* Please note that these are free accounts, but you will only be able to access Ebsco or ebrary ebooks from the Newton Gresham Library if you are a current student, staff, or faculty member at Sam Houston State University.
downloading books to sony readers from library
To accommodate a growing market in a number of countries, Sony is opening up its support for DRM protected ebooks by allowing users to download Adobe EPUB and PDF ebooks from a wide variety of vendors, so you aren't just tied into the Sony eBook Store. Here are some of the most popular places to get ebooks for a Sony Reader . . .
Sony has teamed up with OverDrive, which gives users access to local libraries' digital collections. Type your zip code into the Library Finder and get connected to your local library's website. With a valid library card you can download ebooks and more, which will automatically expire after a given time. The ebooks are in EPUB or PDF format. This service isn't available in all areas. Here's a how to guide for getting library ebooks.
United States and Canada: Sony just transitioned their library of ebooks to EPUB format, so any device that supports Adobe EPUB has access to their ebooks. Here's the link to download Sony's Reader Library.
United Kingdom: The Sony eBook store is currently unavailable outside the US and Canada. You still use Sony's Library Software to manage your ebooks, or Adobe Digital Editions, but there isn't access to the online store. Instead, you purchase ebooks from any independent website that offers EPUB and PDF formats.
Owners of Kobo and Sony eReaders purchase eBooks from not only official Kobo and Sony eBook stores but also from other sources. Generally, books purchased with the built-in app on the device get synced automatically. But for books purchased from third-party stores, we will have to transfer from computer to the device by hand.
This method enables users to add both DRM-free books from torrent sites and purchased DRM-protected books from Sony, Google Play and other stores to Kobo Touch, Kobo Mini, Kobo Glo and other kobo eReaders. For DRM-free books, you can also connect the Kobo eReader to computer using USB and drag & drop to transfer books.
Sony and Kobo eReaders support the same eBook formats (EPUB and PDF) and books from both stores are Adobe DRM protected, so people sometimes purchase books from one store and read on another eReader. Part 1 explains how to transfer both DRM-free and DRM-protected eBooks to Kobo, so here is how to add books from other stores to Sony eReader. I take Kobo books for example.
Step 4: Follow this guide to download Kobo books from Kobo site and open with ADE. Then drag and drop the downloaded Kobo books (typically saved under C:\Users\User ID\Documents\My Digital Editions for PC or Finder -> Documents -> Digital Editions for Mac) onto the "Library" folder of Reader software.
Many people like to purchase eBooks from Amazon Kindle eBook store due to its more diversified titles at cheaper prices, although Kindle books come in exclusive Kindle formats and are protected with another DRM scheme. To add Kindle books to Kobo or Sony eReaders, we have to first strip Kindle DRM protection from the books, then convert Kindle formats to Kobo and Sony supported EPUB or PDF.
1. Make sure your Kobo Glo is authorized with your Adobe ID (matches the one connected to your Sony account). Launch ADE, attach your Kobo to PC with the USB cable and tap "Connect" on the Kobo. Your Kobo device will show up on the left-hand side in ADE (library mode). Click the cog icon above to select authorize (or deauthorize) the device. After the Kobo Glo is authorized, drag the Sony books to the left Kobo icon.
OVERDRIVE: All titles are listed in the library catalog with the call number "Overdrive". To download e-books from Overdrive, log into your library account. Next, click on the Overdrive logo at the bottom of the screen. For instructions on downloading e-books to various devices, please see the Overdrive help files.
The EBSCO HOST DATABASE contains more than 2000 e-audiobooks and e-books available for checkout. All audio titles are listed in our library catalog with a "WMA" call number and "Audio Download" before the title listing. Click this link for EBSCO's instructions: downloading e-books and e-audiobooks.
PROJECT GUTENBURG also has free e-books available for download to your computer or mobile reader.All titles are listed in the library catalog with the call number "Gutenberg". To access, log into your library account and search the library catalog. Next, click on a Project Gutenberg book title. Finally, press the download button on the pop-up screen and choose the correct file format for your device to download the file to your computer or e-reader. For more help, view Project Gutenburg's wiki page: MobileReader Devices How-To
LIBRIVOX also has free public domain e-audiobooks available for download to your computer or mobile reader. All titles are listed in the library catalog with the call number "LibriVox". To access, search the library catalog. Next, click on a LibriVox book title. Finally, press the download button on the pop-up screen to download the file to your computer or e-reader. Click this link for LibriVox's instructions: Listen/Download Help.
