VCL title

Downloadable Audiobooks (eAudiobooks)

You can download the latest best seller, book club favorite, award winning author as an audiobook and listen to it on your computer or your portable listening device (MP3 player). All you need to take advantage of this free service is a Ventura County Library (VCL) card in good standing.

General notes
  • We recommend MP3 players with bookmark capability. Many audiobooks are downloaded as a single track, and bookmarks help you find your place, just as in a book. Otherwise, if you navigate away from the audiobook without setting a bookmark, when you return to the audiobook, you will go back to the beginning of the recording.
  • Downloading audiobooks requires Windows Media Player 9 or higher.
  • For best results, turn off pop-up blockers while downloading.
  • Because of bandwidth and other technical issues, audiobooks may not be downloaded on VCL computers.
To find our collection of downloadable audiobooks (eaudiobooks)...

Go to the eLibrary page by selecting either "Databases - Research" or "Homework - Research" from the vencolibrary.org home page.
Under "Search by Subject" select eAudiobooks

 
Click below to jump to the section you need
Connection
Access
Software
Compatibility
Download
Checkout
Burn to a CD?
Technical Help
Disclaimer
 
Connection
You need a high speed Internet connection, Windows Media Player 9 or higher and – for portable listening – an MP3 player.
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Access
MyiLibrary
 
NetLibrary
 
OverDrive

From the Ventura County eLibrary portal, click on "MyiLibrary" - when you add a book to your Bookshelf, you will be prompted to enter your library card number.

You can bookmark the MyiLibrary site - you do not have to enter from the Ventura County eLibrary portal.

 

Click on "NetLibrary Downloadable Audiobooks" and enter your library card number to authenticate.

IMPORTANT! For your first use: you must enter through the Ventura County eLibrary portal as described here and create your account while in VCL's collection.

  Click on "OverDrive Downloadable Audiobooks." To access Ventura County Library's OverDrive collection, you must enter through the Ventura County eLibrary portal.

 

 

You will know you are in our collection when you see - in green text under the NetLibrary logo - "Welcome to the Ventura County Public Library eContent Collection"

Once you have entered Ventura County Library's NetLibrary collection, it is recommended you:
  • Create a free account by clicking on the link in the upper right of Ventura County Library's NetLibrary page. (This must be done while in Ventura County Library's NetLibrary collection)
  • Once you have set up your free account, you can then log in to www.netlibrary.com or click through our catalog links to have access to VCL's collection
   

 

     
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Software
MyiLibrary
 
NetLibrary
 
OverDrive

You need to download the following free software:

 

You need to download the following free software:

  • Windows Media Player 9 or higher available at Microsoft.com.
  • NetLibrary recommends using Internet Explorer or Firefox or Netscape as browsers. Other browsers (such as AOL) can cause problems
 

You need to download the following free software:

  • Windows Media Player available at Microsoft.com
  • OverDrive Media Console version 1.0 (or later), available on the OverDrive site: click on “Quick Start Guide” (under “Getting Started”) and follow the steps to download the software

 

     

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Compatibility
Some brands of media players do not currently support DRM (Digital Rights Management) software, making them unable to play the audiobooks. At present, for greatest selection of titles, your MP3 player should support the .wma format.
MyiLibrary
 
NetLibrary
 
OverDrive

Supported Portable Devices

 
Tested Players Compatible with NetLibrary
Supported Portable Audio Devices
Note to Apple iPod users: MyiLibrary e-audio works with any iPod related device, except for the shuffle. MyiLibrary audiobooks also work with all models of the iPhone.       Note to Apple iPod users: our OverDrive collection now includes selected iPod compatible eAudiobooks.
     
