Tag: Indiana Digital Download Center

The #BigLibraryRead with Overdrive and Libby!

Posted on by Olivia

Check out November’s Big Library Read! This virtual book club run by Overdrive allows thousands of library patrons like you to check out the same e-book at the same time without any holds or wait lists!

This November, join thousands of other Overdrive and Libby users as we read Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards together! This wild, heart-pounding thriller is sure to keep those (virtual) pages turning. So, cozy up with a new book as the weather gets colder and get reading! Use the hashtag #BigLibraryRead on social media for a chance to win Libby swag, a tablet, and signed books by the author!

If you are new to Overdrive or Libby and would like assistance in setting up your account, please contact the Aurora or Dillsboro Public Libraries or speak to a librarian. We’re here to help!

Rainy Day Reads

Posted on by Shelby

April showers brought the May flowers, but it’s been pretty rainy still. With the weather as fickle as it’s been, I don’t want to leave my driveway. With OverDrive, it’s possible to lounge around my house all day without ever running out of things to read, watch, or listen to.

Here are some just-added items from the Indiana Digital Download Center:

Compulsion by Martina Boone

The Dysasters by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Captive Heart by Glynnis Campbell

Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly

Boy Erased by Garrard Conley

The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

Come Find Me by Megan Miranda

A Sucky Love Story by Brittani Louise Taylor

The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

The Silent Invader by Thomas Wood

Place these upcoming releases on hold to read in your blanket fort!

Dead Man’s Mistress by David Housewright

Two Weeks by Karen Kingsbury

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Murder in the City of Liberty by Rachel McMillan

The Peacock Emporium by Jojo Moyes

Tightrope by Amanda Quick

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

Neon Prey by John Sandford

Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton

So many books, so little time! Do you have a go-to rainy day read? My favorite might have to be Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë if only for the opening paragraphs:

“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of the question.

I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.”

Happy Reading!

Urban Fantasy on OverDrive

Posted on by Shelby

If you use OverDrive with any regularity, you might have noticed that the featured books that scroll on the homepage change all the time. Right now, the featured books fit into Urban Fantasy, a subgenre of Fantasy.

Sometimes people hear the word “fantasy” and run in the opposite direction; it can be hard to imagine entire worlds and creatures beyond what our world is already filled with. Urban Fantasy happens in the real world with magical elements and creatures added, usually blending in with regular humans. While this genre is super popular with children and teens (think Harry Potter and Isabella Swan), there are plenty of adult titles for those of us who still choose to believe that anything is possible.

Here are a few of the titles that are featured on OverDrive:

Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series takes place in Cincinnati and features bounty hunter Rachel Morgan, a witch whose job is to make sure the vampires all get along.

Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series features the namesake, a mechanic who also has the ability to shapeshift into a coyote with neighbors ranging from a gremlin to a werewolf.

Kevin Hearne’s The Iron Druid Chronicles features Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids who runs a bookshop and shapeshifts in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound.

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files series follows wizard Harry Dresden as he works for the Chicago Police Department, catching all things paranormal.

Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series is about MacKayla — Mac for short — who is a seer of the Fae trying to solve her sister’s murder.

Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires series follows Merit, a former graduate student turned vampire who has to navigate the treacherous Chicago nightlife.

(And that’s just to page three of the featured books!) Chock-full of action and intrigue, these books will hook you and won’t let you put them down.

If you’re a fan of fantasy and the impossible with likable, realistic characters, then give Urban Fantasy a try! You can download any of these books to any device to read anywhere without the bulk of a physical book. All you need is an Internet connection (which you can use for free at any of our branches), the OverDrive app, your library card, and your pin number. If you’re unsure what your pin is or if you’ve never set one up before, stop by and see us and or give us a call. We can also walk you through downloading digital titles at the desk if you bring your device in.

Don’t forget about downloading the Libby app! Libby will put all of your library cards, downloads, and holds in one spot for your convenience. Ask us how!

Happy Reading!

National Library Week

Posted on by Shelby

It’s here! The week you’ve been waiting for all year! National Library Week is April 7 — 13 this year! Yay!

Libraries are full of so much more than books. Our shelves are full of fiction, nonfiction, picture books, early reading books, juvenile chapter books, teen books, audiobooks, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, and CDs. Our items are simultaneously full of reference and escape at the same time.

You can come in and connect to our WiFi for free, or hop onto one of the public computers to print copies or scan documents to your email. Need to make a copy of something? Find our public copy machine, and don’t be afraid to ask a staff member for help.

