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About ListenNJ

Access couldn’t be easier! Use your personal computer and library card to check-out and download:

• popular fiction,
• biography,
• business and career,
• children’s literature and learning aids,
• current events and history,
• mystery, suspense and thrillers,
• religion and spirituality,
• romance, and
• self improvement.

You may download to your personal computer and transfer the data to a Windows based MP3 player. This now works with IPODs! Check here for a list of compatible devices.

Digital audio books can also be burned to a CD-ROM disc to be played on a CD/MP3 player.

Check Out Details for your Audio Book:

• You do not need to come to The Library to either select or return a digital audio book. Everything is done from a remote computer.
• The loan period is 10 days. When the loan period is over the file expires and the material is automatically checked back in.
• You may NOT download your book more than 3 times -- the download button disappears on a fourth attempt.
• You may put Items on reserve. When the requested title is available you will be sent an e-mail . You will have three days to download your reserved audio book, otherwise it will go to the next customer waiting for it.
• You can check-out up to five digital audio books at one time.

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Getting Started

To access digital books at ListenNJ you will need:

• A valid East Brunswick library card.
• Access to the Internet.
• Free software for the device or computer on which you wish to use the materials you download from ListenNJ.

Downloading at the Library's Public Computers:

• Please note that you can download and enjoy digital books at home, at work, or when you travel, but you should only download books that can be burned to a CD that you can take with you at the Library's public computers. (more information...) CDs are available for sale at the library's vending machine.

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The following types of materials can be checked out and downloaded from ListenNJ:

• WMA Audiobooks in the OverDrive Media Console™ format
  An OverDrive WMA Audiobook title is a digitally-protected audiobook that has been optimized for download. OverDrive WMA Audiobook titles are built using the Microsoft® Windows Media® Audio format, which greatly enhances the sound quality for desktop listening, play of CD copies (where permitted by the publisher), and portable device use.

• MP3 Audiobooks in the OverDrive Media Console™ format
  An OverDrive MP3 Audiobook title is an audiobook that has been optimized for download. OverDrive MP3 Audiobook titles are compatible with many different devices including some cell phones, PDAs, and most portable music devices.

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Go to : ListenNJ

For an overview of the process click on New to Digital Books? Click Here!.

• Click on the OverDrive Audio Book link under Software Downloads.
• 
  Make sure that your computer or device meets the system requirements for the OverDrive Media Console.
• Download the OverDrive Media Console for:
  MP3 Audiobooks -
  (instructions for downloading).
  WMA Audiobooks -
  (instructions for downloading).

 

Download the OverDrive Media Console:

• Make sure that your computer has Windows Media Player 9 or newer (download).
  Note - The first time the Windows Media Player attempts to play a copyrighted file, it will alert you that Security Upgrade (instructions) must be performed. This is a one time process that identifies the copy of Windows Media Player with the computer on which the Player is being used.

 

 

 

 

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Search for a Good Book to Download

You can search for a digital audiobook from either the Library Catalog ListenNJ site or Library Catalog:

Click on the Advanced Search link below the Library Catalog drop down box.

Type in search term(s).  Limit by different indexes available from the drop down boxes as needed.  (Use the + link to add more search indexes/terms).

Type in listennj next to one of the general Keyword search boxes.

Your results should be limited to downloadable ListenNJ audiobooks.

OR

• Search as your normally would on any topic. If there are ListenNJ titles on that topic the words "Downloadable audiobook" will appear in the title of the list of results from your search.

OR, Go Search from the Listen NJ homepage:

Search for a book under the Digital Book Search column:

• by author, title, or all.
• Browse the collection by availability in Always Available, Recently Added, Try These, and Classics.
• Browse the collection by genre in Fiction: All Fictions, Mystery and Thrillers, Romance, Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Children's Fiction.
• Browse the Non-Fiction collection by subject: All Nonfiction, Biography and Autobiography, Business, Self-Help, Learn a Language.
  
