By Max Gulden

After a cold and blustery start to winter, the New Year is upon us with so many opportunities ahead! It’s a time for resolutions a-plenty! One great resolution to consider, of course, is to read more books!

With the winter we’ve had so far, you might think this could be a tricky resolution to keep if you don’t have a large book stash already on hand. Fortunately, the Library has a solution for even the coldest and most blustery days: ebooks and their talkative cousins, eaudiobooks!

Ebooks and eaudiobooks (econtent) are accessible almost anywhere as long as you have internet/cellular connectivity, a Library account, and reside within the Library’s service area of Ames and unincorporated rural Story County. Outside our service area? Your local library can likely help you out with accessing econtent.

The BRIDGES catalog is one fantastic example of a resource for library econtent. BRIDGES is managed by the State Library of Iowa, and includes a plethora of econtent shared among Iowa’s public libraries. In addition, there is BRIDGES econtent that we obtain specifically for local card holders, often in response to popular demand and user requests.

The way you access BRIDGES varies depending on the device you use. For Android and Apple devices, the Libby app offers you a one-stop shop for discovering, checking out, and reading/listening. 

Simply search for Libby in your device’s app store, then download and install it. Next, tap the Libby icon, select the Ames Public Library, and enter your card number and PIN/password. That’s all you need to get started!

On a desktop or laptop computer, navigate to the Library homepage (amespubliclibrary.org), select the heading for “Books Movies & More,” choose the option “Stream & Download,” and click the green button under the BRIDGES logo and select “Sign In.”

After selecting the Ames Public Library and signing in using your card number and PIN/password, simply search or browse for a title, select the “Borrow” button, and choose the option “Read in Browser” when prompted for the easiest user experience. 

This introduction to library econtent barely scratches the surface of what is available. For example, in addition to BRIDGES/Libby, you have the option to use Hoopla on its app or a web browser to access even more econtent (including ebooks and eaudiobooks, but also much more).

It’s all just a simple app or web browser away. No excuses now, just get reading!