Audio is always free at Reedsburg Public Library
During the pandemic consumers have been bombarded with offers for free limited term trials for the streaming or download of audiobooks and music. But when the trial ends, you are left with the monthly bill. Reedsburg Public Library offers a number of alternatives to paying for audio content. From the free loans of CDs, digital audio players, audio and book sets, to the download of digital content at no charge, RPL has it all! Wisconsin’s Digital Library or Overdrive, and its Libby app counterpart, has been a go-to resource for the checkout and download of audiobooks for some time. Again, your library card number allows for the checkout of up to ten items per month from the ebook and audiobook collections. The Lucky Day collection features the unabridged audiobooks of such popular authors as James Patterson, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult, available immediately with no waiting on a reserve list. Hoopla is the library’s newly acquired platform for the free download of digital content, including audio titles. From the library’s homepage (reedsburglibrary.org) click on the Hoopla icon. With your library card and email address, set up an account to gain access to ebooks, movies, and sound recordings for free! Hoopla’s audio collection includes popular music as well as books which can be streamed or downloaded to a device. From Rihanna to Glen Campbell, Hoopla has it all. Titles in the Hoopla collection are always available, although there are limits to the number of items that can be borrowed each month. Audiobooks on CD are popular with RPL customers who enjoy listening while doing chores at home, crafting, exercising or on long road trips. In the library, these titles are arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name. Interfiled with the CDs are digital audio players that contain a novel on a single two- or three-inch mp3 player. Users of DAPs need headphones to listen, and tend to like them for their portability. A DAP can also be used in a vehicle with an adapter. The library’s music CD collection is also appreciated by those looking for not only popular music, but music from different countries or genres, and even sound effects. Reading and listening come together in the library’s collection of Bookpacks a product of the Playaway Digital Audioplayer brand. In Bookpacks, the digital audio player is packaged with the book so that users may listen as they read. RPL owns several of these for middle grade readers. Younger children may enjoy the large collection of CD and picture books sets owned by the library, a modern day equivalent of the Read Along book and 45 rpm record sets of yesteryear. The concept is taken one step further in RPL’s new Wonderbooks where digital audio player equipment is discreetly installed in the cover of a picture book. Contact the library at 768-READ (7323) for assistance with placing holds, scheduling curbside pick-up, or to come in and browse the collections. You can also visit us online at www.reedsburglibrary.org or email info@reedsburglibrary.org for more information.