Borrowing ebooks from Overdrive

[Karawan]

Hello There,

I am new to Overdrive, as new member I tried many times to borrow ebooks from Overdrive platform, in which I have a validate account. I used my Library card (Philadelphia Free Library) number and PIN, but I couldn't borrow the ebooks that I want to.

I notice that I can borrow ebooks (maximum 6) only from my library,
I wonder how can we borrow ebooks available in other libraries through Overdrive, knowing that we have only one library card?

Can anyone know what is the solution please?

Best,

[JSWolf]

You have to have a library card for each library network you want to borrow eBooks from. There's no way around it.

[mgbino]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You have to have a library card for each library network you want to borrow eBooks from. There's no way around it.

Not entirely true. PA has a reciprocal library program where you can sign up for access to any participating libraries, which includes Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Philadelphia counties. You have to contact your home library for more information.

That being said, there is very little in the other counties than isn't available from FLP.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by mgbino

Not entirely true. PA has a reciprocal library program where you can sign up for access to any participating libraries, which includes Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Philadelphia counties. You have to contact your home library for more information.

That being said, there is very little in the other counties than isn't available from FLP.

I have a FLP account. Thanks, mgbino, for reminding me about the reciprocal library program, which may come in handy if ever a desired title is wait listed at FLP but not at one of the reciprocal libraries.

Karawan - I'm unsure where you live, and you specified that you were a new user of Overdrive. Nonetheless, because you are interested in expanding your access to library books, it's worth mentioning: BiblioTech - Bexar County's Digital Library (which uses 3M Cloud Library but not Overdrive) initially had neither a residency requirement nor a fee for out-of-jurisdiction patrons. Out of towners who registered earlier this year can continue using their library cards, but the library's "How to Register" page and the Registering For a Library Card section on the "Library Policies" page now appear to have narrowed eligibility for new subscribers to documented Bexar County residents, taxpayers, and their dependents.

[SteveEisenberg]

Virtually all Pennsylvania public libraries participate in the Access Pennsylvania program. These libraries issue cards to anyone who presents a home library card with an Access Pennsylvania sticker.

Most of these libraries will grant Overdrive eBook privileges to non-home patrons. But some only allow the away patrons to borrow physical materials. While this information isn't recent, in my experience neither the Delaware County nor the Bethlehem Area cards, for non-local patrons, work on their Overdrive collections.

While Overdrive collections are county-wide or regional, Axis360 collections are (except for Bucks County) tied to individual libraries. I suspect that those collections are mostly unavailable to out of area patrons; I can't use Horsham's Axis360 despite being in the same county.

Philadelphia's Overdrive collection has about half the title count of Allegheny County/Pittsburgh. I was on a business trip out there last month and got their card.

Third best after Allegheny and Philadelphia might be Bucks County, which offers both Overdrive and Axis360.

I personally find great differences between the collections. Take my recently expired Lackawanna County card. While I don't recommend that collection, I noticed it to include right wing political titles seen no where else. Adams and Westmorland Counties must be different as well, as they have the only two 3M collections in my state. But I don't have their cards.

Do I have time to read after getting all these cards? Yes, and more than we used to, when my wife and I had to physically visit unique libraries every time we wanted to borrow something different!

[mgbino]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Virtually all Pennsylvania public libraries participate in the Access Pennsylvania program. These libraries issue cards to anyone who presents a home library card with an Access Pennsylvania sticker.

Most of these libraries will grant Overdrive eBook privileges to non-home patrons. But some only allow the away patrons to borrow physical materials. While this information isn't recent, in my experience neither the Delaware County nor the Bethlehem Area cards, for non-local patrons, work on their Overdrive collections.

While Overdrive collections are county-wide or regional, Axis360 collections are (except for Bucks County) tied to individual libraries. I suspect that those collections are mostly unavailable to out of area patrons; I can't use Horsham's Axis360 despite being in the same county.

Philadelphia's Overdrive collection has about half the title count of Allegheny County/Pittsburgh. I was on a business trip out there last month and got their card.

Third best after Allegheny and Philadelphia might be Bucks County, which offers both Overdrive and Axis360.

I personally find great differences between the collections. Take my recently expired Lackawanna County card. While I don't recommend that collection, I noticed it to include right wing political titles seen no where else. Adams and Westmorland Counties must be different as well, as they have the only two 3M collections in my state. But I don't have their cards.

Do I have time to read after getting all these cards? Yes, and more than we used to, when my wife and I had to physically visit unique libraries every time we wanted to borrow something different!

I can at least confirm that Montgomery County's card works for non-local patrons on Overdrive, and they have a solid collection.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mgbino

Not entirely true. PA has a reciprocal library program where you can sign up for access to any participating libraries, which includes Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Philadelphia counties. You have to contact your home library for more information.

That being said, there is very little in the other counties than isn't available from FLP.

Any chance you could post a link to where this agreement information lives? I have occasionally found stuff FLP doesn't have that some other PA library systems do have that I've been looking for.

[Karawan]

Originally Posted by mgbino

Not entirely true. PA has a reciprocal library program where you can sign up for access to any participating libraries, which includes Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Philadelphia counties. You have to contact your home library for more information.

That being said, there is very little in the other counties than isn't available from FLP.

Thank you for your reply, Because I read in Business books "Business Strategy", all the ebooks that I found in Overdrive search are not in Philadelphia Library.
I still don't know what is the point of Overdrive, if we are not allow to borrow ebooks from it. I think Overdrive allow to read only from your digital library collection.
I hope this is not true,, because there is many ebooks that I wanna read in Business strategy

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Karawan

Thank you for your reply, Because I read in Business books "Business Strategy", all the ebooks that I found in Overdrive search are not in Philadelphia Library.
I still don't know what is the point of Overdrive, if we are not allow to borrow ebooks from it. I think Overdrive allow to read only from your digital library collection.
I hope this is not true,, because there is many ebooks that I wanna read in Business strategy

What libraries are you a member of? Overdrive doesn't directly lend books to anyone--they supply the books to the various libraries, and the libraries lend to the people.

Shari

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Karawan

I still don't know what is the point of Overdrive, if we are not allow to borrow ebooks from it.

Are you saying you can't check out any books or that there is nothing available that interests you?

I think Overdrive allow to read only from your digital library collection.
I hope this is not true,, because there is many ebooks that I wanna read in Business strategy

Of course you can only access books your library has purchased access for.

If your library doesn't have copies of what you want to read most have a method for requesting books to put on their buy list. They want to know what patrons are interested in.

[pidgeon92]

To put it another way, Overdrive is a distributor, not a retailer. They don't sell to the end user.

[HarryT]

You could of course set up your own library, and buy books from Overdrive from it.