NetLibrary/Recorded Books Digital Audio Books Trial:
Getting Started Guide
Most recent version:
Overview: The purpose of this document is to help staff
and patrons get started using netLibrary/Recorded
Books digital audio books during the trial period for libraries and talking
book centers serving print-impaired patrons as their primary clientele.
The
following seven sections of this guide will explain:
1.
Introduction to the trial
2.
System requirements
3.
Required software
4.
How to find, check-out, and download a netLibrary
digital audio book
5.
How to use media player software to listen to a netLibrary
digital audio book on your computer
6.
How to transfer the content to a WMA-enabled portable playback device
7.
Troubleshooting and Feedback
Please
send your comments, questions, and suggestions about this guide to Tom Peters (tpeters@tapinformation.com).
Part 1: Brief Introduction to the
netLibrary/Recorded Books Digital Audio Book Trial
The goal of this trial is to enable
talking books centers, libraries for the blind and physically handicapped,
other libraries who serve primarily persons who are print-impaired, and
individuals who are print-impaired to test and evaluate the accessibility and
general usability of the digital audio book service provided by a partnership
between netLibrary and Recorded Books LLC.
The trial will run for the two months of
June and July 2005.
Participating Libraries:
Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library
A small website for the trial has been created, with
the following URL for a homepage: http://www.tapinformation.com/netlibrary.htm
Orientation and Training Sessions for the
netLibrary Digital Audio Books Trial
All online orientation session will be held in an
online meeting room accessible from the following URL: http://67.19.231.218/v4/login.asp?r=25e7417f&p=0.
The first time you enter the room, you may be
asked to allow a small, benign software plug-in to be
downloaded and installed onto your computer.
If library staff members
or patrons are unable to attend any of the following online orientation
sessions, recordings of the training sessions will be available on the website
created for the trial (http://www.tapinformation.com/netlibrary.htm)
Online orientation sessions for librarians
and library staff members will be held on the following dates:
Tuesday, May 3 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
Wednesday, May 4 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 10:00 Central, 9:00 Mountain, and 8:00 Pacific.
Tuesday, May 10 at noon Eastern Daylight Time, 11:00 a.m.
Central, 10:00
a.m. Mountain, and 9:00 a.m. Pacific.
Wednesday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
Thursday, May 12 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
Online orientation sessions for patrons
will be held on the following dates:
Tuesday, May 17 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
Wednesday, May 18 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, and 5:00 Pacific.
Wednesday, May 25 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 10:00 Central, 9:00 Mountain, and 8:00 Pacific.
Thursday, May 26 at 2:00 Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
Tuesday, May 31 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain 11:00 a.m. Pacific.
During the trial we will have access to
the entire collection—currently over 800 titles.
New items are added monthly—approximately
30 new titles per month.
Tom Peters (tpeters@tapinformation.com) will
serve as the day-to-day coordinator of this trial. Tom will:
Moderate meetings
Assist participating libraries
Provide online orientation sessions for
librarians and library staff members
Provide online orientation sessions for
patrons
Develop a small website for the trial
Develop a feedback form
Collect and evaluate feedback
Write a project report to be submitted to
OCLC
Part 2: System Requirements
Any desktop or laptop PC capable of
running version 9 or higher of Microsoft Windows Media Player should be able to
access this content. Supported operating systems include Microsoft Windows (98 SE, Me, 2000, XP)
The computer needs an Internet
connection, as well as a sound card and an audio output device (speakers,
headphones, earbuds) if you plan to listen to the
content on your computer, rather than on a portable playback devices (MP3
players, PDA, cell phone).
Part 3: Required Software
Web Browser
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (recommended)
Other browser software programs, such as Firefox and Opera may work, too.
Media Player software
Microsoft Windows Media Player (version 9 or
higher)
To learn what version of
WMP you currently have, launch WMP, then click on the Help
dropdown menu, then select About Windows Media Player.
