Embracing the eBook revolution!

It looks like Invercargill City Libraries borrowers are embracing the eBook revolution!

To date, there have been 523 checkouts of eBooks and eAudiobooks from the South Island Downloadable Zone (powered by OverDrive), 25% of which have been by Invercargill people, well ahead of any of the other 14 South Island consortium members.

The new service has been so popular that you may have noticed that there are not many titles currently available for downloading, as so many are already checked out. You can, of course, always place a hold on any title you want to read that is currently out and you will be alerted by email when it is available for you to download.

As of today we have added a number of Advantage titles to our OverDrive website. These are titles that are only accessible to Invercargill patrons and are in addition to the titles available to all consortium members.

Remember you will need to sign in with your Invercargill City Libraries card number if you want to be able to see and access these exclusive Invercargill library titles. If you do not sign in you will only see the titles shared by all consortium members.

Still mystified by the whole process of borrowing eBooks and eAudiobooks? Click through to the South Island Downloadable Zone and visit the “Getting started” section for step-by-step instructions, or contact the library in person, by phone, email, or via Facebook or Twitter, and we will try to help.

eBooks and eAudio books are here!

Invercargill City Libraries are very excited to announce the launch of our new eBook and eAudio book service, OverDrive. From Monday 3 October you will be able to download free eBooks and eAudio books from home via a link from our Library website, www.ilibrary.co.nz We have joined the South Island Downloadable Zone consortium of 15 South Island public libraries to bring you access to OverDrive. This means we will be sharing the collection with other libraries, with one person able to use a title at a time.

The initial collection of eBooks and eAudio consists of adult fiction titles, with an emphasis on popular and best seller titles. As the collection develops in size and demand for the service increases, popular nonfiction, young adult titles, and children’s content will be added.

This is such an exciting time and we invite you to join in the celebrations of a change in the publishing world.

What you need

· A valid Invercargill City Libraries card

· A computer with internet access (preferably broadband), or a mobile device such as an iPad, iPhone, or Android device etc

· Free software available from our OverDrive website: OverDrive Media Console and Adobe Digital Editions

· A device for reading eBooks, such as a Kobo or Sony Reader etc

· Something to listen to eAudio books (some of these can be burned to CD; others need to be played through a device such as an MP3 player etc)

Loan period

You can choose 7, 14, or 21 days. Titles automatically expire when the due date is reached, or eBooks can be “returned” early if you finish before the due date.

Holds

You can place a hold on any title that is currently out to someone else and you will be notified by email when it is ready for you to download. You will then have three days to download the title.

Number of items

You can borrow up to five items at a time (this includes eBooks and eAudio), and have holds on a further five items. These do not count against your usual 50 physical item limit at the Library.

Cost

OverDrive is free to users with a valid Invercargill City Libraries card. Items are free to download, and place holds on. You will never be charged any overdue fees for OverDrive items as they are automatically “returned” when the due date is reached.

To access the OverDrive

· Go to http://www.ilibrary.co.nz

· Click the “Digital” tab along the top of the screen

· Click the OverDrive link

· Find an available item you want to read or listen to, and add it to your basket.

When you are asked to login, you will need to select “Invercargill City Libraries” from the list of consortium libraries. Then click the next link as directed. You will then be taken to a page where you need to enter your valid Library card number.

Help

There is detailed, step-by-step help and FAQs on the South Island Downloadable Zone OverDrive website. Feel free to explore these and see if they answer any questions you may have. You will also find lists available of compatible devices etc on the website. Library Help Desk staff will also be able to assist you with basic enquiries about OverDrive, so please give us a call or come in and have a chat about the new service.

Go on an Odyssey

I was tidying our graphic novel collection the other day and stumbled across not one, but three, different re-tellings of Homer's Odyssey. This got me thinking, “Just how many versions of the famous poem do we have?”

the Odyssey is a poem written by the Greek poet Homer nearly 3 thousand years ago. The story takes place after the Trojan war which was around 1200 BC. Our Hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca (also known as Ulysses to the Romans), was the man who came up with the whole Trojan horse trick, winning the war for the Greeks. It turns out however that some of the Gods were not impressed by Odysseus' trick, so they decided to stop him getting home. According to legend after 10 years fighting the war it took Odysseus another 10 years to get home. By this time his son Telemachus has grown up and his wife is beset by suitors who assume Odysseus is dead and there is a kingdom up for grabs.

The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus' trials and tribulations as he tries to get home and save his family.

Here at the library we have English versions of the poem in various formats. We have both illustrated and non-illustrated versions as well as a full uncut audio-book and a full graphic novel version by award winning graphic novel author Gareth Hinds.

