New OverDrive App Gives iPad Users Access to Library Books

iPad users now have another means for downloading e-books—and free e-books at that. With access to more than 13,000 public, school and college libraries worldwide, digital distribution services provider OverDrive's free Media Console app enables users to wirelessly download and read EPUB-format e-books and MP3 audiobooks from local libraries on the Apple tablet.

Through the Media Console app, users can find their libraries using the app's "Get Books" feature, then browse for titles, check out with a valid library card, and download directly to the iPad. Users also have access to brightness and text-size controls and a bookmarking feature. The e-book and audiobook titles downloaded through the app automatically expire in accordance with the libraries' borrowing terms, so users do not incur traditional library late fees.

OverDrive's app previously had been released for the iPhone and Android, and has been downloaded by more than half-a-million users worldwide, according to the company. In addition to the iPad support, OverDrive's app for iOS (Apple) devices was updated to enable new features such as landscape and portrait orientation, support for hyperlinks, and an updated interface with a lending countdown calendar.

To view which books users are downloading most often, OverDrive provides a list of the most downloaded e-books and audiobooks from its global network of libraries: www.overdrive.com/mostdownloaded.