Finally, we asked questions about book reading and ownership of tablets and e-books in a survey fielded from January 20-February 19, 2012. In all, 2,253 adults (age 18+) were interviewed on landline and cell phone and in English and Spanish. The margin of error for the entire sample is 2 percentage points.
The qualitative material in this report, including the extended quotes from individuals regarding e-books and library use, comes from two sets of online interviews that were conducted in May 2012. The first group of interviews was of library patrons who have borrowed an e-book from the library. Some 6,573 people answered at least some of the questions on the patron canvassing, and 4,396 completed the questionnaire. The second group of interviews was of librarians themselves. Some 2,256 library staff members answered at least some of the questions on the canvassing of librarians, and 1,180 completed the questionnaire. Both sets of online interviews were opt-in canvassings meant to draw out comments from patrons and librarians, and they are not representative of the general population or even library users. As a result, no statistics or specific data points from either online questionnaire are cited in this report.
Sony Corp. plans to offer an e-book reader with the ability to wirelessly download books, injecting more competition in a small but fast-growing market by adopting a key feature of the rival Kindle from Amazon.com.
Sony, on the other hand, has committed to an open e-book standard, meaning its Readers can show copy-protected books from a variety of stores, and the books can be moved to and read on a variety of devices, including cell phones.
Discussions on the current and future success of ebooks often focus on the current and future success of ebook readers. However, Google and, to some extent, even ebook reader pioneer Sony have taken a more open, platform-independent strategy. Google has begun positioning itself with its Book Search publisher partners as a potential ebook production service. And if the court approves, it has promised to open access to millions of in-copyright/out-of-print books from its library partners, books that represent an unmatched and curated collection, to institutional subscriptions. (See the Nov. 3, 2008, NewsBreak, -Google-Book-Search-Settlement-The-Devils-in-the-Details-51429.asp.) And if that goes through as planned, a subscription could become a more universal, must-have library purchase than the World Almanac!
So far, Google has not attempted to seriously monetize Google Book Search. Aside from ads appearing in a search results page and unsponsored user-convenience links to key online book stores or publisher websites (or "Find in a Library" links through OCLC connections for the library partner contributions), readers scanning Google Book Search pages do not see ads. Neither Sony nor Google would discuss any financial arrangements stemming from this new alliance.
Sony began its ebook reader history in 1990, with the Sony Data Discman reader, releasing the larger, more-powerful Sony Bookman in 1991. In 2006, it released the Sony Reader. While Sony has a clear interest in selling and promoting use of its Readers, it is not rigid about it. Anyone can go to the Sony eBook store, download the free eBook Library Software, register to set up an account, browse the site, and download books-for a fee, unless it's from Google. The downloaded book goes to your computer from which you transfer it via a USB port to your Sony Reader. But as stated in the specifications for the software, "You do not need a device to use the service." You can read any downloaded book on your computer. The software will even adjust the text to create a two-page, full-screen view for a computer monitor. The Reader is also quite accommodating. Besides ebooks, it will take Adobe PDF files, Word documents, and other text formats.
Sony uses a proprietary format for downloading from its eBook Store-BBeB (Broad Band eBook) format using XML. However, it accommodates the open ePub format in wide use by publishers. Google uses ePub for preparing its ebook service to mobile devices to promote more-flexible text flowing to the smaller screens of ebook readers and handheld devices. Preparation is very challenging in some cases. What Google delivers to mobile devices differs from the Adobe PDF files users download from Google Book Search directly over a standard computer connection. Instead of a digital image version of a book for users to page through, Google creates a text version of the book based on its OCR (optical character recognition). As anyone who has dealt with OCR knows, this can lead to some pretty nasty errors, especially when the digital imaging is applied to old material in varying condition, different languages, single or multiple column page formats, etc. For the full 1.5 million public domain books made available for iPhones and Android phones, when pages get too unreadable, users can hit a button and flash to a digital image of the page. However, the 500,000 books fed to Sony were chosen based mainly on the superior condition of the text versions. Sony representatives indicated that they might get more in the future, while Google representatives made a point of the continuing effort in-house to improve the processing of their books for multiple devices. 2ff7e9595c
Comments