Good narrators bring the book to life with their faultless timing and great characterisations.  No easy task and I speak from bitter experience, having narrated a few Books for the Blind in my youth.  I remember one attempt at a German accent which still makes me wince when I think of it.  For a talking book, narration is a skill quite as important as writing, and arguably more difficult to find.

What makes a duff narrator?  Well, since I listen while driving, I especially dislike the sleep-inducing effect of monotonous voices.  Fake accents, nasty nasal or whiny voices, mispronunciation, overacting, underacting and bad timing also bring about road rage.

At the risk of sounding sexist, I prefer male narrators for most books, simply because they do a better job of female voices than female narrators do when impersonating males.  I suspect it’s something to do with the vocal cords, but for every male narrator who makes his females sound like drag queens, I find half a dozen females whose attempts to sound masculine are forced or ludicrous.  I gave up on one historical novel, not only because Henry VIII had an American accent, but because the narrator made him sound uncannily like Yogi Bear.

But there are some great narrators too, including:

• Alex Jennings, who can read a Dickens or Dostoyevsky with a cast of thousands and yet give every character their own voice.
• Tim Curry reads the Lemony Snicket books with great verve.
• Jonathan Cecil does a great upper-class twit Bertie and omniscient Jeeves in the P. G. Wodehouse books.
• Simon Slater – some people found Wolf Hall  difficult because they couldn’t work out who was speaking – you won’t have that trouble with this audio version.
• Juliet Stevenson – a fine and versatile narrator.

One thing I love about the OverDrive downloadable audio books is being able to listen to an excerpt and find out in advance if the narrator’s voice is as annoying as a child asking for ice-cream in a supermarket queue.

Who are your audio stars? And do you agree with my preference for male narrators?

 

Farting dogs and teen angst on OverDrive

Hopefully you are all aware that we offer a fabulous e-book and downloadable audio book service through OverDrive. What you may not know is that OverDrive also has a growing range of titles for children and teenagers.

If you are trying to get your sprogs away from their computers and interactive thingee gadgets, then perhaps this is the compromise?  They get the techy stuff to play with and you get to relax in the fact that they are reading or listening to stories. Happiness all round!  For example we have titles such as:

For kids

• Mr Popper’s Penguins
• Black Beauty
• The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctors
• The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series

For older kids

• Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children
• Accidental Love
• The Hunger Game Series 
• Fang for Freaks

You can access OverDrive titles from home only with your library card number and PIN. Enjoy!

 

Get down with your bad self at Naxos Music Library

The Naxos Music Library offers library members access to over 800,000 (and growing) musical tracks.  Musical genres include:

• Classical – including ballet, choral, opera, orchestral and musicals;
• Jazz;
• Gospel;
• World;
• Folk;
• Spoken word;
• Chinese music;
• Relaxation music.

You can select works by composer, artist, period, instrument or genre.  Although music can not be downloaded the ability to create streaming playlists allows for hours of continuous enjoyment.

If you find yourself loving this resource, don’t forget Naxos Video Library (not available to use inside community libraries) which is a performing arts video library containing concerts, operas, ballets, feature films and documentaries.

Access these and many other fantastic electronic resources  from home with your library card number and PIN, or at our open community libraries through the Source.