Vicki Varney, Library Director Library Hours: Tues. & Thurs., Noon to 7 P.M., Sat., 9:30 A.M. to Noon

I Can Do What with my Turner Public Library Card?? The short answer is – a whole lot more than we could have dreamed even a few years ago. It was just last winter that our Library Director started subscribing to Overdrive, a service that allows our cardholders to download audiobooks to their personal computers, and then to their portable devices. That we could offer a greatly expanded assortment of audiobooks, and that patrons could access them from home at their convenience, at any time of day or night, seemed a wonderful opportunity. Since then a growing number of our patrons have gone to www.turnerpubliclibrary.org, clicked on the Download Audiobooks button, and taken advantage of this latest service. Recently, we asked several of our patrons to give us their impressions of the experience. One writes, “I found it very easy to load the software initially and then download the books. Overdrive has a wide variety of books available. My family has listened to fiction, non-fiction, adult and children’s titles. We’ve downloaded to our mp3 players and made CD’s to listen to in the car. You have to pay attention to the options when searching material, but it’s very clear what the options are. Most titles are readily available. Some you have to request and wait for, but I’ve found that it hasn’t taken too long and I am notified via email when the title is available. “After listening to audio cds I had gotten from the library, I started searching for audio services online that I could download from the internet. I found that many of them were quite a bit per month, and too expensive for what I would use. So I was really surprised to find that this free service is available through our library. And since we are all trying to use our money wisely these days I’m very appreciative! I have recommended this service to all of my friends who listen to audiobooks”. Another patron replied, “I have downloaded Overdrive onto my MacBook using my Turner Library Card. I have downloaded about 6 audiobooks in the past few months from Spanish to Shakespeare, botany to history. I’ve also reserved books. Some reserve books were ready for the taking before my seven day time was up on the two books I checked out, so I had to pass on my reserves and go back for them later. “I am limited to the books for mp3 players because I am downloading to a MacBook, but even that list more than satisfies my interests. Since I work from home and am on the road a lot, audio books are the way to go.” Whether you are a seasoned Overdrive user, or are using the service for the first time, we would love to hear your reactions. One of our corporators who makes frequent use of the service feels that although the online program walks a patron through the system fairly well, patrons less familiar with the technology might benefit from a demonstration, and has offered to put a presentation together. Another suggests that we might offer a series of demonstrations at the library. Would this be helpful to you? Let us know what you think. We’re open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to seven, and on Saturdays from 9:30 to noon. You can reach us by phone at 225 2030.

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