eBooks and Adobe
Posted: January 12, 2012 Filed under: Resources | Tags: ebooks Leave a commentOne of the many to do items on my list is figuring out how to get an eBook on the iPad. Yes, many people have done this, but I just had to jump through the hoops to see how it is done. Of course, there are many flavors of eBooks and readers, so this is just one example.
I pointed my browser to the Cambridge City Library page which has a section for Electronic Books. There, three options were presented: Overdrive’s Digital Media Catalog, EBSCO’s eBook Collection, and Project Gutenberg. I know about Project Gutenberg and have even read books from that source, so I thought I’d try something different.
I clicked on Overdrive to see what there was to see. This brought up a catalog of digital media that was imbedded in the Minuteman Catalog. There were three types of media: Adobe EPUB, Kindle, and MP3 audio. I chose a book that was presented in Adobe EPUB book format because I wanted digital text to read and I had used Kindle before.
I clicked on the information button by the EPUB file to see what I needed to make my borrowing experience successful. It turns out I needed the Overdrive Media Console, so I opened the App Store and downloaded that.
Upon selecting the book, I was prompted to log in to my library account. Afterwards, I was allowed a 7, 14, or 21 day checkout. I chose 7 days and clicked Download. Up came my newly installed Overdrive Media Console which told me I had to have an Adobe ID. I tried a few different variations of what surely was an old ID, but no use.
I clicked on the link to make a new ID which brought up a browser with the Adobe website ready for my details. I entered them, returned to the Overdrive App, and entered my newly minted Adobe ID in the proper fields. Finally, the book loaded, and I could read it.
That was a lot of setup for a digital book, but it was free through my local library. Also, I shouldn’t have to do all of that again.