The story has been redone many times in many different styles. If you want an easy light hearted version try “The Iliad and the Odyssey” retold by Marcia Williams in a style that reminds me of the Horrible histories series. For those with a more twisted sense of humour try either “Stickman Odyssey” which claims to be told the way it was meant to be read with stick figures. You could also try “Tank Girl, The odyssey”. I do have to warn you expect the unexpected. Telemachus for example has a television set for a head.

Lastly I'd recommend two items that tell a story that isn't quite the Odyssey but is so interlink that they deserve a mention. The first is the movie “O Brother where art thou” staring George Clooney. This is the story of 3 convicts in depression era America trying to get home. The other is James Joyce's epic “Ulysses” which all takes place over one day in Dublin. To get the most out of these last two I recommend you familiarise yourself with the story first.

All in all the Odyssey is a great action/fantasy/historical/love/revenge story. If it sounds like something you might be interested in come in and have a look at one of the many versions we can provide.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Luce sees things, shadows that make her skin crawl and bad things can happen when they come. That is why Luce is sent to Sword & Cross Reform School after a terrible accident at a party where a boy, Trevor, was burnt to death. Everyone thinks Luce had something to do with it.

On her first day she meets Daniel, who she is instantly drawn to. She has this feeling that they have meet before. After some mixed signals from Daniel, Luce and her friend Penn decide to do some investigation into Daniel’s family. They bring up more than they bargained for.

It seems Luce and Daniel meet every seventeen years and are destined to fall in love. Unfortunately it always ends badly with Luce always ending up dead, but something is different this time.

Lauren Kate's book was very different from what the cover indicates but I was not disappointed. It features it all, murder, romance, action and mystery all with a supernatural twist. This is a great teen supernatural romance and the best thing…no vampires.

Fallen is also availble in spoken word.

Recent release audio books

More New Releases

My impression of an infomercial

Are you sick an tired of plastic bags that just don't hold your library books?

Studies show that the average old shopping bag is designed to hold four loaves of bread. This makes it totally inadequate for your modern library needs. Add to this the thousands of plastic shopping bags that litter our road sides and fill our land fills every year.

Well here at the Invercargill Public library we have the answer. Reusable book bags made from recycled materials. Each bag will hold not 1, not 2, but up to 8 hardback novels*. Bags are available in a glorious purple/blue colour and you'll pay no more than $2 for this stunning addition to your library experience.

*Results may very due to size and shape of actual books.

Do you like books but have trouble reading? Do you want audio-books but don't like having to change tape or CD twenty time a book?

Well the Invercargill Public library has the answer to all your prayers. We now stock Playaway audio-books in both our children's and adult's libraries.

“But what is a Playaway?” I hear you ask. A Playaway is a small device which sits in the palm of your hand and, using MP3 technology, contains a whole audio-book. All you need to do is find a pair of ear phones (If you don't have any you can buy them from us at the low low price of $2) press Play, and sit back and be entertained. Playaways are issued for four weeks and are free to borrow. We supply two rechargeable batteries (one in the unit and another as backup) which must be returned with the unit.

Interested?

Of course you are. All you need to do is go to our catalogue and type “Playaway” into the keyword phrase search (that's the one that shows when you open the catalogue). This will bring up a full list of the Playaway audio-books we have in stock. After that you'll find them located in the spoken word collections of our adult's and children's libraries.
Don't hesitate.
Check one out now.

We've got some new toys

There is a great new toy on the market for people who listen to audio books. It's called the Playaway and it is essentially a stylised MP3 player with a book pre-loaded onto it.

We all know how annoying it is to have to change CDs during an audio book. Lets face it some books are huge. I was looking through a catalogue for audio books the other day and found you can buy War and peace as an audio book. It's two volumes long totaling 51 CDs and retails for around $300 NZ. Unfortunately as much as I like Tolstoy I just couldn't splash out on that for the collection.

Well with a Playaway they can often put the whole book on one wee machine. It's simple to use as well. There are only 8 buttons; A power button, play/pause, volume up, volume down, reverse, forward, a graphic equalizer and narrator speed. The graphic equalizer button cycles through 6 different settings while the narrator speed has three voice settings. So if you have trouble following the story just slow the narrator down.

At the moment we are just trialling Playaways in the library. We have a small selection of children's titles already and I have just ordered 10 adult's titles. 

We will be treating them just like spoken word items. This means you can borrow them for four weeks free of charge. They come with 2 batteries (to be returned with the item) and you can either use your own ear phones or buy a pair off us for $2.

So next time you're in the library check out our new toys. You might just find a book you'll love.