Visit our community information centers to learn about events taking place throughout the community. Or sign up for our newsletter either by visiting our website or by stopping by one of the desks to keep up-to-date on all things library-related. You can also like and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or read more blogs! Learn about upcoming programs and events for all ages and interests. You’ll be the first to know (and sign up!) about all the cool stuff we have planned.

Have you checked out our digital collection yet? You can use your library card and pin number to access the Indiana Digital Download Center, a digital library full of thousands of titles, including videos and audiobooks. If you don’t know what your pin is or haven’t set one up yet, just stop by the desk or give us a call. Then you’ll be able to read on the go with your tablet or smartphone while not worrying about late fees, because when your loan has ended, the item will automatically check itself back in!

The Local History Library @ the Depot contains historical books and documents, yearbooks, newspapers, maps, and more on Aurora, Dillsboro, and the surrounding communities. The staff there would be happy to help you research your house or genealogy, or leave you alone to let you work in the quiet. The Dillsboro Public Library also houses the Local History Room downstairs with even more local history artifacts, photographs, and documents.

Are you looking to stock up your own library? On the third Friday and Saturday of every month, the Dillsboro Public Library promotes its $1 Per Bag sale, where you can visit the Book Sale in the basement and fill up as many bags as you want with items and only pay $1 per bag. But don’t worry if you aren’t able to make it in on the $1 Per Bag weekends; the Book Sale is ongoing during regular library hours. The most you’ll ever pay for any one item is $1.

These are just a few of the services our library offers! I could go on and on about book discussions, bags of books for teachers, the Summer Reading Program, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten and more, but you should really stop in and see for yourself. If you live in our district and have a valid I.D. showing your current address or a piece of metered mail, you will not be discriminated against getting a free library card of your own. You will not be judged on the items you check out or the questions you ask us; we are here to help you and to serve you.

We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your patronage, and our staff loves to serve you!

Happy Reading, Watching, and Listening! And thank you!

Marvelous Magazines

Posted on by Shelby

The Library has magazines!

While this isn’t anything new, one might not necessarily know that one can check out magazines from the Aurora Public Library District — I’ll admit, magazines aren’t the first materials I think of when I think about the items available to check out. But we do have them, and you can check out up to ten magazines at a time for two weeks, just like a book.

We have all sorts of magazines available, too, from history magazines, DIY magazines, celebrity and entertainment magazines, cooking magazines, science magazines, automobile magazines, animal magazines, magazines for children, health magazines, fiction magazines, news magazines, and so much more! There’s bound to be something to pique your interest!

Magazines are a great way to get the non-reader to read more because they can trick one into reading the articles with their glossy photographs and pages; you might not even realize that you’re reading when you’re casually thumbing through a magazine, just waiting for something to jump out at you. Since the writers of magazine articles have to stick within a strict word count to maintain the layout of the pages, the information is handed to the reader quickly, allowing the reader to jump from article to article as they interest them.

As we are thrown right into the thick of the busy holiday season, magazines are a great way for you to keep reading without consuming much of your time. Not to mention, they’re a great way to look up unique recipes and gifts for get-togethers everyone will be sure to love. You can’t go wrong!

Now you can check out magazines with OverDrive. If you haven’t already, download the OverDrive app to your device as well as the Libby app, which will make reading and checkout so much easier for you. The best part (besides no late fees)? There is no wait time for magazines! As soon as you check out a magazine, it will be available for you to download, even if other patrons have the magazine checked out. You will never have to wait!

Happy Reading!

Baking with APLD

Posted on by Shelby

Listen, now is not the time to go on a diet. The holidays are staring us right in the face and the cold weather is making us layer up, so the time is right to experiment with all kinds of baking. The Aurora Public Library District can help! Instead of going out and buying tons of cookbooks you’ll only flip through once, check out up to ten cookbooks at a time for two weeks (+ two renewals on top of that = a potential month and a half of borrowing a book).

(Since I let you in on that little secret, you now have to bring me a sample of whatever it is you bake.)

The cookbooks begin on the nonfiction shelves with the call numbers 641. If you’re anything like me, you’ll easily get lost in the cookbooks, so it might be more fun for you to browse in person rather than going through our online catalog. But you can certainly do both! Personally, I can’t wait to check out American Cookie by Anne Byrn.

Maybe you’re looking to experiment with baking bread. We have all sorts of books with recipes for bakers of all levels.

 

Or maybe you want to start making more pies, tarts, or brownies. These might be some of the most underrated items of all the baked goods, in my opinion.

 

What about cakes? We have tons of titles on baking and decorating cakes to help you hone your skills. There are tons of new flavors to try too, instead of just plain white or chocolate cake. You can experiment with fillings and various flavor combinations to your heart’s content.

