Getting to Know Your Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad or Sony E-Reader

Presented byKathy Petlewski

Plymouth District Library2011

Let’s Define Some Terms• An e-book (short for electronic book, or EBook),

also known as a digital book, is an e-text that forms the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book, sometimes restricted with a digital rights management system. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebook

• An e-book reader, also called an e-book device or e-reader, is an electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital books and periodicals and uses e-ink technology to display content to readers. ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EReader

Different Kinds of E-Books

• E-books that are viewed online only. These are not available if you are not connected to the Internet. (PDL’s Netlibrary books)

• E-books that may be viewed either online or downloaded to your computer & e-reader. (Project Gutenberg & some free Google books)

• E-books that are designed to be downloaded and read off-line on your e-readers. (Overdrive)

Amazon’s Kindle Reader• All come with wifi and some with 3G,

depending on model.• Lightweight at 8.7 oz with stereo

speakers.• Over 750,000 titles in Kindle version

at Amazon.com. Also “lending” option for a select number of books.

• Offers “syncing” between devices.• Battery life – 8,000 pages with wifi &

3G off. (approx 20 days)• Cannot be used with OverDrive.

Black & white screen - uses e-ink technology to reduce glare.

Border’s Kobo Reader

• Comes with wifi and Borders app already installed. Also “syncs” between devices with apps.

• Black & white, uses e-ink technology reducing glare.

• Lightweight at under 8 oz• Preloaded with 100 classic books.• Battery life – 10,000 pages with

wifi off.• May be used with OverDrive.

Barnes & Noble Nook

• Black & white, uses e-ink technology reducing glare but has color touch pad at bottom.

• 12.1 oz in weight & shorter battery life than Kindle due to color pad.

• Some books may be “loaned” between friends. Advertises “over 2 million books” online but really 500,000 not including free.

• May be used with OverDrive.Comes with wifi & 3G, depending on the model.

Barnes & Noble Nook Color• Comes with wifi only, but built

in social networking ability.• 15.8 oz in weight, external

speaker and 8 hr. battery life.• “Read to Me” children’s

picture books available.• Build on “Droid” platform &

includes several apps.• May be used with OverDrive. LCD 7” color touch

screen.

Sony Reader• No Wifi except on “Daily Edition”

version & no external speakers.• Must be connected to PC to get

books.• Black & white, uses e-ink

technology reducing glare.• Lightweight at 7.5 oz• 200,000 books from Sony Reader

Store.• Battery life – 14 days.• May be used with OverDrive.

Apple iPad• Comes with wifi & 3G depending

on the model.• Full color touch 9.7” LED backlit

screen and weighs 1.5 lbs.• Up to 10 hours of battery life.• Access over 150,000 titles from

iBookstore from Apple. • May be used with OverDrive but is

based on the iPhone app size. New app is coming just for iPad.

Downloading E-Books from PDL

• PDL is part of a 25-member consortium for e-books and audio e-books.

• These books are provided by OverDrive in several formats: EPUB & PDF for e-readers and WMA & MP3 for iPods and MP3 players.

• E-books are single user licenses, so you must place a hold on books that are “checked out” electronically.

• Books are checked out for either 7 or 14 days. After that time, the files should be deleted from both your computer & your devices.

Downloading E-Books from the Libraryplymouthlibrary.org

While you may browse the main screen, it’s faster to use the “Advanced Search” link.

Use the pull-down menu to choose your choice of formats & be sure to click the “available” box.

You then get a list of those EPUB books that are available for checkout.

Click “add to bookbag.”

Remember, you only have 30 minutes to keep them in the bookbag !

Before you check out materials, you must first login to your account.

Select Your Loan Period and then Click to Confirm Checkout.

First-Time Users Must Download the Adobe Digital Editions Software Prior to Getting

Your Book.

Then, click on the file to download and choose “Open.”

This is the Adobe Digital Editions Console showing the e-reader. Drop & Drag your

title to the e-reader icon.

If you click on your e-reader icon, you’ll see a list of items you put on it.

Getting an E-Book on the iPad• My best advice is to think of

the iPad as a very large iPhone.

• You must go to the Apple Apps store and download the OverDrive Media Player. (free)

• Click on the “Get Books” option and it will ask you to add a website. If you indicate you are from Plymouth MI, it will direct you to the MCLS site.

Getting an E-Book on the iPad cont.

• Once there, you can either search for a title or browse EPUB titles.

• Select the available title and download it directly to your iPad without going through your computer.

• When you have finished reading the book, click on “edit” in your OverDrive app and delete the title.

Troubleshooting Problems

• 1. Your Library Card may have expired or you have a large number of fines.

• 2. You don’t pick up your digital holds within three days of being notified.

• 3. If your book doesn’t completely download – you get three tries!

• 4. Contact Support with questions. These are routed to PDL support.

E-Books in Our Library Catalog

• Will be identified as either ebooks or eaudio !

Over 500 Titles from Project Gutenberg are in our Library Catalog.

These Books May be Downloaded to E-readers or Read Online.

Other free books from the MCLS site

Sources of E-Books Online

• Google eBookstore – http://books.google.com– Over 3 million books including bestsellers and free

books, many of a historic nature.• ManyBooks.Net – http://manybooks.net– Includes Project Gutenberg free books

• Epub Books – www.epubbooks.com– Free books in EPUB format

• Mobile Reads - http://www.mobileread.com/

How Do I Select an E-Reader?

• Decide which features are most important to you – size and weight– battery life– speakers or headphones– wifi and/or 3G– reading in sunlight or at night– ability to download books through a digital

lending system like OverDrive.

How Do I Select an E-Reader Cont.

• Determine if you ONLY want an e-reader or also want to do e-mail, social networking or other apps. Do you want to “sync” apps?

• Check out the prices of books you might purchase and compare the various stores associated with the e-readers.

• Compare e-reader prices – Are you sure you’ll use a more expensive device? Remember, a newer, improved model is just around the corner!

Informal Sessions Coming Soon!

• Get to know E-Readers Up Close and Personal

– Thursday, March 17 ~ 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.,– Saturday, April 16 ~ 10:00 am – 11:30 am, – Thursday, May 12 ~ 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

• No registration is necessary!