eBooks from public libraries

Posted by Paul Nisbet on the 8th October, 2013

Frank Shaw from South Lanarkshire emailed to say that the South Lanarkshire library service now have an eBook and digital audiobook lending facility. To find out more, visit their web site. 

I took the opportunity to search and update our Books from Libraries page on the Books for All web site, and most of the council library services in Scotland now offer an eBook lending service where you can download and read eBooks (and sometimes audiobooks) on your computer, iPad, tablet, mobile phone etc.

The majority of the services seem to be using Overdrive, The OverDrive books are EPUB format which you can read on PC, Mac, iOS, Android, smart phones etc.

On a computer you read the books with Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). ADE is becoming more accessible in that with the latest version 2.0, the text can now be read using a few text-to-speech tools, and the font size can be increased to about 24 point, but there is only one font and limited colour options. Visit the Quick Guides page to download a guide on ADE.

For iOS, Android and eBook readers or smart phones, you read ebooks and listen to audiobooks using the OverDrive Media Console app.

RNIB also offer useful infornation on the accessibility of different types of eBooks.