Audiobooks discussion
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Multiple library membership in UK
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I should add that some UK libraries seem to have Overdrive, RB, and BorrowBox, so I'm guessing that means a lot of choice. My local library is BorrowBox only. I can't see a way to tell how many books it has overall, but if I look at Categories on the app, it says 2355 adult fiction audiobooks and 573 non-fiction. Unless there are some books that are neither fiction nor non-fiction, that's just under 3000 adult books, which is not bad.
Does the UK still have Mechanics' Institutes? I belong to one here in Australia and they have a good selection of electronic and audio books.
Em__Jay wrote: "Does the UK still have Mechanics' Institutes? I belong to one here in Australia and they have a good selection of electronic and audio books."
I imagine they will be factual books. I'm more interested in fiction audiobooks.
Ivan wrote: "Em__Jay wrote: "Does the UK still have Mechanics' Institutes? I belong to one here in Australia and they have a good selection of electronic and audio books."
I imagine they will be factual book..."
You imagine incorrectly. The one I belong to has a very large selection of fiction books. In fact, they have significantly more fiction than non-fiction titles.
I mentioned them because here they are private libraries and would not be found on a list of council run libraries.
Worth investigating then. Thanks.
Turns out there are a few left, though none near me (except London, which charges £500 per year!) They are all members of the Association of Independent Libraries. https://www.independentlibraries.co.u...None of them seem to have a big audiobook selection, but it was interesting to find out they exist.
Hi Em-JayI was interested in reading your post and wanted to know what is this place? Do you have a link so I can check it out. (I live in Sydney)
FYI, as an Australian you can join the Yarra Plenty library (as a remote user)- no cost also gives you access to Brisbane library.
Cheers
Di
In case it helps anyone else, I can now answer my own question. I have just managed to sign up to City of London libraries, as I had a meeting nearby, so called in and joined up. It was free. The form asked if I lived or worked in the area and as I do regularly work there I said yes. It wasn't clear if this was a condition of being allowed to join. They did not ask for any proof.
This gives me access to about 1000 books on the RB Digital app. Almost all seem to be ones that are not on the Borrowbox service from my local library. A smaller selection, but nevertheless there's enough books I want to keep me busy at least a year.
Ivan wrote: "In case it helps anyone else, I can now answer my own question. I have just managed to sign up to City of London libraries, as I had a meeting nearby, so called in and joined up. It was free. The..."
Hi Ivan
Long time lurker here, never posted before. Thought I would give you my experience of having joined a library in the USA I am in the UK.
After reading an article in Mobilread where someone in the UK had suceeded in joining the Free Library of Philadelphia, I emailed FLP explained I was in the UK and asked if it was possible to join as a non resident.
The answer was yes and they sent me a link to a non resident registration form, I completed the form and paid the yearly fee of $50. Once the payment went through I was sent a library card number. The libray will contact you when your subscription is about to expire inviting you to re apply.
I use Overdrive and Hoopla, 6 items at any one time in Overdrive and 4 items per month in Hoopla it used to be 10 but was reduced recently. I have a Kindle and ebooks can be sent directly to my Kindle. I use the Overdrive and Hoopla apps on my mobile for audiobooks.
I have been a member since 2015, there is a great selection of audiobooks and ebooks and for me the $50 yearly fee is well worth the outlay, but you should have a look to see if it is worth it for you before joining.
Hope this has been helpful
Thanks, Valders. That's very interesting. That's about 3 pounds per month, which is certainly affordable, so I will look into this once I have exhausted the free books in my two UK library subscriptions.Don't you find that you are prevented from accessing many of the books due to copyright restrictions? As I understand it, most books have different publishers in the US than in the UK (and Commonwealth).
I am in the U.S. but would love some type of membership that would give me access to UK audiobooks. Audible is very strict about rights so just wondering if there is anything out there that has found a way around it. I am frustrated no end that the audio of Milkman (the Man Booker winner) will not be available here until December and several people have told me the audio is the only way to go on this one.
I'm pretty sure that UK libraries will not let a US resident join, but there are some other UK subscription services that you might like to investigate, in case they let you join. Try:https://www.bookbeat.co.uk
https://www.playster.com/gb/en
https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/audiobooks
https://www.audiobooks.co.uk
https://www.estories.com/plans
You may find some of those insist on rerouting you to the US version, but worth a try.
Thanks but yes, that's exactly what happened (rerouting).
Janet wrote: "I am in the U.S. but would love some type of membership that would give me access to UK audiobooks. Audible is very strict about rights so just wondering if there is anything out there that has fou..."Try Audible UK.
I live in Australia and have AU, US & UK accounts. I use the same Amazon account to log into them all with no issues.
Ivan wrote: "Thanks, Valders. That's very interesting. That's about 3 pounds per month, which is certainly affordable, so I will look into this once I have exhausted the free books in my two UK library subscrip..."Hi Ivan
I have never been prevented from accessing any book/audiobook I have borrowed from FLP. No idea if that's because I have never picked a geo restricted item. Is there a way to test this? Could it be that my 2 favourite genre happen to be Murder Mysteries or Urban Fantasy and they generally aren't restricted.
