Public Libraries and Digital Services

[tubemonkey]

Public Libraries are changing to meet the demands of today's digital world. It wasn't too long ago that they had very few digital services available for download. Now, they're not only increasing their collections; but they're diversifying with other alternatives to OverDrive.

The purpose of this thread is to make us aware of and to discuss the various providers and how to check out their content. Each time I introduce a new provider in this thread, I'll index it to this post for easy referencing.

OverDrive is by far, the largest provider of ebooks and audiobooks to public libraries. Most of us are aware of it and how to use it, so I won't start there. I'll eventually get to it, though. For now, I plan to introduce some of the lesser known providers.

Let me know about providers I missed.


Providers

• Hoopla --> audiobooks, music, videos --> discussion starts here

Future Discussion

• 3M Cloud Library --> audiobooks, ebooks
• Axis 360 --> audiobooks, ebooks
• BookFlix --> ebooks, video storybooks
• Books24x7 --> ebooks (business, technical)
• Disney Digital Books --> interactive books
• EBSCOhost --> audiobooks, ebooks
• Freading --> ebooks
• OneClick Digital --> audiobooks, ebooks
• Open Library --> ebooks
• OverDrive --> audiobooks, ebooks, music, videos
• TrueFlix --> True Books
• TumbleBook Library --> animated talking picture books

Other Resources (databases, courses, music, videos, magazines, newspapers)

• Consumer Reports --> magazine
• ebrary --> ebooks
• Freegal Movies --> videos
• Freegal Music --> music, music videos
• Gale Virtual Reference Library --> ebooks
• Mango Languages --> language
• Microsoft IT Academy --> Microsoft courses
• Music Online --> music (audio, video, scores, text)
• Naxos Music Library --> music
• PressReader --> newspapers, magazines
• Zinio --> magazines

[tubemonkey]

Hoopla

hoopla is an innovative new service that partners with your local public library to bring you thousands of movies, television, music, and audiobook titles for free. There are no costs or hassles. All you need is a library card and a web browser, phone, or tablet.

This is a fairly new content provider for public libraries. They've been around since Jan 2013. They're not very widespread at the moment, but plan to increase their library clientele substantially this year. Only four of my libraries carry this provider and only one of those include the audiobook service. All of them have the music and video services.

I recently signed up for this provider; in fact, I created separate accounts at two different libraries in order to maximize the number of checkouts I have available. Each account required a different email address for login. I tried using the same one like I can do with multiple OneClick Digital accounts, but it didn't work.

Hoopla is a streaming service and requires an internet connection in order to work. It works on computers and mobile Android and iOS devices. You can't download the content for offline playback or playback on non-net devices like MP3 players. Additionally, you can only use it on one device at a time; but it does allow you to switch devices and pick up where you left off.

It appears that their entire catalog is available to libraries. Instead of buying content, libraries pay a small fee to Hoopla for each item borrowed. All items are available for check out all of the time. So if 200 library patrons wish to borrow the Hunger Games at the same time, they can do so. To accommodate their budgets, libraries limit the number of check outs each patron is allowed per month. For example, my libraries allow anywhere from 8 to 20 check outs per calendar month. Once you reach that limit, you have to wait until the following month before you're allowed to borrow more material.

Check out periods range from three days for videos to seven days for music (entire albums) to 21 days for audiobooks. You can return items early, but there's no advantage to doing so. It doesn't free up the item for someone else, since all items are always available. In addition, it doesn't increase the number of items you're allowed to borrow.

edit:

I currently have 10 audiobooks (Twilight Zone Radio Dramas) that I checked out on 28 Feb and due 21 Mar. Since today starts a new month, I'm now allowed to check out 10 more items; even though I currently have items checked out. With this library, I could have up to 20 items checked out at a time.

[silverraven]

I haven't checked in a while, can you finally download the books through Hoopla? For a while you could only listen through your browser. Sorry Hoopla, but I don't want to sit in front of my computer to listen to an audio book, but that's just me.
I much prefer One Click Digital to Hoopla. Overdrive is of course the best so far. 3M is ok, but I think they are strictly ebook. My library also has Freading, EBSCO Host, Open Library, Zinio, Freegal Music, TumbleBookLibrary, Books24x7 and Axis 360. I have used Zinio for magazines and love it.
S

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by silverraven

I haven't checked in a while, can you finally download the books through Hoopla? For a while you could only listen through your browser. Sorry Hoopla, but I don't want to sit in front of my computer to listen to an audio book, but that's just me.
I much prefer One Click Digital to Hoopla. Overdrive is of course the best so far. 3M is ok, but I think they are strictly ebook. My library also has Freading, EBSCO Host, Open Library, Zinio, Freegal Music, TumbleBookLibrary, Books24x7 and Axis 360. I have used Zinio for magazines and love it.
S

I was adding more to my post while you were posting

No downloads allowed; but they do have apps for Android and iOS devices. I tried an audiobook on my Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Fire HD. Works like a charm and syncs across all devices.

Amazing how content providers have increased over the years and the choices we now have. While it won't be my first choice for audiobooks, Hoopla will be an option for audiobooks I can't get elsewhere.

For videos, the service is very limiting. You download by episode instead of seasons. Imagine how long it will take to view a six season series with 20+ episodes per season when you're only allowed to borrow 10 episodes each month.