To download WMP, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp
Musicmatch Jukebox
(version 8.2 or higher)
To download Musicmatch Jukebox, go to http://www.musicmatch.com/download/plus/jukebox_intro.htm?os=pc&mode=input&BTD=1&DID=
Nullsoft Winamp (version 5 or higher)
To download Winamp, go to http://www.winamp.com/player/
Part 4. Find, Check Out, and Download a
netLibrary/Recorded Books Digital Audio Book
To be able to check out and download digital
audio books from netLibrary, all users need to have a
username and password.
If you have not yet been assigned a username
and password, please contact either your state LBPH or Tom Peters
(tpeters@tapinformation.com):
The circulation period is 21 days.
Up to six books may be checked out by
any patron at any given time.
Steps for searching for (or browsing to)
a book and checking it out
First, use your browser to
go to http://www.netlibrary.com
Second, input the username and password
provided to you for this trial.
Screen shot of the logon page
After you have logged in, click on the link
to enter the “
Within the
Screen
shot of the basic search interface
If you prefer to search in the advanced
search mode, below the basic search interface is a link to “switch to advanced
search.” n the advanced search mode, you
may search by title, author, narrator, keyword, subject, or ISBN. You may limit by year, a range of years, the
publisher, language, or duration of the digital audio book.
Screen shot of the Advanced Search Interface
Note the link in the lower right area of
the screen that will produce a list of all the digital audio books to which you
have access during this trial.
After conducting a basic search, an
advanced search, or displaying the entire list of titles, you will receive
brief displays of information about the books.
Within the brief display you will have three options: download the audiobook,
display details about the book, or add the book to your list.
Screen shot of brief display
Screen shot of detailed display
Note that from the detailed display you may listen to a brief preview of
the digital audio book.
Steps for Downloading a netLibrary/Recorded Books Digital Audio Book
From either a brief or full
display of information about a book, click on the Download this Audiobook link to Open or Save the audiobook
file.
Screen shot of display of download options
Select a download option: CD
quality, or radio quality. Radio quality provides faster download speed and is
ideal for users with dial-up connections; CD quality offers high-fidelity
playback for patrons with high-speed Internet access.
Note: In order to transfer a digital audio book to
a portable playback device such as an MP3 player, you must download the CD
quality version of the book.
A “File Download” dialogue box
will open, giving you the option to Open or Save the digital audio book on your
hard drive. If you select Open, NetLibrary will download the title and launch your media
player. Click the Play button to listen to the audiobook.
The Save option allows you to download the file to a directory of your
choosing. Once the download is complete, you can open the audiobook
directly from your media player, or by using Windows Explorer.
Screen shot of “File Download” Dialogue Box
Note: netLibrary
recommends that the “save” option be selected, because the download time will
be shorter than if the “open” option is selected.
Currently there is no way to check a
digital audio book back in early. If you
finish listening to your book early, simply wait for the three week circulation
period to expire. The book will
automatically check itself back in.
Part 5. Listening to a netLibrary/Recorded Books Digital Audio Book on Your
Computer
Use your favorite version of media
player software (Windows Media Player, MusicMatch
Jukebox, or NullSoft Winamp)
to play the content. The specific
commands will vary depending on the software program you use.
Note:
In version 10 of WMP running on the Windows XP OS it is possible to
change the playback speed of the content.
Part 6. Transfer Content to a
WMA-Enabled Portable Playback Device
A list of supported portable
playback devices can be found at http://www.oclc.org/audiobooks/techspecs/devices.htm
Use your media player software to transfer content
from your computer to your portable playback device.
The method for connecting your playback device to
your computer varies from device to device.
Consult the owner’s manual for your device.
Remember, only the CD-Quality file will be playable
on a portable playback device.
Part 7. Troubleshooting and
Feedback
There are at least three ways to report problems
and provide feedback concerning the netLibrary
website, systems, software, content, or service used during this trial:
Contact Tom Peters, the day-to-day coordinator of
the trial, at tpeters@tapinformation.com
Consult the netLibrary online help information at the following
URL: http://www.netlibrary.com/Help/
Complete the
feedback form located at http://www.tapinformation.com/netlibraryfeedback.htm
(not yet functional)