Em__Jay wrote: "Janet wrote: "I am in the U.S. but would love some type of membership that would give me access to UK audiobooks. Audible is very strict about rights so just wondering if there is anything out ther..."I can't even get to the Audible UK website....it automatically reroutes me to the US website where the title I want says "Title Not For Sale In This Country/Region
We're sorry, Audible is not authorized to sell this title in your country/region. Please consider another book."
Janet, are you able to join Audible Canada? They are often the same copyright zone as the UK.
Valders What about the Harry Potters? There’s definitely a different publisher in the US and a different audio recording. If it lets you download the Jim dale version that might indicate there’s no region blocking.
IvanJust had a look in Overdrive. All the Harry Potter audiobooks are there and narrated by Jim Dale. There is a wait list on all copies so I have placed a hold on a copy of The Socrerer's Stone. Overdrive tells me there are 28 copies available and 9 people per copy waiting to borrow.
There is an option to listen to a sample before borrowing and I was able to listen to the 1st five minutes.
Never read or listened to any of the Harry Potter books but liked the sound of Jim Dale's voice.
ValdersAnother one you could try is The Dead Ringer, by MCBeaton, read by Alison Larkin. This is the current Daily Steal on Downpour, but if I view the webpage it says Not Available For Sale in United Kingdom
https://www.downpour.com/the-dead-rin...
Indeed, none of the M C Beaton books on Downpour seem to be available for sale in the UK.
ValdersRather than wait for Harry Potter (unless you actually want to read it - it is very good), try this instead: have a look on Downpour for some of the books you have already borrowed from FLP. If some of them say they are not available for sale in the UK, that would seem to confirm that FLP is not subject to the normal copyright region restrictions.
I just looked on Downpour at 10 random books that popped into my head and 7 of them are not available for sale in the UK. That seems to suggest that regional blocking would normally be a problem.
Hi Ivan just had a quick look. I have been listening to the Death on Demand series by Carolyn Hart read by Kate Reading. I recently checked out and listened to 'Laughed til He Died'. Downpour says it's not available in the UK. The Dead Ringer is available as an ebook but no audiobook yet on FLP.
IvanAnother series I've been listening to is the Mainly Needlepoint Mysteries by Lea Wait. I borrow these from Hoopla and they are not available in the UK.
Thanks. That sounds encouraging. Once I exhaust UK options I'll try FLP or perhaps I'll try emailing Brooklyn to see if they accept UK members.
Ah, no, Brooklyn says they don't accept applications from international residents.https://www.bklynlibrary.org/use-the-...
A pity, looks as if FLP is the only option at the moment for overseas non residents, really hope they don't decide to take the option away.
I found two more examples, here:https://www.aworldadventurebybook.com...
Florida, Orange County
Queens (I assume that is Queens, NY)
IvanOpinion wrote: "I found two more examples, here:https://www.aworldadventurebybook.com...
Florida, Orange County
Queens (I assume that is Queens, NY)"
Be sure to check the selection before joining. I am a member of Queens because it is free for me, but the selection is really poor (at least in English).
FaithThanks. I was just looking and they have 2000 audiobooks in English on Overdrive, around 950 on RBDigital, and 3200 on Axis 360. That's not a bad total, but admittedly there might be a lot of dross in there. I'll have a careful check before I sign up (which probably won't be for a few years).
Don't think it's Queens NY, this library is in Florida, Orange County Library System (OCLS). Found the form for OCLS overseas applicants, it looked simple enough to complete. It's 125 dollars a year which works out to approx £8 per month. I noticed Dead Ringer was available in both ebook & audiobook. I may look at that next year before signing up to FLP again next year.
Queens was suggested separately in the comments on the page I linked. I think it is NY. The sign up form allows you to specify an overseas address.But OCLS seems to have a huge selection, so might be better. Mind you, at $125 pa you are looking at a cost higher than Scribd, which is $8 per month = $108 pa.
From what I can tell, UK people can't sign up for this, which isn't surprising, given the different copyright territory. As an experiment, I started Houston's online application, but it detected that my IP address is in the UK and said I could not apply. Perhaps I could sign up if I was visiting the US, but I have no plans for a visit. No doubt there are ways to fake a US IP address, but I want to respect their rules. Even if I managed to join, I imagine I'd be blocked from accessing books when in the UK.
So, the point of this separate thread is to find out if anyone in the UK has managed to sign up to UK libraries that are not their local library and, if so, whether that has made a big difference to the audiobooks they can access. Is there a UK library that stands out as having an unusually large selection?
My initial internet research, picking some cities/counties at random, suggests that some libraries provide no audiobook service, but most do. Some state that you can only join with proof that you live or work in the library's area, whereas others seem to allow anyone to join, with proof that they live in the UK.
If you are allowed to join, it seems to be free, regardless of where you live. I haven't seen one that allows you to buy membership.
All seem to require application in person, so it needs to be somewhere you can visit. But if others have tried and been rejected, I won't bother making a special trip.