My Local Library Rocks

So, last night at book club someone mentioned that the Mecklenburg County public library lets people download audiobooks for free as part of their membership. Out-of-county people have to pay a fee to get access, but it can be had for a modest price.

I went to the website today and found out that it’s $45 per year for access to the Mecklenburg County public library. No, that’s not a lot, but it’s enough that it gave me pause and I opted not to join.

I then went to my own county library’s website and went into their catalog to put a couple books-on-CD on hold. I looked up one book and it said, “Available for download.” Wha…?

Sure enough – my only library ALSO offers free downloads for audiobooks! They are a part of the same NetLibrary system as the Mecklenburg library! I’m so stoked! I immediately downloaded the book to my computer.

The way it works is that I “check out” the WMA file for three weeks. At that point, my license to listen to the audiobook expires and the file becomes unusable. However, I can extend the license as many times as I need to finish the book. I can also activate the license WHENever I want. So even though I downloaded the book today, if I want to wait until July to listen to it, I can wait and activate the license on today’s download when I’m ready to listen to it in July.

This opens up a whole new world when it comes to audiobooks for me. I can download 10 books and just keep them and activate the licenses as I need to (you can only “check out” 10 downloadable audiobooks at a time).

I’m VERY excited. Got any book recommendations for me? The world is my oyster!!!