There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth
as the Free Public Library,
this republic of letters,
where neither rank, office, nor wealth
receives the slightest consideration.
[Andrew Carnegie]

The main branch of the Allen County Public Library dominates the the west side of downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. Every time I drive past it I think, it says a lot for a city when its public library is one of its main features. Now the library offers another feature: downloadable eBooks and audio books.

I’ve mentioned in other posts that I enjoy eBooks, produce eBooks for clients and I am in and ongoing search for eBooks and digital audio books that won’t bust my budget. Last week, I dug out my library card, went to the ACPL website and took the plunge. I downloaded the OverDrive Media Console to my computer, and the OverDrive app to my iPad. Then I logged in with my library card and have been enjoying digital files ever since. I discovered that it was easier for me to manage the audio files in OverDrive rather than iTunes. Also, I hope that the eReader for the books will become more sophisticated over time. It needs a dictionary and more options for configuring type.

The folks at the library were so responsive and helpful that I got started with this adventure with very few problems. I highly recommend it.