How to Check Out and Return E-books from the Library for Your E-reader or Mobile Device

The Anderson County Library has a growing collection of e-books that you can check out for use on a variety of reading devices, such as the Kindle, Nook, and iPad. e-book borrowing requires a library Card.

These instructions will focus on our downloadable e-books, which are provided to the Library through a service called OverDrive. The process for checking out e-books will be different depending on whether you are using a Kindle e-reader, a Nook or other supported e-reader, or a smart phone or tablet.

Skip to instructions on how to get e-books for:

• Kindle
• Nook or Other Non-Amazon E-reader
• Mobile Device/Nook Color/Tablet
• Returning your e-book

E-books checked out from the Library are readable for 14 days. You can check out up to 8 e-books (or digital audio books) at a time. When an item expires, it will be automatically returned and will no longer be viewable on your computer or e-reader. (You may need to manually delete the e-book from your computer or device after it has expired.)

As is the case with physical books, libraries own a limited number of copies of any given e-book. If all copies of the e-book you’re searching for have been checked out, the record will still display, and you can place a hold on it.

Who can download e-books?

• E-books can be downloaded with a library card in good standing, that is you do not owe over $10 in fines, have more than 5 overdue items out, and are not blocked for any other reason.
• Patrons whose home library is not the Anderson County Library, those patrons from Abbeville, Oconee, Greenville, and Pickens counties may not use OverDrive.  To obtain access, check with your home library to see if they use OverDrive, or purchase the Non-Resident card for $25. 

Where can I download e-books?

• You MAY download e-books using your home computer or portable, wi-fi-enabled device anywhere inside or outside the Library.
• Due to legal issues, you MAY NOT download e-books using a Library public computer.

The Anderson County Library’s OverDrive collection, which currently contains Adobe PDF, Adobe EPUB, and Kindle e-books, is supported by most e-readers and devices.

The following devices work with the Anderson County Library’s e-book collection:

• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• Kobo
• Sony Reader
• iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch (with installation of app)
• Pandigital Novel
• Literati Reader

If you have an e-reader or device not listed above, visit OverDrive’s list of all compatible devices to find out whether your device will work with the Library’s e-books.

The Anderson County Library offers Kindle versions of many of its e-books. These e-books work on both the Kindle e-reader and on any mobile device or computer through a Kindle app such as the Kindle Cloud Reader.

Instructions:

1. Visit our OverDrive e-books collection at andersonlibrary.lib.overdrive.com.
2. Browse or search for an e-book.
3. Once you've found a book, click "Add to cart,"
4. From your Cart, click "Proceed to Checkout."
5. Enter your Library card number
6. Click “Confirm check out”.
7. Click the “Get for Kindle” button. This opens the Amazon.com website. You may be required to sign in with your Amazon.com account if you are not already logged on. (Sign up for a free account.)
8. Select a Kindle device or Kindle reading app. Click the “Get library book” button and sync your device or app to download the book, or choose to send it directly to your Kindle via USB.
9. You can also deliver e-books wirelessly to a Wi-Fi enabled Kindle.

In order to read the Library's e-books on a 1st Edition Nook or Nook Simple Edition, Kobo, or other more "traditional" e-reader, you must download and install the third party software program Adobe Digital Editions on the computer you will be using with your e-reader. If you have a Nook Color, Tablet, or HD, please follow instructions below.

Instructions:

1. Download and install the free Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) software on your computer (you can also access it on the Help page).
2. Create a free Adobe ID and authorize your computer. When the Setup Assistant appears, click "get an Adobe ID online" if you don't already have one.
3. Go to the Library’s OverDrive catalog and search or browse for an e-book. (Tip: Use "Advanced Search" and search by e-book format.)
4. Once you've found a book, click "Add to cart," then from your Cart, click "Proceed to Checkout."
5. Enter your Library card number
6. Click “Confirm check out” and click the “Download” button under each e-book.
7. In the pop-up window that appears, select “Open with: Adobe Digital Editions.”
8. After ADE launches, connect your e-reader to your computer. In the ADE screen, drag the e-book icon to your e-reader.
9. Disconnect your e-reader safely. The e-book will return automatically after 14 days. (You can return it early by using the drop-down menu on the book cover icon in ADE.)

You can use the Library’s e-books on popular mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone and iPad, Android, Blackberry, Nook Color/Tablet/HD or Xoom Tablet. Computer syncing is not required; e-books can be delivered directly to your device through the free Overdrive Media Console app.

Instructions:

1. Search your device's app store for the Overdrive Media Console app and install it on your phone.
2. Authorize the app with your Adobe ID (tap "Register at Adobe.com" if you do not have one).
3. Tap "Get Books," then "Add a Website" and search for the Anderson County Library in South Carolina. Tap the star icon to add it to your favorites, then tap the ">" arrow to launch the catalog.
4. Search or browse the OverDrive catalog for an e-book.
5. Tap "Add to cart" and "Proceed to checkout."
6. Tap "Confirm check out" and enter your Library card number.
7. Tap "Download" to get the e-book.
8. Your e-book launches in the OverDrive app. Swipe pages to read, and tap the center of any page for menus.

Your eBooks will be returned automatically after 7 or 14 days, depending on what you selected during checkout. They will never become “overdue.” However, you may choose to return them early, in order to free up one of your four checkouts, or to make them available to other patrons.

Using Adobe Digital Editions. To return an e-book early:

1. Open Adobe Digital Editions on your computer
2. In the "Library View," click on the book you want to return
3. Click the triangular button next to the title to open the Item Options window
4. Click on "Return Borrowed Item"

To return an eBook early using Overdrive Media Console:

1. Open the Overdrive Media Console app on your device.
2. Tap “Bookshelf.”
3. Tap the “plus” symbol to the right of the book’s cover.
4. Tap “Return/Delete.”
5. Tap “Return then Delete.”

Here are the basic instructions to return a Kindle e-book.

1. An eBook checked out on the Kindle is returned through Amazon. Go to www.amazon.com, and from the Kindle menu on the right, select “Manage Your Kindle”.
2. Sign in to your Amazon account.
3. Select the “Actions” dropdown menu next to the book you want to return.
   (Tip: the words “public library” will appear next to any library e-books)
4. From the menu, select “Return this book”.
5. Select “Yes” to return the book.
6. After you return the book, it will still show in Your Kindle Library list. To remove it from the list, select Actions again, and from the dropdown menu select “Delete from library”.

Due to the nature of technology and the publishing industry, the world of e-books and e-readers is always changing. Check this area regularly for troubleshooting tips and updates as they are discovered.

Nook

If you’re having a problem, chances are someone else has had it, too. Search the Nook support forum and the Adobe Digital Editions discussion forum.

Error: “User not activated”

When attempting to read a borrowed OverDrive e-book on the Nook, users have reported seeing the message “User not activated.”

Follow these instructions to reset Adobe Digital Editions and re-authorize your Nook.

• Note: If you still get the error message after reinstalling ADE and reauthorizing your computer and your Nook, you may need to reset your Nook to factory settings and start over. Do this under the Settings menu on your Nook. Be sure to back up any books you have previously saved to your device by copying them to your computer manually, as this function will wipe your Nook’s memory.