  

 

 

If you decide to Browse a category, you may sort all of the results by clicking on title, author, published date, most popular, or date added to the site at the top of the column as shown below:

• Select your book by clicking on the add to cart for the title you want on the right side of the screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Your cart will then be displayed.

 

• To select another book click on Continue Browsing, or
• If you are finished, click on Proceed to Checkout.
• Click OK on the Security Alert dialog box.

• Select East Brunswick Public Library in the first drop down box.

 

Type in your complete library card number beginning with 29344...

• Hit <Enter> or click on Login.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The check Out screen asks you to Confirm Checkout and tells you how many other books you currently have checked out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book is now checked out to you and you may now download your selection.

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How to Download a Book

• Click on the 'Download' link for your audio book after checking the title out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The OverDrive Media Console will open and prompt you for a download location for your audio files. Click ‘OK’ to save the files to the default location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Windows Media Player Security Upgrade

• First time OverDrive users will then by prompted for the security upgrade mentioned in the Note in Getting Started above. Click OK.

• Cancel the download.

 

 

 

• Click on Tools on the titlebar of the OverDrive Media Console.

• Click OK.
• Answer Yes to Allow Windows Media Player to download the security upgrade.
• Then click Play to learn whether the download was successful.
• Once you have backed up your license you are ready to download your audio book.
• Go back to the ListenNJ screen with your selected title(s) and click on the Download button again.
• Select the parts you want to download and click ‘OK’. Depending on the file size and the number of parts to be downloaded, you may have to wait several minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Play and Navigate a Book

• Highlight the title you’d like to hear in the OverDrive Media Console and click the ‘Play’ button.

• OverDrive Media Explorer opens and begins playing the book.
• Use the On-Screen Navigation of the Media Explorer to jump to specific sections. (Click on the part of the book you would like to hear under Parts.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Borrowing Information

• All books that you download are checked out to your library account for 2 weeks and are automatically checked in at the end of that period. There is no early check in. This is done so that no fines are ever assessed to your card.
• If you have three books checked out you will have to wait until the digital audio book is checked back in before checking out another audio book.
• The best way to use digital audio books is to check out only one item at a time so that the due dates are not all coming back at the same time. As the collection grows there will be an increase in the number of digital books you can check out.

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How to Burn a Book to a CD

• In OverDrive Media Console, highlight a book and click the ‘Transfer/burn’ button.
• Windows Media Player opens. Click the ‘Copy to CD or Device’ button.

• Select the track(s) to be burned to CD by checking the box next to the track name.
• Place a blank CDR in your CD-ROM drive and ensure that your CD drive is selected in the right hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Click the ‘Copy’ button in the upper right hand corner of Windows Media Player to add the track(s) to the list of files to be burned to disc. Windows Media Player will inspect, convert, and temporarily copy the file in preparation for burning. This process may take a few minutes. You may track the Player’s progress by monitoring the ‘Status’ field in Windows Media Player.
• When the disc is complete, Windows Media Player will eject the disc and the status field will indicate ‘Complete’.

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Check this out before downloading to a library public computer:

Some titles cannot be burned to a CD because of copyright restrictions. To learn whether a particular CD can be burned or not:

 

• Click on the image of the book in your results list (do not click on add to cart )
• Scroll down to the bottom of the book description to Digital Rights Information
• Restrictions on the use of this title will be displayed.

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How to Tell If Your Device Is Compatible with OverDrive Media Console

If you have OverDrive Media Console installed...
Click here to download two 10 second DRM-protected sample files to OverDrive Media Console. Once the files have been downloaded, transfer the files to your device using the following instructions:

Connect your portable player to your computer.

In OverDrive Media Console, highlight the title you wish to transfer and click the 'Transfer' button.
The OverDrive Media Console Transfer Wizard is displayed.

