What Drives the Popularity of Audiobooks?

The range of entertainment available on audio books isPublic Library System; Safety Harbor Public Library
huge: from Bestsellers, Classics, Comedy, Biography toand St. Petersburg Public Library System.
History, Travel and Politics. Research shows that mostYou can access "audio books to go" through a link on
people listen to audiocassettes and CDs while theythe web site of each of the participating libraries or by
are doing something else--driving, doing housework,logging onto There are now more than 600 titles
exercising, preparing to go to sleep, surfing the net andavailable, ranging from popular fiction to self-help, from
especially travelling. Audio CDs are still out-sold byromance to young adult. If you haven't checked the
tapes and it's forecast that it will be 2006/07 beforewebsite for available titles lately, you are missing out on
that trend is reversed.some amazing reading!
So, if you don't have time to stop off at the library orDownload the special software program on the Digital
the bookstore before you leave for the beach or theBook Catalog homepage, and hundreds of audio
mountains this summer -- don't worry! You can stillbooks are available for you to enjoy on vacation, or at
take a bestseller with you on vacation.home. Downloading a digital audio book takes as little
More than 250 new full textbooks by authors likeas 15 minutes. You can borrow as many as four audio
James Patterson, Clive Cussler, Nora Roberts andbooks at a time.
W.E.B. Griffin are now available for free download toNo need to return these audio books to the library!
your home computer. You can transfer the audioOnce your seven-day loan is over, the book is no
books to your MP3 Player or burn them to a disk andlonger available to you on your home computer.
play them in your car or anywhere! (A great way toTechnology for the new service is provided through
pass the time on long drives!)OverDrive, the national leader in downloadable media
You can download digital audio books if you have afor libraries. The Digital Book Catalog is a joint project
valid library card from those libraries or any of theof the participating libraries and the Tampa Bay Library
following: Clearwater Public Library; East LakeConsortium (TBLC). 96 libraries are members of TBLC.
Community Library; Hillsborough County Public LibraryTogether these libraries serve more than 4.1 million
Cooperative; Largo Public Library; Manatee CommunityFloridians (approximately 30% of Florida's total
College Library; Palm Harbor Library; Pasco Countypopulation) in 12 counties in west central Florida.