By Emily Nally
Every year the selection of books at the Charlton Street Library continues to grow. The content the library has includes everything from encyclopedias to young adult novels. The library and Karyn herself, are two resources that many students take advantage of, for both school projects and personal enjoyment. However, this is the first year where the LREI library is also digital. LREI is now using an application called OverDrive. Through OverDrive, you can find libraries, listen to audiobooks and read ebooks. OverDrive also has many useful features such as “night color scheme” so reading on your phone or computer won’t strain your eyes. You can also download your book onto your phone so you can listen or read on the train when you don’t have WiFi. It is an extremely convenient way to borrow books through our school library if you do not want to carry anything physical or worry about losing or damaging a school book. It is accessible through their website on school or personal computers and also the app that can be downloaded for free on both iPhone and Android devices.
Curious to see how efficient OverDrive is, I decided to try it out. As someone who prefers ebooks to be on smaller devices such as my phone and not something like my computer, I chose to try out the app rather than the website.
After downloading the app, I made an account with my school email and started messing around because it was initially a little hard to work the app. In case you can’t connect the app with the LREI Charlton Library, follow these steps!
First, you want to click the sidebar and click “Manage libraries.”
Click the plus sign on the top right corner. You should see a screen like this:
I find it easiest to search for libraries by using postal codes (rather than names) so type in your postal code to find not only LREI’s, but public libraries near you that also use OverDrive.
If you live a little farther away from Greenwich village, scroll down and you should see LREI and be able to click on it.
Once you click on LREI, you should get a screen that gives you the option to log in. Type in the code on your school ID (the series of numbers on the bottom that starts with PA) and you should have immediate access to all the ebooks and audiobooks that you can borrow from the LREI digital library. The little icons on the corner of covers will let you know whether its an ebook or audiobook.
Currently, we only have a few selections and it is not nearly as broad as our physical library at Charlton, however if you ask Karyn for anything you’d like in ebook or audiobook form, she will get it for you! Also, the digital library has books classes require, such as The Human Story for ninth graders. If you are someone that prefers to leave a book or two out of their backpack or even annotate online, OverDrive is a great place to check out. I have only recently starting using OverDrive, but it’s a really convenient app that’s helpful for readers and I recommend it for on-the-go reading or listening. Remember to request the books you don’t see in the digital library!