Verify that the correct title is displayed on the first screen of the Transfer Wizard and click 'Next'.
The Transfer Wizard searches for a connected portable device.
If your device is detected the 'Confirm' screen is displayed.
If your device is not detected, the Transfer Wizard will display a message stating that 'no portable players could be found.' Click here for more information about why your portable player could not be found.

In the 'Confirm' dialog box, leave all parts checked and click 'Next' to begin transferring the file(s) to your device.
When the file transfer is complete, the Transfer Wizard displays a 'success' message.

Click 'Finish' to exit the Transfer Wizard.

Once you have successfully transferred the files to your device, disconnect your device and listen to the sample files. If the files play you will hear test messages, and this indicates that your device is compatible with OverDrive media. If you transfer the files but cannot hear the audio, your device is not compatible with our audio content.

Note: If you are using a Pocket PC, OverDrive Media files must be transferred to a memory card. Be sure you have a memory card with sufficient memory space installed, and be sure to specify the memory card in the course of the transfer process.

How to Transfer a Book to a Portable Device

Check here for a list of compatible devices.

• In OverDrive Media Console, highlight a book and click the ‘Transfer/burn’ button.
• Windows Media Player opens. Click the ‘Copy to CD or Device’ button.

• Select the track(s) to be burned to CD by checking the box next to the track name.
• Connect your portable media device and ensure that it is selected in the right hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Click the ‘Copy' button in the upper right hand corner of Windows Media Player to copy the track(s) to the portable device. Windows Media Player will inspect and copy the file(s) to the device. This process should take less than a minute, depending on how many files you transfer. You may track the Player’s progress by monitoring the ‘Status’ field in Windows Media Player.
• When the transfer is complete, the status field in Windows Media Player will indicate ‘Complete’.

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Troubleshooting

Need Help? Here are some troubleshooting tips from ListenNJ.

Additional error messages when downloading:

• The most common problem when attempting to download a book is your computer's firewall, if you have one.
  • If you are running Norton Internet Security you will need to set up a rule to allow it to accept downloads from OverDrive.
  • Check your Windows XP firewall.
• "When I tried to download the digital audio book the error message said I needed an Internet connection."
  • Your firewall may be blocking the download. You must configure your firewall to permit the OverDrive Media Console to access the Internet. If you have Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall, you can use these directions to configure it to permit the OverDrive Media Console to access the Internet.
  • Check Windows Media Player's connection. To do so, open the Windows Media Player, go to Tools, Options. Under Player Settings select the option that says Connect to the Internet.
• Error message displayed instead of "Security Upgrade Dialog Box when installing Windows Media Player Security Upgrade.
  
  Please make sure you take the time to follow each step carefully. **
  1. Rename the DRM folder to DRM.old.
     It can be found in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\DRM
     • If you cannot find the file, this may be because it is a hidden, system file. Please use the following steps to view the DRM folder.
     • In Windows Explorer go to Tools > Folder Options > View
     • Under 'Hidden files and folders' heading, make the following two changes:
       • * Select 'Show Hidden Files and Folders'. Please Note: The next change will give you a warning message. Please make sure you click "Yes".
       • Un-check 'Hide Protected Operating System Files' - Click the button 'Apply to All Folders'. This will ensure the changes affect all folders on the system.
  2. Re-run the Windows Media Player Security Upgrade from the OverDrive Media Console under the 'Tools' menu.
  3. Attempt to download an OverDrive Audio Book.

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Need more information?

Do you have a question not covered on this page or on the troubleshooting tips from ListenNJ? Please call Information Services at 732-390-6767. Please have as much information as possible available:

• Your operating system and the browser you are using.
• Do you have a firewall?
• Steps to replicate the problem.
• Exact text of error message.
• Anything else you can think of that might be helpful.

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Additional Resources

Librivox Billed as "accoustical liberation of books in the public domain." LibriVox provides free audio books from the public domain recorded by volunteers.