An eOption when libraries are closed

By Jill Hawken, Alexine Marier, 
and Kelly Sirett

The Ottawa Public Library is closed during the coronavirus crisis but you can still access our collection of eBooks and eAudiobooks to help you through this time of uncertainty and isolation.

As you can imagine, our phone lines have been busy. Before trying to call, check out one of our help guides on how to access online resources. You can view many of our digital collections in your browser but if you’re looking to download books, magazines or newspapers on an app, check out these help guides at biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/digital-collection-support.

Ready to explore the library’s extensive digital collection and download your next eAdventure? Let’s get started.

Browsing
The easiest way to browse eBooks is through the catalogue’s Advanced Search, where you click on the “Format” choice “eBooks”.  Then you can “Filter” the results by “Available now” (“Anywhere”) and see which you can borrow. You can use other filters to narrow down the type of book you are interested in.

Click on a title to look at the details and decide if you want to read it. The “Topic” filter (you can click on “Show more” at the bottom of the list to see further topics) is great for narrowing down.

If you find a title you want to read but all copies are in use, “Request this download” and your request will be placed in line, just like for a physical book on hold.

If you find too many titles for now, place the eBook on your “For later” list. You can come back and check it out later. You will also see many “Express eBooks” with a seven-day loan – if you don’t finish in that time, you can try to take it out again.

Once you have found a title that you want to read, make sure you are logged in, then hit “Checkout Now”.

Reading
Depending on the type of eBook or eAudiobook you selected, you will access it and read it in your browser or with one of the apps listed below.

Overdrive (eBooks and audiobooks): eBooks and downloadable audiobooks. Compatible with most devices, we recommend downloading the Libby app to access this collection. Instructions: help.overdrive.com/en-us/categories/getting-started.htm

Cantook Station (French-language eBooks): Popular and classic French-language eBooks. Compatible with most devices. Instructions: opl.cantookstation.com/help/guides

Cloud Library (French audiobooks): A collection of popular fiction and nonfiction eAudio in French for all ages. Instructions: biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/getting-started-cloudlibrary

Returning
eBooks are returned automatically at the end of their loan period. Return the eBook early if you finish it, so someone else can read it. Also, you can renew them if there is no one waiting for them.

Looking for something to read?
Here are some recommendations from library staff.

The Boy from the Woods,
by Harlan Coben

A 2020 release available as an express eBook from Cloud Library and Libby. A suspenseful thriller that will keep you reading into the wee hours. Cloud Library offers three other Harlan Coben thrillers if you need more from this author.

The Guinevere Deception,
by Kiersten White

Magic has been banned from Camelot and Merlin has been banished, but a mysterious force threatens Arthur. To protect him, Merlin comes up with a plan: Guinevere, a young sorcerer, will marry the king, discover the source of the threat and protect him at all costs.

Cobayes,
auteurs québécois multiples

Une étude clinique pour contrer l’anxiété et les dépendances tourne mal lorsque les participants deviennent violents en réaction aux molécules injectées lors de l’essai clinique. Ces sept livres d’horreur mettent à l’avant-plan un des protagonistes de l’étude clinique: Elliot, Yannick, Cédric, Olivier Anita, Sid et Sarah. Ainsi, chacun des tomes se fait écho mais demeure indépendant, permettant au lecteur de lire les livres dans l’ordre qu’il préfère.

 A Long Petal of the Sea,
by Isabel Allende

Historical fiction at its best depicting the story of two young people who flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Available as an express eBook from Cloud Library, and from Libby in eBook and audiobook format.

 The Folk of the Air series,
by Holly Black

Jude was raised by the man who murdered her parents – to say her feelings are complicated is an understatement. But living with a murderer is the least of her problems as a human growing up in faerie.

 Méchantes Menteuses,
par Martine Labonté-Chartrand

Camille ne voit pas le mal à enjoliver la réalité par un petit mensonge blanc, tout comme son amie Émilie qui n’a pas peur de déformer les faits pour se rendre intéressante. Après tout, quelle différence y a-t-il entre un petit accrochage et un délit de fuite? Lors d’une journée à Montréal afin de trouver l’amour et de lancer leur carrière, les histoires comiques disproportionnées coulent à flot à un tel point que les filles pourraient se faire prendre à leur propre jeu.

 Happy reading and listening!

Jill Hawken is a librarian and Alexine Marier is a children’s programs and public service assistant with program development at the Ottawa Public Library. Kelly Sirett is coordinator at the Sunnyside branch.

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