Library Offers Recorded Books for MP3 Players

The Fairfax County Public Library announces a new service that allows residents to download recorded books off the Internet and listen to them on PCs, laptops, CD players, car stereos, and MP3 players. Library cardholders can listen to bestsellers, how-to guides and business books at home, work or while commuting with a new collection of eAudiobooks from OverDrive.

"We are committed to offering e-content to busy customers from working families who often have long commutes," says Julie Pringle, coordinator of the library's Collection Management and Acquisitions Department. Pringle cites a recent survey in which the minority of county residents who don't use the library usually blame a lack of time as the reason. "We need more e-content to serve this generation that expects instant availability," Pringle adds.

The library currently has almost 500 OverDrive eAudiobooks that customers can check out. The customer downloads OverDrive eAudiobooks from the Internet onto a PC, laptop or portable device that plays Windows Media Audio files version 9.0 or higher. Customers can also burn OverDrive eAudiobooks onto CDs to listen to in their cars or download the eAudiobooks to MP3 players.

The service is free, but requires a library card to access. OverDrive eAudiobooks can be checked out for three weeks and renewed once, and residents can have up to 10 eAudiobooks checked out at a time.

"Our regular recorded books are extremely popular," Pringle says, reporting that books on CDs and cassettes were checked out more than 800,000 times last year. "We believe that eAudiobooks may become just as popular, if not moreso." The eAudiobooks collection can be accessed from the library's Web site at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library.

Contact: Lois Kirkpatrick Email Contact P: 703-324-8319 TTY: 703-324-8365