Downloadable Audiobooks -- New at the Library

Members of the library can now download audiobooks and listen to them with their computers or portable music players-without leaving home.

More than 150 popular and award-winning audiobook titles of the most popular genres are now available for download. More titles will be added later this year. The collection will be shared by members of the libraries of Côte Saint-Luc, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Pointe Claire, and is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Côte Saint-Luc is the first of the cities to launch the service. Pointe Claire is expected to launch on April 23 and Dollard-des-Ormeaux will launch later this year.

Library members need the free Overdrive Media Console software for their Windows or Macintosh computer. Once that is installed, members can visit www.elcslpl.org to browse or search the downloadable audiobook collection, select one, and proceed to checkout-just as one would at an online store. Members then download a small file, which the Overdrive Media Console software uses to download the audiobook files. Members can play and organize the audiobooks from inside the software.

The audiobooks are in the MP3 or WMA file formats. All files can be played on a computer and most can be transferred to and played on portable audio players, such as the iPod or Zune. Some audiobooks can also be copied to a CD data disc. The MP3 and WMA files are protected with digital rights management (DRM), which allows users to listen to the file for a limited time. Once the files expire, they won't work if you try to listen to them.

Library members can check out up to three downloadable audiobooks at a time and choose a 1-week or 2-week loan period.

The library has approximately 4,500 audiobooks on CD cassette. Downloadable audiobooks are the next step in the evolution of audiobooks.