Wednesday, August 29, 2007

#22 - Overdrive Downloadable Audio Books & Videos

I prefer reading print books over listening to audio books, but out of curiosity I searched the available audiobooks through the Maryland Digitial Library Consortium at http://maryland.lib.overdrive.com/, which uses the OverDrive Media Console™, version 2.1. The audio book titles for the most part are two or three years old two and I remember reading many of them when they were issued in print. If you want to listen to newly published titles like FDR by Jean Edward Smith and Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan, be prepared for a long wait on the hold list. Evidently, the MDLC is very popular with our library's users. Hopefully, more new titles published during the past year will hopefully appear on future lists.


Videos can be downloaded in either enhanced or mobile quality formats. Even in enhanced mode, the audio and picture was not as clear as on a DVD, but it wasn't bad. Even with the library's high speed Internet connect, it took over a half-hour to download a 1 hour video.


Unfortunately, you cannot test drive the MDLC Overdrive program in your library, but if you have high-speed Internet through your local cable provider at home, check out these two videos:

Home Movie by Chris Smith (2006)


From the publisher: Home Movie is Chris Smith's loving look at five extraordinary homes and the charming, bizarre people who inhabit them. Smith (American Movie) interweaves their stories in a way that makes the audience think about the meaning of home and the place of the individual in society. Smith delights in the eccentricities of these unique characters in much the same way that he did in American Movie and connects their stories into a mosaic of American ingenuity and architectural possibility.






Glenn Tilbrook: One For The Road by Glenn Tilbrook (2006)


From the publisher: Ever wondered what it would be like to go on a cross-country tour with a rock star? Filmmaker Amy Pickard did and made a movie about it. Expecting 18-wheelers and five star hotels, she found Glenn Tilbrook, the former lead singer of Squeeze, touring in a mobile home and bedding down in roadside campgrounds. This charming documentary follows Tilbrook on every step of his first solo tour of America in his beloved - but not so reliable - home on wheels. From the search for his missing RV; adventures with engine repair and exploding generators, to a musical house call that one fan will never forget: All access, all of the time. It's the story of how an established artist adjusts to his independent surroundings. It's a commentary on the current state of the music industry. But, most importantly, it's a human-interest story that transcends its musical base. Songs: Another Nail in My Heart, Take Me I'm Yours, Goodbye Girl, Is That Love, Third Rail, By the Light of the Cash Machine, Is That Love, Pulling Mussels (From the Shell), Up the Junction, Tempted, Slightly Drunk, When the Hangover Strikes, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Hourglass, This is Where You Ain't, Parallel World, Some Fantastic Place, GSDH Essential

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Audio books are awesome to listen.Narrator plays vital role to grab attention of audio book.

Those who are not used to audio books then listen a blowing book called An American Life This is a richly detailed, definitive account of a great and historic presidency and of a unique American Life from the man who restored America’s confidence and strength and shaped the future of the world.
listen this and I bet you are going to get addicted for audio books.

Divya Sharma said...

I spent a large amount of time on this "Thing." Quite a lot of time was spent exploring Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium (OverDrive), since this is one of HCL's primary electronic resources. I learned that in addition to digital audiobooks, OverDrive also makes available Adobe eBooks and downloadable video. Curious as to what kinds of items were available, I searched "general fiction" and found 1,820 items: some in Adobe eBook format only, others as audio books only and some in both formats. I also discovered "waiting lists" for some items.

I got an opportunity to hear and practice the language through a website. Log on to ”Audio Books” because this is easy to use. Collins 40-mimute audio can help you learn short and simple phrases and different languages quickly just by listening and repeating. I hope it will be useful to you, too.

Divya Sharma said...

I spent a large amount of time on this "Thing." Quite a lot of time was spent exploring Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium (OverDrive), since this is one of HCL's primary electronic resources. I learned that in addition to digital audiobooks, OverDrive also makes available Adobe eBooks and downloadable video. Curious as to what kinds of items were available, I searched "general fiction" and found 1,820 items: some in Adobe eBook format only, others as audio books only and some in both formats. I also discovered "waiting lists" for some items.
. Here are famous books by Darwin, Newton and Shakespeare in audio format. Also discover the stories behind some well-known works, such as Marie Stopes’ Married Love, the original radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Check out ”Audio Books”.

Unknown said...

I spent a large amount of time on this "Thing." Quite a lot of time was spent exploring Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium (OverDrive), since this is one of HCL's primary electronic resources. I learned that in addition to digital audiobooks, OverDrive also makes available Adobe eBooks and downloadable video. Curious as to what kinds of items were available, I searched "general fiction" and found 1,820 items: some in Adobe eBook format only, others as audio books only and some in both formats. I also discovered "waiting lists" for some items.

I got an opportunity to hear and practice the language through a website. Log on to ”Audio Books” because this is easy to use. Collins 40-mimute audio can help you learn short and simple phrases and different languages quickly just by listening and repeating. I hope it will be useful to you, too.