I borrowed my first book on the iPad

Wait...what?

I don't mean "I bought my first digital book" no no no, I mean I went to my local library (virtually) and borrowed a book (digital) which downloaded to my iPad and which in a few days I will return.

The library is Castle Hill Library, and they have simply paid for access to the Overdrive system. This is an American digital library system, which is now available from Softlink in Australia. I tried this a little while ago on the computer, and was a little dismayed at the complexity to set it up. The iPad app that is now available makes it all work rather well.

To get started, you need to download the free Overdrive app. You then need to register with an Adobe ID. This is because the back system is based on "Adobe Digital Editions" which is NOT simply another name for Acrobat and pdfs. It is a fully fledged digital book management system. Books or magazines that are downloaded are time bombed... that is, they become inaccessible after a set number of days, and thus are deemed to have been returned.

In the Overdrive system, all this backroom tech is integrated into a full on-line library system. All the host library has to do is decide on the number of books they are prepared to pay for, choose the books and provide links to the Overdrive site. I would love to do that at Pacific Hills but the costs are quite prohibitive at the moment.

Back to the iPad. Once the Overdrive app is installed, and you have registered with your free Adobe account, you then search for your local library. It is interesting to see the lists of school and public libraries available... not that anyone can go and  use them: you need a library membership number to do that. Once you have identified a library you do belong to you enter your membership number and pin and start browsing.

Given how used we are to purchasing digital books (infinite supply) and obtaining copies of pdfs and free digital books (infinite supply) its a shock to find that the book you want is not available. How can that be? Under the Overdrive licence you purchase the right to loan a title as though it were a real physical book. Purchase two copies, and two copies are available to the clients. Purchase one copy, and if somebody borrows it, the title is unavailable till it is returned.

To assuage the anxious, there is an option to queue for titles, and I imagine an email is sent when the title is available.

The book downloads quickly, though the one I got was text only and the reality may be different with a graphical heavy work. The reader is adequate without being full featured. You can change to "night view", pick between sepia and white background, change the brightness and font size. I did find the page turning to be a bit "hair trigger". I prefer other readers that require a little "push" rather than just a tap.

So there it is, a really nice experience once the set up is done... and you can borrow a book from your local library from anywhere in the world and at any time day or night.

This is not a feature that I would think could specially help our school laptops, as it is predicated on the iPad being a personal device... even if your school actually has been able to provide the Overdrive system. It is worth talking about, especially as, unlike some, I find the iPad quite nice as an eBook reader.

Andrew Lack