Overdrive – E-Books & Audiobooks

OverDrive is a digital collection of eBooks, Audiobooks, magazines, and video for use with a wide variety of mobile devices, computers, and readers.

Libby is the app version of Overdrive for iOS and Android devices. Both Libby and Overdrive use the same authentication and have the same pool of materials available.

How It Works

BPL has access to Overdrive through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium, which coordinates purchasing and access for patrons throughout the state.  This allows Burlington residents to have access to books whose cost would be too prohibitive for Burlington alone to own a copy – either digitally or in print.

The material in the OverDrive collection can be accessed through through several different methods: through a web browser on a desktop computer, by downloading the OverDrive or Libby App on a mobile device, or by transferring to a dedicated ereader.

Because there are so many devices and methods for accessing the OverDrive collection, the best place to get information and details on how it works for each is on the OverDrive Help website. Here you’ll find the best tutorials and instructional videos to get you started or troubleshoot your current device.

Recommendations

WPLC is continually adding to the OverDrive collection of eBooks and Audiobooks, but you can also recommend new titles from the wider collection of items available on OverDrive. When you’re browsing the collection, select the Additional Titles to Recommend option found in the “Show Me” menu. This will then display all of the titles available for purchase via OverDrive.

Titles that aren’t in the OverDrive collection, but are available to recommend for us to purchase, will display a recommendation icon over the cover image. When you see a title you’d like to read, click the Recommend button and we will be notified of your interest. If you add your email address when recommending the title, you will automatically be notified if we purchase it and a hold placed on the title for you.

Just like with the print collection at the library, most materials in the OverDrive collection are checked out to one user at a time, so you may have to make a reservation for the next available copy. When the item is available for you, you will receive a notification and have the opportunity to check the item out immediately or, if you’re not ready yet, you can move back one place in line and let the next person read it.

If you have questions or need help with the Overdrive or Libby apps, please contact the library.