Checkout OverDrive at Moody AFB Library

  • Published
  • By Debbie Gildea
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas --  (Editors note: This story has been localized by the 23d Wing Public Affairs Office. The original story can be found here: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314316)

If you love to read but your budget won't allow you to indulge yourself, here's a solution: Kick your reading into overdrive with downloadable books from the Air Force library online.

OverDrive, one of several Air Force library online resources, features nearly 10,000 books, audio books, videos and music available for checkout to eligible customers, said Melinda Mosley, United States Air Force Library Program administrative librarian.

All Airmen with an official Air Force email address are eligible to set up their own account, and family members or others who don't have an Air Force email address can sign up for an account at their Air Force library, Mosley said. To date, 16,300-plus account holders have initiated more than 125,000 checkouts since OverDrive was established in 2007.

Account holders can download books, music and movies to their personal computer, tablet, smart phone, e-reader, iPod, MP3 player and more for three-14 days, and can have up to five items checked out at a time.

"We have a wide variety of options at the site, so mystery and history lovers alike will find something of interest," Mosley said. "We also regularly add new items, including recent top sellers like "The Help," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and "The Hunger Games," as well as a small collection of music and videos."

Those who want to read the Chief of Staff Reading List titles can also find them front and center on the home page, she added.

As with resources at all Air Force libraries, checking out books on OverDrive is free. The books are "returned" automatically, so customers won't have to worry about forgetting to return a selection.

Like other libraries, checkout is limited to the number of copies the library owns, so readers may have to put their name on the waiting list for a popular item.

"We try to keep the waiting lists short. However, depending on the title, funds or publisher availability, we may not be able to buy as many copies as we'd like. We do order new titles every week, though, so even when there is a waiting list for a title you want, thousands of other options are available while you wait," Mosley explained.

Once an account has been established, and the free software installed, customers can download selections to the device and in the format that best suits their needs.

"I use a smart phone for audio books and a Nook for my eBooks," Mosley said. "We want the resource to be available for all of our customers, and we try to make sure it's user-friendly."

To create an account online using your Air Force email address, go to http://af.lib.overdrive.com. From there, follow the instructions on the "email self-registration" option. A help menu has links to videos for those who need a little more assistance.

Mosley reminds readers that they cannot do so on a government computer.

"However, using your Air Force email address to create the account will enable you download to your PC or a wireless device, and you can always stop by the base library for help as well," Mosley said.

Air Force librarians welcome customer input, so online readers, movie buffs and music fans are encouraged to submit requests for selections the library doesn't carry.

"Just go to the "help" button and send us an email, and we'll do our best for you," Mosley said.

For more information about personnel issues, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.

Besides Overdrive, your Moody AFB Library offers a wide selection of Professional Military Education, Test Prep, Graduate Record Examination, Scholastic Aptitude Tests, MANGO Languages, Transparent Languages, Universal Class, DVDs, fiction and non-fiction off-the-shelf or audio-books, as well as a broad selection of online resources accessible through http://www.moodylibrary.com or through the Air Force Portal. All these, and more, can go a long way to pique your interest and curiosity, helping you and your family in self-improvement and professional development.

If you have questions regarding Overdrive or any other service offered at the Moody AFB Library, either come by the Information Learning Center at building 328 on 3010 Robertson Road, or call the Library at 229-257-3539.