Rip Van Winkle meets Libby


2017-09-01-libby Over the weekend I was cleaning out a cabinet and found an old Windows 7 laptop that I used to read eBooks from the Library via OverDrive. The laptop hadn’t been turned on since about 2012. When I started exploring, I felt a bit like Rip Van Winkle must have felt when he woke up – it was a different world! Windows 7, OverDrive Media Console, Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe Reader 9. Yikes!

This made me think about how I currently read and listen to books via OverDrive. I recently switched over to the Libby app from OverDrive on my android cellphone. It is a perfect interface for the OverDrive catalog of eBooks and eAudiobooks from the Iowa City Public Library. I can easily switch between searching for books and reading or listening to what I have checked out. I can also easily search, via the Library’s app called MyICPL, for an OverDrive book and place a hold or check it out.

Now my biggest problem is when two holds come in at once and I have to decide which book to read first. What a change from 2012!

And an extra bonus, my 2005 mini van was “retired” to city-duty only recently so I have a different set of wheels. Now I push a button, the car turns on, my Libby app talks to the Toyota Entune app, and the Overdrive eAudiobook starts playing on my car speakers. It’s like magic!

Note – The OverDrive Libby app and MyICPL apps are both available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

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Seconding the recommendation to listen to books in your car! If I ever have a half-hour drive, you betcha I'm bringing a book with me.

We have a 2010 car and used to use an auxiliary cable with the 3.5mm jack and have the stereo set to AUX. We recently upgraded to a bluetooth receiver and are now cordless. Best $15 upgrade ever!

I recommend doing a little bit of research to make sure the bluetooth receiver is compatible with the devices you use Libby on. Feel free to ask us at the Info Desk for help doing that research. Get at us via www.icpl.org/ask.

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