eBooks on the iPad using Overdrive & Utah Public Library Content

Getting started with eBooks and audio books on the iPad with content from your local Utah Public Library or the state Pioneer Online Library is pretty easy – IF you have a local library card! Here’s how to get started…

First off, at your local library, ask them for their OverDrive ID. The login that you’ll eventually need in step 11 will be a combination of their OverDrive ID and your library card number.

• My Local Library OverDrive ID:_________________
• My Local Library Card Number: _________________

1. On your iPad, open up the ‘App Store’ application, and do a search for OverDrive. You can also find it here. Install the OverDrive Media Console app to your iPad.
2. Create an Adobe ID. Overdrive uses an Adobe ID to authenticate your account. Head to the ‘Join Adobe’ page, fill out the requested information, answer the 3 survey questions, fill out the communication preferences (you can uncheck them all if you’d like), and click ‘Continue’ at the bottom of the page.
3. Once you have your Adobe ID established, open up the OverDrive app on your iPad. You’ll be presented with some options – click the ‘Sign In’ button if you have done Step 2 or click ‘Register at Adobe.com’ if you have not done Step 2 above.
4. Enter your Adobe ID that you have just created, and click the green ‘Authorize’ button.
5. Now, we need to connect your OverDrive app to your local Library to be able to browse, check out and download titles. To do this, click the ‘Get Books +’ button on the top right of the screen.
6. The screen will pivot, and you’ll see a button called ‘Add a Library +’ – tap it. OverDrive will switch you to your Safari web browser, where you’ll do your ‘shopping’ for your eBook or audio titles.
7. Search for your library by name, city or zip code. Tap on the proper library that comes up after the search, then click on the ‘Library System’ listed in the next window. It will probably say ‘Pioneer Public Library’ or something similar.
8. You’ll now be at the home page for the titles that your library offers. In order to download books or audio, you’ll need to login.
9. Click the ‘Login’ link near the top of the page on the right.
10. You may need to find your local library again from a drop-down menu. Find and choose your local library, and look for a link that says ‘(Your Library) users, please click here to sign into this system.’ Do so.
11. The login that you’ll need here comes from Step 1. Enter in your local library OverDrive ID, followed by the last 6 digits of your own library card number. Enter that now, and continue.
12. You can now use the buttons at the top of the page to ‘Browse’ or ‘Search’ for the titles that you’d like to read/listen to.
13. Once you find a title you want, you can either…
    • Add the title to your cart to check out
    • Add the title to your wish list to check out later
    • Place a hold on the title if there are no electronic copies available
14. You can continue browsing, or click ‘Proceed to Checkout’ once you’ve added a title (or titles) to your cart. At any time, you can also click on ‘My Cart’ in the dark blue bar above. Check over the title(s) that you have added to your cart, and click the ‘Confirm check out’ button.
15. You’ll now get a ‘Download’ button for each of the titles that you’ve checked out. Depending on the length of the check-out that you’ve requested, you’ll have that time to read the book. After the check-out period has elapsed, the titl
    e will be removed from your OverDrive library list. There will be a little calendar with the number of days left in your check-out period next to each title in your OverDrive library list.
16. That’s it! You are now reading freely available eBooks and listening to audio books made available from your local library without ever getting out of your comfy chair. Read away!