 

And we can’t forget about cookies! There plenty of titles for you to check out about all kinds of cookies, too, whether you’re looking for cake mix cookies, no-bake cookies, Christmas cookies, and more.

 

If you have little ones, we also have lots of books for baking and cooking with children. You’ll love spending time with children, making memories, and helping them learn new skills. Plus, with kids, anything goes, so that means you get to lick the batter, too! (I would have done that normally, but this isn’t about me.)

Maybe you’d rather browse online for recipes. Sign on to one of our public computers with your library card to scour the Internet to your heart’s content. If you need to print a recipe off, it’s only $.10 per black and white page or $1.00 per color page. You can also make copies directly from the books with our public copy machines.

It’s getting colder and the weather might start to get a little dicey, so you might not want to make the trip to the Library. We understand, and you’re in luck because you can also download baking titles digitally straight to your device from the Indiana Digital Download Center with OverDrive. Flip through digital recipe books and screenshot the images so you can have the recipes forever.

I want to help you hibernate this winter surrounded by baked goods and comfort food. So, Happy Reading! (And Eating!)

Awesome Audiobooks

Posted on by Shelby

You probably already know that you can download digital titles right to your smartphone or tablet with OverDrive, but did you know about the extensive audiobook collection available for download on the Indiana Digital Download Center? One of my favorite things to do is to download audiobooks right to my phone so I can listen to them while I’m driving or working around the house; it’s so convenient to have books right on my phone, which I already take with me everywhere anyway.

If you’re new to OverDrive and aren’t sure where to start, please stop by one of the branches in the Aurora Public Library District or give one of them a call so we can walk you through the process. The first thing you’ll need to set up with your account is a pin number, which you might already have. This number is what you type in when you renew your books online. If you aren’t sure if you have a pin — or if you’ve forgotten it — a staff member can set up a new one for you in seconds.

Whatever you’re in the mood for, OverDrive has it. You can search by title, author, genre, new releases, and titles available now. I really enjoy listening to memoirs because they are usually read by the author.

If you’d rather listen to audiobooks on CD, we also have a large collection of those for you to check out as well. At the Aurora branch, the audiobooks on CD have recently moved upstairs into what was formerly the Paperback Room when paperback fiction books were integrated into the regular fiction collection. You can browse the selection by stopping by either the Aurora or Dillsboro branches, or by searching our catalog online. If there’s an audiobook we don’t have that you’d like to listen to, you can always put a request in through Interlibrary Loan.

If you aren’t sure what audiobook to try first, I recommend listening to a book you’ve already read. That way, you know what happens already so if you find yourself zoning out, you won’t be missing anything. Many library patrons read the book and listen to the audiobook simultaneously, which can be helpful for you to be able to flip back and forth if you do miss or forget something. You can be immersed in the story wherever you go when you just can’t put the book down.

It seems like people either really love listening to audiobooks or they really hate it. I think that anyone can love an audiobook if they have an awesome narrator. Even if you don’t think you’ll like listening to someone read to you, or you’ve tried audiobooks before and can’t seem to get into them, I encourage you to try just one more time. Ask any of the staff at the Aurora Public Library District for recommendations! We’d be happy to help!

Happy Listening!

Kingdom of Ash

Posted on by Shelby

Sarah J. Maas’s final book in the Throne of Glass series is set to be released on October 23, 2018. If you’ve read any of my other blogs, you know that I am just a little obsessed with this series, and now it will be all coming to an end! While I am excited to see what happens to my favorite characters, I am also sad to see them go. Luckily, I can jump back into their stories any time I want when I reread the series.

Sarah J. Maas has been developing this series since she was sixteen years old. She had originally posted a version of the first novel — originally titled Queen of Glass — on the website FictionPress.com before the publishing company, Bloomsbury, picked it up. Maas had a gigantic online following which brought her writing to Bloomsbury’s attention. Throne of Glass was published on August 7, 2012 and was inspired in part by Disney’s Cinderella. Anticipating the release of the first novel, Bloomsbury also released eBook editions of the four prequel novels, which you can download from the Indiana Digital Download Center.

Throne of Glass follows Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan’s deadliest assassin, as she is plucked from her enslavement by the Crown Prince of Adarlan himself, Dorian Havilliard. Dorian summons her to the castle to fight as his champion in his father’s competition to become the King’s Champion, or the king’s own personal assassin. She must compete with twenty-three other champions from all kinds of backgrounds to win. Meanwhile, something dark and evil is stalking the palace and champions are turning up dead. It’s up to Celaena to discover what’s killing the competitors before she winds up dead herself.

