Fall River Public Library

Download Guide

What Can I Download?

The SAILS library network offers print e-books, audio books and music in downloadable format. These work just the same as borrowing a physical book. They're free, but they expire after a specific time period--usually two weeks.

TumbleBooks, animated e-books for kids, are a great option for children just learning to read. They can follow along with the story while watching pictures and animations. Some have games to play as well.

Freegal Music is an additional download option for Fall River library card holders only. Library members can download songs in MP3 format. This music is free, and you can keep it forever. There is a limit of 3 songs per week, or 156 per year.

What Formats are Available?

Most e-books are available in a variety of formats for all popular e-readers and mobile devices, including Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony, iPod, iPad and iPhone. They will also work on most laptop or desktop computers. SAILS provides a complete list of supported devices.

When you borrow e-books for the first time, you will be asked to download the Overdrive software that the library system uses to process downloads. This is safe to download to your computer or device.

If you are downloading a book in the Adobe ePub or PDF format, you may also need to download Adobe software and register online with Adobe. If you don't already have one, you will be asked to create an Adobe account with a username and password. This is free and takes just a minute. Follow the link from the download page.

Using your library card, you can browse for e-books online, add them to your cart, and check them out, just like checking out a physical book. Unlike a physical book, they don't need to be returned. When the loan time expires, they will automatically be deleted from your device. That means they can't be renewed, but you can check them out again if you need more time.

Downloading books may seem complicated the first time you do it, but it's easy once you get started. There's a Quick Start Guide on the main download page, and other help, including a guided tour.

Privacy Notice for Kindle Users

SAILS provides downloadable ebook, audiobook, music and video content to patrons in partnership with OverDrive. With the addition of Kindle ebooks, our supplier, OverDrive, uses a third party, Amazon, to fulfill ebook downloads.

Patrons are brought to the Amazon page to retrieve their ebook. The patron uses either their existing Amazon account, or, if the patron does not already have an Amazon account, s/he establishes an Amazon account with username, password and an associated email address. There is a library book help page for Kindle users on the Amazon site.

The patron may receive an email message from Amazon before the ebook license expires and when the ebook license expires. The email message may include an invitation to purchase the title from Amazon.

SAILS does not have control over the content of email from Amazon and SAILS does not receive any percentage of cost should the patron decide to purchase a title from Amazon.

SAILS does not have control over patron information that third parties with which OverDrive partners (including Amazon) collect.

Please consider this before you use Kindle ebooks available on the library download site.

Downloading Help - Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why doesn’t the library buy every bestselling title in eBook format?

A. Not all publishers will sell eBooks to libraries and library consortia. As of January 2012, we are unable to purchase new releases from Penguin (eBook and audio book) or any title by Simon and Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette, and Brilliance Audio. HarperCollins requires that we purchase a new copy of a title after 26 uses.

Q. I have a Kindle. I thought all eBooks owned by the library were Kindle compatible but some titles won’t work on my Kindle. Why?

A. Some publishers will not allow libraries to loan their titles in Kindle format even though you, as a consumer, can purchase a copy that is Kindle compatible.

Q. Why do I have to wait for an eBook? Aren’t these virtual?

A. Libraries have to purchase an eBook in the same way they purchase physical books. The publishers require us to abide by one copy/one user model just as we do with physical books. We try to anticipate which titles will be popular by purchasing extra copies but we don’t have the funds to buy enough copies to fill every patron request immediately.

Q. EBooks are less expensive than print books. Why doesn’t the library own more eBooks?

A. The price that we pay to the publishers for eBooks is higher than the price charged to consumers. In many cases the publishers charge the library more than the cost of a print copy. While the libraries in SAILS have more than doubled what they are spending on eBooks, there is still a financial limit on how much we can spend.

Q. How long will I have to wait for a title if I am on hold?

A. SAILS will buy a copy of a title for every seven holds placed. EBooks can’t be returned late or renewed so your wait won’t be too long. Sometimes however a publisher will remove a title from sale to libraries after we have purchased it. If it is a popular title we can have many holds on one copy but be unable to purchase additional copies to fill holds.

Q. Can I donate the eBooks I have purchased to the library?

A. Under current copyright and digital rights restrictions you are unable to donate eBooks to the library for other patrons to use. However, a portion of each sale of digital content or other items, purchased from OverDrive WIN Affiliated Retailers using the “Buy it Now” link from the sails.lib.overdrive.com website, is credited back to this library. The funds your library earns from the OverDrive WIN Affiliate Program will be a credit for the library to add eBooks, audiobooks, or music to its virtual branch. The titles and materials the library selects are at the library's discretion.

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