Well…I finally did it! I broke down and bought an eReader. After swearing I could NEVER read an ebook I decided to use the birthday money I was saving for a fancy new stove on the new Kindle Paperwhite; because why not?!

Now, you have to know me. I had piles upon piles of “to be read” books by my bed (yes! you guessed it – years’ worth of Friends of UDPL Book Sale purchases). So many piles that I had to get a small book shelf for them. That small book shelf morphed into a “big” one and had to be moved into my guest room. Yup! You guessed it! There are now NEW piles by my bed! So with an impending vacation on the horizon I was wondering how I was going to get my “Upper Dublin Public Library Annex” (my husband’s words, not mine) to the beach. Then a lightning bolt hit me. Get an eReader! I know I am terribly behind the times and everyone I know, even one of my kids, has one. But you have to understand, I always swore I had to feel the heft of a book in my hands, flick the pages with my fingers.

What converted me? Besides space and convenience you mean? It’s OverDrive, the Library’s vast collection of downloadable eBooks and audiobooks. Here is this wonderful resource at my fingertips that I haven’t utilized. For those of you who don’t know. Overdrive is the Library’s digital collection of free eBooks and audiobooks and all you need is an internet connection and a library card. The best thing is there is no book to remember to renew or turn in. It turns itself in! Now I can go on vacation with tons of books without my husband giving me a hassle about the bags of books I was going to lug. I can also download free magazines through Zinio, our digital magazine collection, and keep them forever.

So how does it work? Ahhh… therein lies the mystery. I have had tons of friends over the years ask me how to use Overdrive and I would always pawn them off with vague remarks about looking at the eLibrary header on our website or asking Kay, our Reference Librarian. Now it is my turn….Kay?