Audio Downloads

Our library now offers free time-limited audiobook downloads in MP3 and .wma (Windows Media Player) formats that you can listen to on your computer or many other audio devices. There are hundreds of titles available from two separate databases:

NetLibrary

Overdrive

Downloadable Hamilton County Summer Reading List Books Made Available Through a Grant From Comcast

Our Comcast audiobooks collection are titles purchased expressly for children and teens. See information below to learn about checking out these audiobooks and other electronic resources from NetLibrary and Overdrive.

All Comcast audiobooks are from the 2009 Hamilton County School required reading lists; see complete information about this generous program. Complete reading lists grades K-12 are on file at each library branch as well as online at http://www.hcde.org/site/schools/summer_reading.aspx . Teen required reading lists can also be located on the library’s Teen Stack website .

Downloadable Media from NetLibrary

Recorded Books LLC, one of the major publishers of audio books, now offers a library of downloadable eAudiobooks through their partnership with NetLibrary, provider of an easy-to-use information retrieval system for e-content. Check out requires a library card and registration for a free account with NetLibrary in order to manage your materials. Downloadable eAudiobooks are digital versions of audiobooks available through the Internet. Eaudiobooks may be played on any desktop or portable device supporting Windows media Player (WMP) version 9 and above.

Attention: There has been some confusion about a library card membership and creating a free account with NetLibrary. These are two different things. In order to set up the free account; you will need to use the Create A Free Account link on the customized NetLibrary access page for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library which is always available from inside any of our library locations. Your library card membership SHOULD allow you to see the customized NetLibrary access page at home when you go there from the links on this page; but this does not always work. We are unable to resolve this issue since it involves the configuration of your home network or type of Internet access. However, you may call or email us for computer configuration instructions if you feel competent to make these adjustments (423-757-5310, library@lib.chattanooga.gov). After you have the free account, either by visiting the library or creating it at home; you can log in from whatever page is presented at any location when you open NetLibrary from our website; so the problem becomes irrelevent.

A wide range of portable devices are supported, (See suggested list of players), including portable music players, portable media centers, Pocket PCs, and even select smartphone devices. For quick or extensive instruction tutorials about the eAudio service see the Help Center, Quick Start Guide, or Video Demos. If you have any questions about downloadables after you view the tutorial, ask a library staff member or click on "Help" for more assistance in the NetLibrary site. Downloads performed at library locations rather than at home cannot be saved to the public computers except for immediate tranfer to a mobile device. To save a title, you must have a wireless laptop with Windows, a PDA with Internet access or a USB compatible audio player with you. To see a list of tested players for NetLibrary, go to http://www.oclc.org/audiobooks/techspecs/devices.htm

Proceed to NetLibrary

Downloadable Media from OverDrive

Using Overdrive at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library is easy! If you need help, here's a quick guided tour that walks you through the basics, from getting started to downloading and transfering your titles. In just a few minutes, even the newest user can be enjoying a downloaded title.

As the guide is not library specific, there are a few things in it which do not apply to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library:

Our checkout maximum is 2 titles from the Overdrive portion of the collection. This may change when we are able to purchase more titles.
Downloads are checked out for a predetermined number days depending on the title and are automatically returned to the library.
We do not currently offer eBooks, movies or music downloads (we may offer this in the future).

If you have any questions about downloadables after you view the tutorial, ask a library staff member or click on "Support" for more assistance in the Overdrive site. Downloads performed at library locations rather than at home cannot be saved to the public computers except for immediate tranfer to a mobile device. To save a title, you must have a wireless laptop with Windows, a PDA with Internet access or a USB compatible audio player with you. Please check here for information about compatible devices for Overdrive.