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Download
MyiLibrary
 
NetLibrary
 
OverDrive
See the e-audio FAQ   See the eAudiobooks Demo   See the Guided Tour for tips on downloading.
  • Log in to MyiLibrary e-audio
  • Download and install the Ingram Media Manager
  • Select a title and a checkout period and place the item on your bookshelf
  • Access your bookshelf. Each book in the "Downloads" section is ready for download
  • Click the appropriate "Download Now" button to begin the download process
  • You can download an audiobook as many times as you need during your check-out period
 
  • Perform a search
  • From search results, click on "Download This Audiobook"
  • Select Checkout & CD Quality if you want to transfer your title to an MP3 player
  • Select Checkout and Radio Quality if you want to listen on your computer
  • A dialog box appears for your download. Select "Save." Save this in your My Music folder
  • After downloading, open the eaudiobook in Windows Media Player to acquire the license
  • In 2009, NetLibrary added the NetLibrary Media Center a free, downloadable application that makes listening to eAudiobooks easy and simple. Be sure to pay special attention to the system requirements - the Media Center requires the .Net framework
 
  • Perform a search and select a book by clicking on the title.
  • Under “Format Information,” available titles will show an “add to cart” link while titles already checked out will show a “place a hold” link
  • When you are finished selecting, click on the
    “Proceed to Checkout” link. For help, see “Check Out Assistance”
  • You will need to enter your VCL card barcode and confirm your checkout to reach the download page
  • Your download will activate the OverDrive player, which will give you options to download the eaudiobook in part or in total
       
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Checkout
MyiLibrary
 
NetLibrary
 
OverDrive
  • The checkout period for e-audio books from Ingram's MyiLibrary range from 7 to 21 days
  • You cannot "return" items early so you may want to choose the length of checkout carefully as you're only allowed 3 checkouts at a time.
  • You cannot renew an audiobook. You may be able to check it out again if it is an "Always Available" book, or if no one else is waiting for it
  • Audiobooks are automatically returned at the end of their check-out period - there are no fines
  • You are allowed a maximum of 3 items checked out at once
 
  • The checkout period for audiobooks from NetLibrary.com on your VCL card is 21 days.
  • You can renew your audiobooks. Use the link at the top of the page to connect to NetLibrary.com and enter your username and password to access your account.
  • There are no fines attached to your audiobook downloads. DRM (Digital Rights Management) software built in to the recording expires 21 days from the date of download, causing the audiobook to be inaccessible.
  • You need to remove the books from your computer or player manually.
  • You are allowed a maximum of 10 items checked out at once.
 
  • The checkout period for audiobooks from OverDrive on your VCLcard is 14 days.
  • You are able to login again to re-check it out (or be placed on the hold list if someone else has requested it.)
  • There are no fines attached to your audiobook downloads. DRM (Digital Rights Management) software built in to the recording expires 14 days from the date of download, causing the audiobook to be inaccessible.
  • The audiobook will remain in your OverDrive player in case you want to re-check it out. If not, you will need to remove it from your computer or player manually.
  • You are allowed a maximum of 4 items checked out at once.
     
Check Out Assistance
       
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Burn to a CD?
MyiLibrary
 
NetLibrary
 
OverDrive
Currently, you cannot copy an audiobook to a CD, but this feature will be added to MyiLibrary in the future.   No. Burning an eAudiobook file to a CD for listening to on a CD player is not allowed. If you do burn an eAudiobook file, encryptions on the eAudiobook file will make the file unusable.  

There are two places you can check to see if a title may be burned to CD:

  • The OverDrive website - look under "Digital Rights Information" for the specific title
  • If you have already checked out the title, you can look in OverDrive Media Console. Highlight the desired title and click the "Properties" button. If a 'License' tab is not displayed, the title is not digitally protected and can be burned to CD
       

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Technical Help
MyiLibrary
 
NetLibrary
 
OverDrive
Some technical help is available on the MyiLibrary site. See the Help link at the upper right of the page.   Some technical help is available at NetLibrary.com. Once you login to your account, click on the Help link.   Technical help is available on OverDrive's site. When you are in the site, click on the Help Link.
Quick Start Guide
 
NetLibrary Quick Start Guide
 
OverDrive Quick Start Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
 
NetLibrary eAudiobook FAQs
 
OverDrive Digital Help - FAQ
e-Audio User's Guide
 
VCL NetLibrary Audiobook FAQs
Check Out Assistance
     
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Disclaimer
There are a large number of players available today, and each functions differently. Because of this, Ventura County Library staff cannot provide any technical help with downloading audiobooks, managing your computer, or managing or using your portable listening device.
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