Downloadable Audio Books
As of July 1, 2008, the Public Library of Brookline will no longer provide access to downloadable audiobooks from Recorded Books through NetLibrary. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and loss of service.
- There were several reasons for the decision to cancel:
- The cost was quite high and the number of users was not sufficient to justify the cost. The 2-year subscription was paid for by donations, but when the time came to incorporate it into our regular budget, it was decided that too few people were benefiting from this subscription to justify cutting something else.
- Many people had great difficulty with the technical aspects of downloading, playing, bookmarking, and renewing licenses.
- The dependence on a very limited number of specific MP3 players and the incompatibility with the iPod was a real drawback.
- It was also our opinion that Recorded Books tended to post too many of their C-List titles and not enough from their A- and B-Lists.
If you were an avid user and were disappointed to discover the cancellation of this subscription, please feel free to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and let us know. We take patron comments very seriously.
Please be aware that Boston Public Library subscribes to a different downloadable catalog called Overdrive. Many of the titles are abridged and one has to download several separate files, as opposed to Recorded Books/NetLibrary which involved a single (albeit very large) download. Some of these titles can be played on an iPod. All Massachusetts residents are eligible for Boston cards, which can even be obtained online.