In addition to borrowing audio CD’s or cassette tapes you can now download complete eAudiobooks by NetLibrary/Recorded Books from home. Over 1900 titles by Recorded Books are available for downloading 24 hours a day. Adult, teen and children’s titles are available and Recorded Books is adding more titles each month! No more reserves or waiting for the latest best seller; there is always a downloadable copy available. Best of all there is nothing to return to the library and there are no fines!

Newport News Public Library cardholders can now download audiobooks to their computers and transfer them to portable devices at any time of the day, from the comfort of their own homes!

Frequently Asked Questions

Creating an Account/Logging In
Searching
Downloading an eAudiobook
Checking out an eAudiobook
Renewing an eAudiobook
Transferring an eAudiobook

There is also lots of detailed Help information available available on the NetLibrary website. If you have questions about using this service, you can also call the NetLibrary help line at 1-800-758-5995.

System Requirements - Audiobooks can be played on any desktop or portable device running Windows Media player (version 9 -11). You can use a wide variety of portable listening devices.

Note - if you are using the Media Center or Download Manager, you will need Windows Media Player 11.

Creating an Account - When you access the NetLibrary, you will be asked for your library card. Once your card number is entered and accepted, you will have access to the downloable eAudiobooks and can download and checkout books. A separate login and password is not needed.

Logging in
Once you have created an account, you can login to your library's collection from any computer with Internet access. Go to www.netlibrary.com, click on Login, and enter your library card.

Searching for an Audiobook

Browse and Search for Titles

You can start your search for an audiobook any of the following places:

Basic Search lets you quickly perform a search by entering terms and selecting a single search field. You may choose to search for your terms in the Keyword, Title, or Author fields. Basic search is prominently featured on the home page and is also available on the right side of every page with the exception of the advanced search page.

Enter search term in the Basic Search field.
Select keyword, title, or author.
Click 'Search'.

Advanced Search lets you construct more complicated searches using multiple fields and boolean operators.

◦Click on the 'Advanced Search' tab located in the top navigation.
◦Use to the drop down menu to select search parameter (Title, Author, Subject, ISBN).
◦Enter search term or multiple search terms using Boolean operators.
◦Click search.
Tip: you can refine search results by using the optional audiobooks limiter.

The eAudiobook and eBook Center, available by clicking on the links on your NetLibrary home page, allow you to limit searches to audiobook content and browse featured titles.
 

Downloading an Audiobook

There are three options to download an eAudiobooks:

• NetLibrary Media Center
• Download Manager
• Web-based download 
  
  NOTE: The NetLibrary Media Center and Download Manager cannot be downloaded to a library computer. You must use the web-based download to download and transfer eAudiobooks within the library and eAudiobooks cannot be downloaded to a library computer.

For an explanation and comparison of the three download options, checkout the NetLibrary Help information.

NetLibrary Media Center (system requirements) - is a free, downloadable application that makes listening to eAudiobooks easy and simple. The Media Center will transfer your eAudiobooks to your PC or to your portable player with just one-click. You can also use the Media Center as a standalone way to access your library's entire eAudiobook collection.

If you choose to download the Media Center, please be aware that the process can be very time consuming, as the software will likely require many updates to your computer. Once downloaded, the software provides a more graphic browsing interface and allows you to remain logged in — you  will only need to open the software to access the collection, rather than having to go to the library website. You will get to see a rotating collection of titles, and keep track of favorites, preferences, and more. 

For more details, go to the NetLibrary Media Center Information Page.

*Note: At this time, the Media Center is only available for computers running Windows.

Checking out an Audiobook
The default checkout period for a NetLibrary Audiobook is three weeks. You may check out a maximum of ten (10) audiobook titles at one time. Please do not download audiobooks to public computers in the library.

From search results, click on the 'Download this Audiobook' link. Next you will have 2 options for how to proceed.

1. You can Use the One-Click Download with the NetLibrary Media Center. This will require a separate download of the Media Center program.

2. You can manually select your download option: CD quality, or radio quality. Radio quality provides faster download speed and is ideal for users with dial-up connections; CD quality offers high-fidelity playback for patrons with high-speed Internet access.

If you choose to manually download, it will prompt you to Open or Save the audiobook file. If you select 'Open', NetLibrary will launch your media player and begin streaming the audio as the file is downloaded. Once the download is complete, the file will be saved to your media player's download directory. If you choose the 'Save' option, you can download the file to a directory of your choosing. Once the download is complete, you can open the audiobook directly from your media player

Renewing an Audiobook
Once an audiobook has been downloaded, it can be renewed at any time.

Go to www.netlibrary.com and login with your library card number.
Click on the 'My Checked out Items' link.
Click on 'Renew this Audiobook'
If you are attempting to access an audiobook with an expired license from your media player, NetLibrary will launch a pop-up browser that will prompt you to login to renew your checkout.

1. Enter your library card number.
2. Click the 'login' button.
3. Your license will automatically be renewed.
4. Click 'play' to listen to the audiobook.

Transferring an Audiobook to a Portable Device
In most cases, you can use your media player to transfer a downloaded audiobook to supported portable devices. 

eAudiobooks can be transferred to a wide range of portable listening devices for offline use. If you want to transfer your eAudiobook to a portable device you MUST open the eAudiobook file and obtain a license before transferring the file. Use Windows Media Player to copy the eAudiobook file to a device. Follow the appropriate transfer process depending on the version of Windows Media Player that you have installed. Details for different versions of Windows Media Player can be found here.

NetLibrary automatically transfers a license to your portable device that will allow you to access the audiobook for up to three weeks from the date of original checkout. Please refer to your media player's help section for additional information.