What's Doing at the Library: Free E-Books and Audiobooks! (Did We Mention Free?)

Did you get an e-reader for the holidays? Lucky you! But many people find that e-readers are a little tricky to master—and that e-books aren’t cheap. Don’t let frustration spoil your fun. Technical help and free titles are available from the Glencoe Public Library.

Through the library’s subscription to a service called My Media Mall, Glencoe cardholders can check out free e-books and audiobooks from a list of over 5,000 (and growing!) titles, including many bestsellers.  Titles from MyMediaMall can be checked out to nearly every electronic device on the market, including e-readers (Kindles, Sony Readers, Barnes and Noble Nooks, and more), iPads, iTouchs, phones (iPhones, Androids, Blackberries, etc.) and computers (PCs and Macs).

Get started by attending the Technology Tuesdays class on “E-reader and E-book Update” at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 17. This one-hour class is taught by Mike Gershbein, the library’s virtual services librarian. You’re also welcome to give the library a call (847/835-5056) to set up an appointment to learn the art of downloading.

If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, visit My Media Mall to give it a try on your own. Procedures vary according to the device, so specific instructions are impractical here. Just dive in and see how it goes with the prompts provided at MyMediaMall.

For publishers’ licensing reasons, not all titles are available. All of them have to be checked out on a first come, first served basis; as with physical materials, you'll have to wait your turn if someone else has checked out the title you want  To minimize your wait, the Friends of the Library have funded extra copies of the most popular titles for the exclusive use of Glencoe cardholders.

It’s a brave new world out there in e-publishing. Libraries, publishers, and the marketplace are still sorting out how we'll be getting our information. In the meantime, you can count on us for help.