[Sydney's Mom]

Zinio is the best thing since sliced bread (I have to come up with a new one; when I say this, my daughter looks at me like I am a dinasour). There are no waitlists for magazines, there are no limits on the number you can check out, there are back issues available (looks like for the past year) and once you check out a magazine, it never expires!

[tdonline]

My libraries offer quite a few of these services, but I've stuck to Overdrive. My hangup is--dealing with multiple apps and platform-restrictions. I have a Nook Touch and Android phone.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Zinio is the best thing since sliced bread (I have to come up with a new one; when I say this, my daughter looks at me like I am a dinasour). There are no waitlists for magazines, there are no limits on the number you can check out, there are back issues available (looks like for the past year) and once you check out a magazine, it never expires!

In other words, free subscriptions. I'm lovin' it too

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Hoopla

I recently signed up for this provider; in fact, I created separate accounts at two different libraries in order to maximize the number of checkouts I have available. Each account required a different email address for login. I tried using the same one like I can do with multiple OneClick Digital accounts, but it didn't work.

Have you tried using myaccount@gmail.com vs. my.account@gmail.com? For gmail, at least, both will go to the same account, but since that isn't part of the email specifications, I don't know of any services that will recognize them as the same. It's pretty handy, for lots of things including setting up gmail filters.

[artifact]

Not in your list and offered by my library is Music Online. Bold text to highlight the non-audio content. Quoting my library's services page:

Streaming music
Music Online - Alexander Street Press

Music Online is a streaming audio, video, reference and scores collection with a fully cross-searchable suite of hundreds of thousands of classical, jazz, American, and world music recordings; scores; and pages of full-text reference content.

Also they include the following as available to all which may or may not qualify to be added to your list.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale Virtual Reference Library: More than 1,400 reference e-books, plus every Gale information database at Multnomah County Library.

Public Library Complete from ebrary
ebrary: E-books from trusted publishers in all academic subject areas, along with powerful research tools.

Internet Archive
Internet Archive: Offers permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format. Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in their collections.

Open Culture
Open Culture: High-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. Audio books, online courses, movies, language lessons, e-books and other enriching content — it’s all here.

Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg: The first and largest single collection of free e-books. Most of the over 38,000 titles in the collection are full-text of public domain books. There is also an audiobook collection.

(no links for those that had library-specific URLs.)

[SteveEisenberg]

I've been watching OneClickDigital since, last year, controversial blogger Mike Shatzkin wrote about his advising parent Recorded Books on how to make a big move into library eBooks. At least two of my libraries (Philadelphia, and Bucks County Pennsylvania) have OneClickDigital audio books, but neither has the claimed "comprehensive" eBook collection:

http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.c...eaction=rb.ocd

The next town over from me has, for residents only, a few OneClickDigital eBooks, but out-of-copyright only:

http://narberthpa.oneclickdigital.co...Search.aspx?s=

Has anyone found a library where OneClickDigital is good for eBooks?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

The next town over from me has, for residents only, a few OneClickDigital eBooks, but out-of-copyright only:

http://narberthpa.oneclickdigital.co...Search.aspx?s=

Has anyone found a library where OneClickDigital is good for eBooks?

One of my libraries has a few OCD ebooks (50 titles). It's a mix as far as copyright is concerned.

[cromag]

I've used Freegal for music. Their website is an absolute train wreck -- the worst I have ever used, going back to the 90s. They revamped it completely a few months ago, and managed to not improve a darn thing.

Still, if they have something you're looking for, their downloads seem to be high quality, at a good bit rate, and well-tagged.

They only keep track of your downloads for a week, so it's very easy to accidentally download the same track over (and over) again. And, if you lose a download your only option is to download it again and have it count against your weekly maximum. (My weekly max is three tracks -- I don't know if that varies by your library system.)

[tubemonkey]

One more thing about Hoopla:

I currently have 10 audiobooks (Twilight Zone Radio Dramas) that I checked out on 28 Feb and due 21 Mar. Since today starts a new month, I'm now allowed to check out 10 more items; even though I currently have items checked out. With this library, I could have up to 20 items checked out at a time.

[taming]

Naxos Music Library "is the most comprehensive collection of classical music available online. It includes the complete Naxos and Marco Polo catalogues of over half a million tracks, including Classical music, Jazz, World, Folk and Chinese music. Also included are such independent labels as BIS, Hyperion, Analekta, CBC, and Nimbus. Whilst listening, you can read notes on the works being played as well as biographical information on composers or artists in Naxos's extensive database." (from the Red Deer Public Library description)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by artifact

Not in your list and offered by my library is Music Online. Bold text to highlight the non-audio content. Quoting my library's services page:

Originally Posted by taming

Naxos Music Library "is the most comprehensive collection of classical music available online. It includes the complete Naxos and Marco Polo catalogues of over half a million tracks, including Classical music, Jazz, World, Folk and Chinese music. Also included are such independent labels as BIS, Hyperion, Analekta, CBC, and Nimbus. Whilst listening, you can read notes on the works being played as well as biographical information on composers or artists in Naxos's extensive database." (from the Red Deer Public Library description)

Thanks you two - added to OP