ListenNJ!

How many of you own e-readers or are thinking of purchasing one? Or perhaps you enjoy having an e-book handy on your computer to read or an audiobook on your mp3 device to listen to during a long walk? Did you know you could download free audiobooks and e-books from ListenNJ using your Matawan Aberdeen library card? ListenNJ currently offers over 6000 audiobooks and 2000 e-books! There is something for everyone – adult fiction (including drama, horror, mysteries, science fiction) and non-fiction (including health & fitness, biographies, current events), as well as books for teens. You can checkout up to five books at one time and keep them for up to two weeks, just like regular library books.

Downloading audio and e-books is very easy once you get the hang of it. You simply need to install software found on the ListenNJ website onto your computer, OverDrive Media Console (for audiobooks) or Adobe Digital Editions (for e-books), choose your book, and then follow the steps through to the checkout. Be sure to choose “Libraries of Middlesex County Consortium” as your library since the Matawan Aberdeen Library is part of this consortium and is not listed separately. Our computer technician, Curtis, wrote a very helpful guide for using ListenNJ which can be found on the homepage of our website.

Last week Curtis hosted an e-reader workshop where he showed patrons how to download audiobooks and e-books onto their computers and then demonstrated transferring the books to the e-reader using the Barnes and Noble Nook color. E-books can also be transferred to the Apple iPad, Sony Reader, Border’s Kobo, or the newest Amazon Kindle, or simply left to read on your computer. I attended the workshop since this was new territory for me, too. After practicing with the Nook for a little while, I felt like a pro and wondered why I had waited so long to try ListenNJ. Try it for yourself!