Stop throwing your cash away on Netflix, iTunes and Amazon! Did you know that with a Chicago Public Library card, you have free access to all the latest Book, CD, and DVD releases is available right at your fingertips. If you’re going on a long trip, want something to listen to while working out, or you just don’t like to read, now you can download audiobooks, music, and videos from the CPL website FOR FREE and put them right on your Ipod, Iphone, or other mp3 player of choice. Although a lot of the collection is in WMA format, you can easily download the OverDrive Media Console v3.2, which makes most WMA Audiobooks iPod®-compatible through free downloads!
Premier publishers, including Random House Audio, Hachette Audio, Penguin Audio, BBC Audiobooks America, Brilliance Audio, Tantor Media, and many more, allow this for all of the WMA Audiobooks OverDrive offers. Best sellers such as Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight,” Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers,” John Grisham’s “The Appeal,” and Chuck Palahniuk’s “Pygmy” are iPod-compatible downloads, along with highly-anticipated releases like Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” and Tami Hoag’s “The Trouble with J.J.” New iPod compatible audiobooks include:
Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile 
The Lost Symbol Dan Brown
Persuasion Jane Austen
Moby Dick Herman Melville
Paradise Lost John Milton
Night Elie Wiesel
The 4-Hour Work Week Timothy Ferriss
You can also download video files! See the Kennedys, videos on history and lots of kids’s videos. Watch them on your computer or transfer them to your portable media player. (Most videos are only compatible with PC and WMV.) It works similarly to put a hold on an item. Search for a title, find a version that says ‘eAudiobook’ next to it, and add to cart. When you’re done, proceed to checkout and you’ll probably have to re-enter your library card number and zipcode. Then there will be a button to download your media. Keep in mind that it will expire 3 weeks from the day you download it.
You can also go to http://overdrive.chipublib.org browse the whole collection of downloadable media, and choose only the formats that are compatible with your computer. You can also browse by new releases, most popular, recently returned, or genre. The Chicago Public Library has made a great FAQ for first-time users. If you have any problems, go here; for answers.
Stay at Home!
You don’t need to come in to a location — you can browse from the comfort of your home and take advantage of all the resources the library offers online:
▪ Download MP3s, DVDs and Audio Books
▪ Place materials on hold and have them transferred to the branch of your preference
▪ Access over 80 online resources, including full print newspaper, magazine and journal articles
▪ Review your account and renew checked out materials
Download digital media to your personal computer anytime, day or night. All you need is a library card. Nearly all OverDrive WMA Audiobooks in your download collection are now compatible with the iPod®, iPhone™, iPod touch®, and iPod nano®, as well as Zune® and thousands of other portable devices, with a simple upgrade of OverDrive Media Console to version 3.2 on Windows® PCs.
In addition to enhanced transfer functionality, the new version of OverDrive Media Console also offers several highly requested features, which allow users to:
- Send MP3 Audiobooks to the iTunes® Library with Transfer Wizard.
- Burn audiobook parts to CD in just a few clicks using Burn Wizard–on all supported Windows operating systems.
- Perform a test burn.
- Enjoy a new playback option wherein OverDrive Media Console automatically resumes playback from the most recently played point.
- Let OverDrive Media Console alert them of software releases and news about the software–automatically.
- With iTunes v8.1.0.52 (or newer) in place, use Transfer Wizard to send titles to the iPod shuffle®.
All You Need to Do is Get a Library Card
Getting a Chicago Public Library card is easy and it’s free.
Chicago Residents
An adult age 14 and older, must complete and sign an application and present:
A current valid ID with photo, name and Chicago address (Drivers License, Illinois State ID, etc.) Anyone without a fixed address may use a letter certifying their Chicago resident status by the social service agency where he or she receives mail. (No post office box numbers will be accepted.)
-or-
Two pieces of current identification (one must include name and Chicago address), which may include personal check, current telephone, gas, electric or cable bill, mail with a current postmark (within 30 days) or Voter’s Registration card (no post box numbers will be accepted).
A child age 13 and younger, who can write or print his/her first and last name, must present a completed and signed application which includes the signature of a parent or guardian. ID must be presented at this time.
New card-holders can have up to five items on their account during the first thirty days after receiving a library card. After the first 30 days, the maximum is 30 items on a current account. This includes any combination of items checked out, holds (up to a maximum of five), and/or Interlibrary Loan requests.
