Beginning August 1, 2015 the Northeast Regional Library System offers downloadable books, audios, and magazines free to library card holders
To use the new materials residents need a valid library card, an Android or Apple tablet or smartphone, and the app “RBdigital.” (Formerly there were different apps for books and audios, they have been combined into one. You need the new combined app.) Users will need wifi access to the internet in order to checkout and download the digital media, but can read the downloaded items without an internet connection.
The e-books and e-audios check-out for two weeks with the possibility of a one week renewal. At the end of the loan period, the e-book or e-audio automatically disappears from the user’s device. The e-books and e-audios like their physical counterparts can only be used by one user at a time.
The digital resources do not appear in the Northeast Regional Library online catalog. They must be accessed separately.
At this time the digital services work best on Apple and Android devices and with a few adaptations on the Kindle Fire HD or HDX. Currently there are no apps for Windows mobile devices although, if data usage is not a concern, items may be streamed from the websites.
GETTING STARTED
- Update your Android or Apple tablet or smartphone to the most recent version of the operating system and make sure it has sufficient memory available to hold downloads.
- Have your library card number available.
- Have a pencil and paper ready to write down your user name and password for each
STEP ONE
Download your apps
- For Apple devices, go to the Apple App Store
- For Android devices, go to the Google Play Store
- DownloadRBdigital
- RBdigital
For Kindle Fire HD and HDX, the RBdigital app can be found on the Amazon App Store.
STEP TWO
Register/Set up your accounts
You cannot register from the apps, you must register from the Northeast Regional RBdigital site (neregms.rbdigital.com). Each of these can be accessed from the icons on our homepage. You may access these sites from the web browser on your mobile device, but the process is much quicker if you use a computer that is hard-wired to the internet. After registering online (and while your device is still connected to wifi), open each of the apps on your digital device and enter the information you used when you set up your account online. Be sure to write down the email address, user name, and password that you set for each app. (Note: the apps indicate that you may use your library card number, but that will not work. You must use your username/login name and password.)
STEP THREE
Checking out and downloading your item
Often it is easiest to view, select, and checkout items from the Northeast Regional Library digital collections through the web browser on any device connected to the internet. You then open the corresponding app, click “get books” and download the item to your mobile device while connected to the internet. Once downloaded, the items may be read without an internet connection. It is possible to view and select books from within the app. To do that select one of the tabs at the top of the app (eAudio or eBook), then click Search (the magnifying glass) and it will take you to the mobile version of the RBdigital site. You can look at just the featured items on the home page, or go to the three lines at the top left (browse), then look at all eBooks or all eAudios. Select an item, check it out, and then download it.
Additional information can be found in the “Help” sections for RBdigital.