WE'VE GOT APPS

We have had a lot of publicity about the Overdrive and 3M Cloud Library apps, but are you aware of the other apps the library has to offer patrons with smartphones and tablets?

• SPPL Mobile (All major smartphones) --There were 952 users of our mobile app in May. Most users check their account or look for items in the catalog. You can also look for events, find out about new items, and connect to our Twitter and Facebook accounts. The link “More E-Books” will let them browse, place holds, and check out e-books from OverDrive. 

• Freegal (Android, iOS)-- Freegal now has an app that lets you search for and download your 3 songs per week. They will only play in the app, however - they do not transfer to the devices’ built-in music player such as iTunes or Google Play. It is an easy way to download songs if you are away from a computer. Your downloaded songs are saved for two weeks and can be re-downloaded up to 2 times within that time period.

• AccessMyLibrary (Android, iOS) -- This is the app for Gale’s databases (Grzimek’s Animal Life, Biography in Context, Business and Company Resource Center, Kids InfoBits, Discovering Collection, Expanded Academic ASAP, Price It!, Literature Resource Center, etc.). It actually finds where you are located and offers you a map with nearby libraries. Just click one and you are ready to go -- easier than on a computer. The actual databases are not optimized for mobile viewing, so they can be hard to use on smaller screens. 

• EBSCOhost Mobile (Android, iOS) -- The app for EBSCO requires signing into a computer first. Clicking the link at the bottom of any EBSCOHost screen will send you an email.  Opening it on your device and clicking the link authenticates the app. I find it more mobile-friendly than AccessMyLibrary on smaller screens. EBSCOhost e-books are not available on the app. 

• OneClick Digital (iOS) - Recorded Books now has an app for downloading e-audiobooks. After creating a OneClick Digital account on a computer, just click “Check Out Now” in the app and the book downloads to the device. It’s almost too easy -- a  “your book has downloaded successfully” note would be welcome.  An Android version of the app is coming.

For more information, check out our apps page here: http://www.sppl.org/downloads






--Andrea @Central (with assistance from Melissa Gray and John Larson)