ListenNJnw Downloadable Audiobooks
Login from anywhere
Once you have a Randolph library card and PIN, click the graphic on the right to connect to the ListenNJnw web site and login to your personal account. If you don’t know your PIN, visit the library and ask the staff to give it to you. An e-mail address is required.
Download and install free software
As a first step, you will need to install free OverDrive Media Console software. After downloading and installing it, open the software to register and activate it for each machine that you will use. A security upgrade must be completed for your Windows Media Player. Read software help and link to download.
Search the ListenNJnw collection and add to cart or place a hold
After you search and find a title of interest, click “add to cart.” Titles in your cart are placed on temporary reserve for 30 minutes. You may have up to 6 titles in your cart at the same time. If a desired title is not available, you may click “place a hold.”
Check out and download at home from your cart
From the “My Cart” screen, click “Proceed to Checkout.” On the download page, click the “Download” link under the cover image to start. Check off which parts you would like to download. Click “OK” and download to your OverDrive Media Console. OverDrive audiobooks can be downloaded to multiple computers, transferred to supported portable devices, and burned to CD (when allowed by the publisher). Read more help with details on downloading.
You can have up to 5 titles checked out at one time. These titles remain on your account for the full borrowing period; you may not return them early. The license allows you to listen to the audiobook for 14 days. Read more Borrowing Help on the ListenNJnw web site.
Place a hold
If you find a title you wish to read that is not currently available, you may click “place a hold.” You can place up to 7 titles on hold at a given time. The “My Holds” section lists all titles that you have currently placed on hold. You’ll receive an e-mail notification once a title you have placed on hold becomes available. You then have 3 days to download it before the hold expires. Use the “add to cart” link to add the title to your cart and check out.
Transfer to a portable player
Audiobook titles for OverDrive Media Console are delivered in parts, with each part generally not exceeding 18MB in size. As long as your portable device has at least 18MB of storage space, you should be able to transfer a single part or more to it at a time. Read detailed help on transferring to a portable device.
Many players on the market are designed primarily for use with music. To ensure that your portable device will play audiobooks, look for the “PlaysForSure” logo on the device’s packaging, and make sure that both “Download” and “Subscription” are checked under “Audio.” Functions important for audiobooks include:
- Support of WMP/DRM encrypted files
- Adequate memory: 256MB will hold one eight-hour book, 512MB will hold two books, 1G will hold four books, etc.
- Bookmarking or “Off/On,” defined as shutting player off without stopping/pausing, then restarting player to return to same place in file
- Full time display, forward and reverse, and other aids to navigation
- Ability to play 32kbps WMA files
OverDrive list of known compatible portable players
OverDrive list of incompatible portable players
iPod users: All OverDrive audiobooks are in copy-protected WMA format which is not supported by the iPod and Mac. You will need to download audiobooks onto a Windows system and burn the content to regular compact discs and then transfer them to your iPod using iTunes. This is only permitted for your own personal use.
Burn to CD
Some titles can be burned to CD, but others cannot. The publisher of each title decides whether or not to allow this. In OverDrive Media Console, highlight the desired title, click the “Burn” button and follow instructions for your version of Windows Media Player. Each part of the title will burn to 1 CD. Audiobooks on CD may be played on newer CD players that support playback of CD-Rs and CD-RWs or may be transferred to an iPod using iTunes software. Read help on burning an audiobook to CD with Windows Media Player versions 9, 10 or 11.
Renew/Check out again
Your items cannot be renewed, but you can check them out again if they are available when your checkout expires. When you check out the title again, the license is reactivated. Click the “Download” button to download a new license. The license for the title can be downloaded up to 3 times. You do not need to download the actual audiobook files another time.
Delete
You will not be able to play the audiobook after the license expires. The file remains on your personal computer and portable listening device and must be manually deleted. Open OverDrive Media Console. Locate the item you wish to delete in the “Media Library.” Single-click the title to select it, then click the “Delete” button.