
NetLibrary's eAudiobooks
Provided By the Beverly Public Library
What is it? | Getting Started | Choosing a media player | Need More Help?
What is an eAudiobook?
Libraries have been offering audiobooks on cassette and CD for years. Now we have the ability to offer you the same books in a digital format so that they can be downloaded to your home PC any time at your own convenience! The book then can be loaded onto any portable device supporting Windows Media Player (WMP) version 9 and above. They may also be transferred to a wide range of portable devices, including portable music players, portable media centers, Pocket PCs, and even select smartphone devices. Sorry, iPods are not compatible with this service.
There are over 1,500 titles in our collection including the Pimsleur Language Series, book club favorites, and award-winning authors for adults, teens, and children. Titles are always available and you never have to wait for a Hold or have to deal with scratched CDs, garbled cassettes, or lost cases again so sign up, download and then go jogging, take a trip, or just sit back in your chair and enjoy!
- You must be a Beverly resident and have a valid Beverly Public Library card to access these audiobooks.
- NetLibrary audiobooks are not currently formatted to work with iPods, but they work with all other Windows-based PC and portable MP3 devices.
Getting started
In order to check out and listen to an audiobook, you need:- A NetLibrary account
- A downloaded copy of the audiobook
- A license to play the audiobook
Before you can start downloading audiobooks, you must first set up a free NetLibrary account.
- Go to Netlibrary's Audiobooks Center either from within the Beverly Public Library or by clicking on the link on our website and using your library card for at-home access.
- Create a free NetLibrary account (link is located on the top right of the Audiobooks Center page).
- You now have a username and password. You only need to create this account once.
- Go to Netlibrary's Audiobooks Center either from within the Beverly Public Library or from home. You will need to set up your own NetLibrary account first - see above. Search for audiobooks by Keyword, Title, Author, Narrator, or select Advanced Search.
- Or, follow this link to the Beverly eAudiobooks holdings of the NOBLE catalog for a list of audiobooks available for Beverly residents.
- Or, perform your own search in the library catalog:
Decide How You Wish to Listen to the Audiobook:
Download an audiobook to any PC:- Search for the audiobook title you want to download. (See Selecting a Title to Download above.)
- Click on Download this Audiobook.
- Select the quality of the audiobook you want to download. You are prompted to login if you have not logged in already.
Note: CD quality is recommended if you are going to transfer and listen to the audiobook on a portable listening device. It is recommended that you do not play the file while it is downloading. - Specify how you want to download the file. It is highly recommended that you save the audiobook file on your personal computer in a directory of your choice. Otherwise you may have difficulty locating the file later and may have to download the file again. If a pop-up does not prompt you to choose a file location, you may have to right click on the download link in order to specify where you want the file saved.
- Use a media player of your choice to open the file. For example, Windows Media Player (free Windows Media Player download or RealPlayerŽ (free RealPlayer download).
Note: You MUST open the audiobook file before disconnecting your Internet connection or you will be prompted to log in the first time you attempt to open the audiobook file. - If you want to transfer your audiobook to a portable device you MUST open the audiobook file on your PC and obtain a license before transferring the file.
- Download the audiobook to a PC first, then copy or transfer the file by using the 'copy' or 'transfer' option within the media player. Do not download an audiobook directly to the portable device.
- Open the audio file in a Media player while connected to the Internet (this step is what gives you a copy of the correct license -- you will get a message saying "a license to play this Audiobook has been issued to this computer"). Make sure you save the file or you will have to download the file each time you want to listen to it. The file will disappear after your check-out period is over.
- You can download it directly to your 'Jump drive' or 'Flash drive' using a PC at Beverly Public Library but you must not open it. Then, when you come home, open it on an internet connected computer, log in to your account at netlibrary.com to get a license to listen the book.
- Open the audio file in a Media player while connected to the Internet (this step is what gives you a copy of the correct license -- you will get a message saying "a license to play this Audiobook has been issued to this computer").
Need more help?
Still have questions? Check out NetLibrary's Audiobook Center Tips or contact the Library at (978) 921-6062.