NP: DC Public Library Offers MP3 Downloads

[Henry]

A-and with the new Supreme Court ruling negating DC's gun ban, it's nice to be able to get things out of the library without having to take your guns to town.  [hm]

http://tinyurl.com/65jjyg 
DC Public Library Offers MP3 Downloads
The D.C. Public Library announced yesterday that it has a new online collection of audiobooks available for download in the MP3 format. http://tinyurl.com/65fumk 

It's a first for a public library system, according to a statement from the system's chief librarian. While public libraries have offered audiobooks online before, the standard move has been to make those offerings available in a format playable on Microsoft's Windows Media Player software. That's not terribly convenient for people who want to listen to an audio title on their iPod. DC's new online collection is designed to be iPod-friendly -- for Windows users, anyway.

To use the service, users will have to download a piece of software called OverDrive Media Console. Right now, eek, that software is not available for Macs, but a Mac version is on the way, said George Williams, a public information officer with the D.C. library system.

The expectation is that users will delete the files after 21 days, the standard length of time for checking out a book, he said. A quick look at the service turns up plenty of beach reading: The service offers books by David Baldacci, Dean Koontz, and James Patterson, just to name a few of the familiar names among the authors with titles here. (I've also written about other sites such as Podiobooks.com where audiobooks are offered for free.)

"We want to make sure the public knows we offer an increasing collection on multiple platforms," said Williams.

By Mike Musgrove, Washington Post  |  June 27, 2008; 12:25 PM ET

HENRY MU
Information, Media, and Technology Consultant

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog_rss/henrymu/