The first book in this series is just the beginning; it becomes clear throughout the rest of the series that something even more sinister is taking place, and Celaena’s journey to win her freedom is simply the catalyst. You’ll find witches, giant spiders, wyverns, magic, royalty, secret identities, and love peppering this action-packed series that will keep you guessing until the very last page of each installment. I honestly don’t know how the series is going to end, which stresses me out a little.

You still have a little bit of time to read or reread the six books already in the series before the seventh, Kingdom of Ash, is released on October 23, 2018. The Aurora Public Library District does own several physical copies of some of the books, but the entire series — including the prequels — is available to download from the Indiana Digital Download Center. You can also request the books through Interlibrary Loan by filling in the form online, calling, or stopping by one of the desks. You might want to put your name on the list for the seventh book, too, to reserve your spot as quickly as you can! Call the library or stop by one of the desks today!

Happy Reading!

Nonfiction: True Crime

Posted on by Shelby

Halloween is not the only time to put you in the mood to be scared with terrifying stories and creepy movies. If chilling stories are for you, then an overlooked section of nonfiction would be the true crime section, beginning with the call number 364. Section 364 is the true crime section, where you can read real stories and accounts of actual crimes and people, like unsolved murder mysteries, information on different serial killers, and more. Not only will you be scared witless, you’ll learn a little something along the way as well.

I believe true crime stories like the ones housed throughout the Aurora Public Library District continue to fascinate us because we want to understand the psychology of those who are different, especially those who are accused or convicted of horrendous crimes. We want to see what makes them so different from us “normal” people when we all look “normal” on the outside– at least, that’s why I find them so fascinating. What makes these accounts all the more terrifying is the fact that they actually did happen and could very well happen to anyone today.

A few of the titles you’ll find on the shelves are:

The 10 Worst Serial Killers by Victor McQueen

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi

Cellar of Horror by Ken Englade

Cruel Sacrifice by Aphrodite Jones

The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall

Dead by Sunset: Perfect Husband, Perfect Killer? by Ann Rule

Along with the physical copies of true crime stories housed at the Aurora and Dillsboro branches, we also have several digital copies of various true crime stories available from the Indiana Digital Download Center. Stop by one of the branches to browse the shelves or you can always browse our virtual shelves online.

Happy Reading!

National Read an E-Book Week

Posted on by Shelby

I know it seems like there are holidays celebrating everything under the sun, but, to me, that means there’s always an excuse for a party and cake!

March 4-10 is National Read an E-Book Week, and the Indiana Digital Download Center has everything you’re looking for and more! What better way to celebrate than by holing yourself up in the comfort of your own home and plowing through as many e-books as you can throughout the week?

Sometimes you don’t want to leave the house; you don’t want to make yourself look presentable, put on real pants, and drive to the library. I get it. All of the staff at the Aurora Public Library District get it. It doesn’t offend us at all! But sometimes you need a book to read, and you need it now.

If you have a smartphone, computer, e-Reader, or tablet (like an iPad, or something like it), you can download the free app OverDrive right to your device. While you’re downloading apps to your device, you might as well find the free Kindle reading app, too; many books available through OverDrive and the Indiana Digital Download Center are formatted for the Kindle, so having the reading app makes it easier for you to download books to your device without you having to continually read in your browser, which eats up your data or can deter you from reading at all, if you don’t have WiFi.

Once your app is downloaded, you’ll be able to find us under the Aurora Public Library District. It is important that you select this option. Next, you’ll type in your library card number located on the back of your library card, and your pin number. Your pin number is a four-digit number that you would have set up when you applied for a library card. If you’re unsure as to what your pin number is, or if you believe you never set one up, just give us a call or stop in. We can’t see what you set your pin number from our screens, but we can reset it for you.

Then, you’re ready to browse! Browse the collection by what’s available now, search for specific titles, and even browse specific reading levels, like teen, children, and mature adult. When you’ve made a selection, just click to borrow the title or put it on hold. You can download the title as a PDF to your computer to transfer to your other devices, read from your Internet browser, or download the title directly to your device with the Kindle reading app or as an ePub with iBooks. In your settings, you can customize your lending period for 7, 14, or 21 days. The best part about that? After your lending period is up, the title automatically disappears, which means no late fees!

Despite the convenience offered to you with OverDrive, this process can be a little confusing. If you get stuck, please feel free to give the library a call and we can walk you through the process. Or stop in and bring your device and we’ll go through each step together. We would love to help you!

Happy Reading!