New at The Library!

Check Out and Download Digital Audio Books for free, 24/7!

South Brunswick Public Library cardholders now have immediate access to hundreds of digital audio books from Listen NJ.

About ListenNJ

Access couldn't be easier! Use your personal computer and library card to check-out and download:

• popular fiction
• biography
• business and career
• mystery
• language learning
• children's literature
• and much more!

You may download to your personal computer and transfer the data to a windows based MP3 player. (Sorry this does not work with IPODs! - Check here for a list of compatible devices.)

Digital audio books can also be burned to a CD-ROM disc to be played on a CD/MP3 player.

Details on Checking Out and Downloading your Audio Book:

• You do not need to come to the library to either select or return a digital audio book. Everything is done from a remote computer.
• The typical loan period is 2 weeks, although this may vary from title to title.. When the loan period is over the file expires and you will no longer have access to it. You cannot return a book early.
• You may put Items on reserve. When the requested title is available you will be sent an e-mail . Once the email is sent, you will have 5 days to download your reserved audio book, otherwise it will go to the next customer waiting for it.
• You can check out up to three digital audio books at one time.
• Please note that you cannot download audiobooks to the library's public computers.

Getting Started

To access digital books at ListenNJ you will need:

• A valid South Brunswick library card and PIN.
• Access to the Internet.

• Before you download your very first audiobook, you will need to download OverDrive Media Console. You only need to download the Console once.
• To download the Console, go to ListenNJ (http://www.listennj.com)
• Once there, click on the OverDrive Audio Book link under Software Downloads.

• After clicking on this link, you'll see the following:

• Here you'll see the system requirements and installation instructions for the Console. Now click on the OverDrive Media Console link (circled in red above).

• After clicking, you'll see a page with the exact same icon one more time. Click on it to download the Console.
• To burn audiobooks to a CD, or to transfer them to an MP3 player, you'll need Windows Media Player 9 or newer. Click here to download as needed.

Search for a Good Book to Download

Go back to the Listen NJ homepage

• Search for a book under the Digital Book Search column:
  • by author, title, or all.
  • Browse the collection by availability in Always Available, Recently Added, Try These, and Classics.
  • Browse the collection by genre in Fiction: All Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers, Romance, Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Children's Fiction.
  • Browse the Non-Fiction collection by subject: All Nonfiction, Biography and Autobiography, Business, Self-Help, Learn a Language.
• Please note that only one person at a time may check out an audiobook. However, books listed under Always Available may be checked out by anyone at any time.

• If you decide to Browse a category, you may sort all of the results by clicking on title, author, published date, most popular, or date added to the site at the top of the column as shown below:

• Select your book by clicking on add to cart for the title you want on the right side of the screen.
• Your cart will then be displayed.
• To select another book click on Continue Browsing, or
• If you are finished, click on Proceed to Checkout.

• Here's where you log in as a South Brunswick Library patron..
• Select Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium (South Brunswick Library is not listed separately. It's a member of this consortium)
• Type in your complete library card number without the a or b.
• Type in your library PIN.

• Hit <Enter> or click on Login

• The Check Out screen asks you to Confirm Checkout and tells you how many other books you currently have checked out.
• Click on Confirm Checkout if you wish to proceed.
• Remember that you can only have 3 titles checked out at any time, and that once you check an item out, it stays out for 2 weeks. There's no way to return an audiobook before the due date. So please make sure you truly want the item before you check it out.

After clicking on Confirm check out, the book is checked out to you and you may now download it.

How to Download a Book

• Click on the 'Download' link for your audio book after checking the title out.

• The OverDrive Media Console will open and prompt you for a download location for your audio files. We recommend that you simply click OK to save the files to the default location.

The Windows Media Player Security Upgrade

• The very first time you use OverDrive, and only the very first time, Windows Media Player asks for a security upgrade.. Click OK.

• Cancel the audiobook download.
• Click on Tools on the titlebar of the OverDrive Media Console.
• Click on Windows Media Player Security Upgrade.

• Click OK to allow Windows Media Player to download the security upgrade.
• When the upgrade is done, click Play on Windows Media Player to learn whether the upgrade was successful.
• Exit out of Windows Media Player. You'll be asked to back up your license. Say Yes to backup.
• You are now ready to download your audio book.
• Go back to the ListenNJ screen with your selected title(s) and click on the Download button again.

• Select the parts you want to download and click OK. Depending on the file size and the number of parts you select, downloading everything may take several minutes..

How to Play and Navigate a Book

• Highlight the title you'd like to hear in the OverDrive Media Console and click the 'Play' button.

• OverDrive Media Explorer opens and begins playing the book.
• Use the On-Screen Navigation of Overdrive Media Explorer to jump to specific sections. (Click on the part of the book you would like to hear under Parts.)
  

How to Burn a Book to a CD

• In OverDrive Media Console, highlight a book and click the Transfer/burn button.
• Windows Media Player opens. Click the Burn tab at the top.
• Click on the Burn List button in the left hand pane. A list of files you can burn appears. The audiobook title you selected in the OverDrive Console should be somewhere on the list. Click on the title.
• Select the parts to be burned to CD by checking the box next each part's name.
• Place a blank CDR in your CD-ROM drive and ensure that your CD drive shows up in the right hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Click the Start Burn button in the left hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Windows Media Player will begin burning the parts you selected. This process may take a few minutes. You may track the Player's progress by monitoring the 'Status' field in Windows Media Player.

• When the disc is complete, Windows Media Player will eject the disc.
  

How to Transfer a Book to a Portable Device

Check here for a list of compatible devices (MP3 players). Remember that iPods are not compatible with OverDrive digital audiobooks..

• In OverDrive Media Console, highlight a book and click the 'Transfer/burn' button.
• Windows Media Player opens. Click the Sync button at the top.
• Click on the Sync List button in the left hand pane. A list of files you can burn appears. The audiobook title you selected in the OverDrive Console should be somewhere on the list. Click on the title.
• Select the parts to be transferred to the portable device by checking the boxes next to each part's name.
• Connect your portable media device and ensure that it shows up in the right hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Click the Start Sync button in the left hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Windows Media Player will copy the file(s) to the device. This process should take less than a minute, depending on how many files you transfer. You may track the Player's progress by monitoring the 'Status' field in Windows Media Player.
  

• When the transfer is complete, the status field in Windows Media Player will indicate Complete.

Troubleshooting

Need Help? Here are some troubleshooting tips from ListenNJ.

Additional error messages when downloading:

• The most common problem when attempting to download a book is your computer's firewall, if you have one.
  • If you are running Norton Internet Security you will need to set up a rule to allow it to accept downloads from OverDrive.
  • Check your Windows XP firewall.
• "When I tried to download the digital audio book the error message said I needed an Internet connection."
  • Your firewall may be blocking the download. You must configure your firewall to permit the OverDrive Media Console to access the Internet. If you have Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall, you can use these directions to configure it to permit the OverDrive Media Console to access the Internet.
  • Check Windows Media Player's connection. To do so, open the Windows Media Player, go to Tools, Options. Under Player Settings select the option that says Connect to the Internet.
• Need more information? Have a question not covered on this page or on the troubleshooting tips from ListenNJ? During library hours, please call the library Information Desk at 732-329-4000 ext 7286.