Check out ebooks at OC Public Libraries

By Patty Marsters

pattym@lwsb.com

The Orange County Public Libraries has an extensive catalog of ebooks available for readers with smartphones and tablets.

Anyone with an OC Public Libraries card can check out audio and ebooks through the online app Libby by OverDrive. (To get a card, go to https://catalog. ocpl.org/client/en_US/default/ search/registration/$N/TEST/ true.) Through this app on your cellphone or tablet, you can find audiobooks and ebooks, check them out, download them, and access them. You can keep track of your reading history, and all your loans and holds are consolidated in a single place, with positions and notes synced across all your devices. Libby can also send books to Kindle for people who like to read on that device. (Older devices that are not compatible with Libby should be able to run the OverDrive app.) Libby is available for download from either the Apple App Store for iPhones or Google Play for androids; for laptops, go to libbyapp. com.

Any title on a reader’s virtual bookshelf is available at any time, even when the device is not connected to Wi-Fi. Books are automatically returned to the library unless an additional hold is requested or the reader finishes early and submits a return.

If you need help getting set up, there are a number of helpful videos posted at https://ocpl. org/elibrary/virtual-programs/ how-videos.

Virtual Book Groups

The Seal Beach Library’s Thursday Adult Book Club meets the fourth Thursday of every month at 10 a.m. Contact Amy Johnson at amy.johnson@occr.ocgov.com for more information and the link to access online meetings. LW Library Curbside Pick-up

Though the building is closed to residents because of COVID-19 precautions, LW Library staff continues its curbside pick-up program.

You may request materials from the library collection via email at LWLibrary@lwsb.com or by calling (562) 598-2431, Tuesday- Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Emails should include your name, library card number, phone number, and what kinds of materials you like to read and/or watch.

You will receive a call when your material is ready for curbside pick-up. Upon notification, you can come to the library from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday, and retrieve the materials either by coming to the main entrance door or by parking in a curbside spot and calling the library to let staff know you have arrived. Remain in your vehicle, and a staff member will place a paper bag filled with your items in your trunk for you.

Patrons can return materials to the library book drop at any time.

If you need a LW library card, you can call the library for help.

Bag of Books Program

The Friends of the Library offers a Bag of Books Program. Call (714) 350-7682 and request a specific genre or author, and volunteers will do their best to fill a bag, for which you pay just $5.

The bookstore itself remains closed until further notice. Donations are not currently being accepted, so residents are asked to hold onto them until it is safe to reopen.