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

Piscataway Public Public Library cardholders now have immediate access to hundreds of digital audio books from Listen NJ, a pilot project for 17 participating libraries in New Jersey!

Access couldn’t be easier! Use your personal computer and library card to check-out and download books on categories such as:

You may download the audio books 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.)

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

Check Out Details for 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 loan period is 2 weeks. When the loan period is over the file expires and the material is automatically checked back in.
• You may put Items on reserve. When the requested title is available you will be sent an e-mail . You will have three 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.

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To access digital books at ListenNJ you will need:

• A valid Piscataway Public library card.
• Access to the Internet.
• Free software for the device or computer on which you wish to use the materials you download from ListenNJ.

Please note that you can download and enjoy digital books at home, at work or when you travel, but you cannot download them to the Library's public Internet computers.

Go to : ListenNJ

• For an overview of the process click on New to Digital Books? Click Here!.
• Click on the OverDrive Audio Book link under Software Downloads.

• Make sure that your computer or device meets the system requirements for the OverDrive Media Console.
• Download the OverDrive Media Console (instructions for downloading).

• Make sure that your computer has Windows Media Player 9 or newer (download).
• Note* - The first time the Windows Media Player attempts to play a copyrighted file, it will alert you that Security Upgrade (instructions) must be performed. This is a one time process that identifies the copy of Windows Media Player with the computer on which the Player is being used.

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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 Fictions, 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 and Learn a Language.

• 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 the 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
• If you are finished, click on Proceed to Checkout.

• Click OK on the Security Alert dialog box.
• Select Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium in the first drop down box . Piscataway Public Public Library is not listed separately; it is a member of this consortium.

• Type in your complete library card number.
• 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.

• The book is now checked out to you and you may now download your selection.

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• 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. Click ‘OK’ to save the files to the default location.

The Windows Media Player Security Upgrade

• First time OverDrive users will then by prompted for the security upgrade mentioned in the Note in Getting Started above. Click OK.

• Cancel the download.
• Click on Tools on the titlebar of the OverDrive Media Console.

• Click OK.
• Answer Yes to Allow Windows Media Player to download the security upgrade.
• Then click Play to learn whether the download was successful.
• Once you have backed up your license you are 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 to be downloaded, you may have to wait several minutes.

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• 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 the Media Explorer to jump to specific sections. (Click on the part of the book you would like to hear under Parts.)

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• In OverDrive Media Console, highlight a book and click the ‘Transfer/burn’ button.
• Windows Media Player opens. Click the ‘Copy to CD or Device’ button.
• Select the track(s) to be burned to CD by checking the box next to the track name.
• Place a blank CDR in your CD-ROM drive and ensure that your CD drive is selected in the right hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Click the ‘Copy’ button in the upper right hand corner of Windows Media Player to add the track(s) to the list of files to be burned to disc. Windows Media Player will inspect, convert and temporarily copy the file in preparation for burning. 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 and the status field will indicate ‘Complete’.

Some titles cannot be burned to a CD because of copyright restrictions. To learn whether a particular CD can be burned or not:

• Click on the image of the book in your results list (do not click on add to cart )
• Scroll down to the bottom of the book description to Digital Rights Information

• Restrictions on the use of this title will be displayed.

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Check here for a list of compatible devices.

• In OverDrive Media Console, highlight a book and click the ‘Transfer/burn’ button.
• Windows Media Player opens. Click the ‘Copy to CD or Device’ button.
• Select the track(s) to be burned to CD by checking the box next to the track name.
• Connect your portable media device and ensure that it is selected in the right hand pane of Windows Media Player.
• Click the ‘Copy' button in the upper right hand corner of Windows Media Player to copy the track(s) to the portable device. Windows Media Player will inspect and 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’.

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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? You can get email support by clicking Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium in the drop down box on ListenNJ's  Help - Contact Support page. Remember Piscataway Public Public Library is not listed separately; it is a member of this consortium.   When emailing please send as much information as possible.  Include:
  • Your operating system and the browser you are using.
  • Whether or not you have a firewall.
  • Steps to replicate the problem.
  • Screen shots would be helpful.
  • Exact text of error message.
  • Anything else you can think of that might be helpful.