Manchester libraries eBooks and audio books
The following instructions are designed to cover the basic steps for
a reader with sight loss using a computer to borrow an eBook or
audio book from Manchester library. The Manchester library
website has a Help section with more detailed information on the
services of the library and your library account.
There are three stages you have to go through each time you use
a computer to borrow an eBook or audio book from the
Manchester library website:
 Sign in
 Borrow a book
 Read your book
Reading a book requires particular software, so a fourth step you
only have to do once is download and install this software.
1. Sign in
Open your browser and go to the following website:
http://manchesterdownload.lib.overdrive.com
On the home page, click the Sign In link near the top right of the
screen.
Type your Library card number and PIN into the edit boxes.
Contact your library if you are not sure what these are.
If this is a computer other people may use, uncheck Remember
my login information on this device.
Click the Sign In button.
You may be given the option to remember the password again at
this point. If this is a computer other people may use, say "no"!
Once you've signed in correctly, you will go either to the home
page or to your account page. Your account page has details of
the books you've currently got on loan. The home page is where
RNIB – supporting blind and partially sighted people
Registered charity number 226227
you can borrow new books. From any page on the website, use
the Download > eBooks and Audiobooks from Manchester
Libraries link near the top to go to the home page. Use the
Account link, also near the top of any page, to go to your account
page.
Once you sign in, the Sign In link will change to a Sign Out link. If
this is a public computer, when you have borrowed your books,
you should use this link to finish your session.
You're now ready to borrow a book.
2. Get the software
Before you borrow any books, you should first make sure you have
the software needed to read your books. You need to do this once
on each computer you intend to use.
There is a Software link at the bottom of most pages of the
Manchester Libraries website. This link goes to a page which
offers downloads of OverDrive Media Console (for audio books),
and Adobe Digital Editions (for eBooks).
Neither of these pieces of software is under the control of
Manchester libraries. Both of them have good levels of
accessibility with screen magnification software and screen
readers, except that Adobe Digital Editions does not work with
Supernova screen reader.
3. Find and borrow a book
You can either search for a specific book title or author, or choose
a subject and look through the books available.
The subjects available are shown near the top of the home page. If
you have a screen reader, the subjects are level 6 headings. When
you choose a subject, the books are presented in the same way as
if you had done a search; this screen is described below.
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To search for a book, type one or more words in the edit area near
the top of the screen, and press the Submit Search button which
follows it, which looks like a magnifying glass.
A maximum of 20 results are shown on a page, so if your search
finds more than 20 books, there will be two or more pages of
results. The links to move between pages appear before and after
the 20 results shown on the first page.
3.1 Search results if you can see
If you can see the results screen, you will notice there are links
across the top of the page and down the left. The rest of the page
is taken up with the results of your search.
For each book you can see its cover, with the title and author
below. A graphic at the top right of the cover tells you if this is an
eBook or an audio book. A black graphic means it is available for
loan; a grey graphic means it is not - if you can use a mouse,
hover over the graphic and a pop-up will also tell you this.
The links down the left of the screen allow you to refine your
results, for example you may only be interested in audiobooks, or
in non-fiction or even a particular publisher.
3.2 Search results if you cannot see
If you cannot see the results screen, there are a number of ways
you can quickly get to the search results.
 They follow the "Search Results" heading which is the first
heading level 3 on the page.
 They form the second list on the page.
 Get a list of links and look for the first one beginning with C,
because the first link for each search result starts "click here to
view details for …".
For each book you get six bits of information. The first is a link
which includes the format, title and author. The second is the
option to put this book on your wish list, if you're not sure you want
to borrow it. The other four are repeats of this information.
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Following the search results are some links that allow you to filter
your results, for example you may only be interested in
audiobooks, or in non-fiction or even a particular publisher. These
links follow the only heading level 5 on the page, "filter search by".
3.3 Borrowing
Once you've found a book you want to borrow, click its cover or
choose one of the links that includes its title. This will open another
screen with more detailed information about the book.
If the book is available for loan, the page will show a "Borrow"
button link to the right of the cover (it looks like a button, but to a
screen reader it's a link).
If all copies are out on loan, there will be a "Place a Hold" button
link rather than a "Borrow" one. If you press the "Place a Hold"
button link, you have the chance to give an email address and a
message will be sent to this address when the book is available.
Choosing the Borrow button link takes you to your account page.
This shows the books you currently have on loan, and how many
checkouts you have remaining. For screen reader users, the books
you have on loan are after a heading 4 called Bookshelf, while the
checkouts you have remaining are under a heading 6 called "My
account".
The information against each loaned book can change depending
on the format of the book and other factors, but may include:
 An option to download it to your computer so that you can read
it with Adobe Digital Editions or OverDrive Media Console,
 An option to read it within a browser. This option is aimed at
sighted or low vision readers rather than those using a screen
reader.
 An option to return the book early. Note that for some books, if
you want to return it early you do this within the software used
to read it - Adobe Digital Editions (right click the book in the
library and choose "Return borrowed item") or OverDrive Media
Console (press Delete on the book).
rnib.org.uk
At the end of the loan period, the book is automatically removed
from your computer, so you don't have to worry about overdue
loans! Loans cannot be extended or renewed.
4. Read a book
A mentioned above, the software needed to read borrowed books
can be obtained via the Manchester libraries website, but is
outside their control. Once you have installed the software, you'll
need to familiarise yourself with its controls so that you can
confidently read your books.
4.1 Adobe Digital Editions
RNIB have previously created a document about using this
programme, which can be downloaded from:
http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/reading/how/ebooks/acce
ssibility/Pages/digitaleditions.aspx
4.2 OverDrive Media Console
The OverDrive Media Console comes with a short audio book that
introduces the application and includes information about its
accessibility features.
4.2.1 Windows
When the OverDrive Media Console opens, it shows the Console.
The Console has a menu bar from which all features and options
are available. Use Alt to toggle focus between the menu bar and
the library. The library has two areas which you can Tab between.
At the left is a tree view; choose "View all media" to have all your
books visible, or one of the other options to restrict the view of
books. Press Tab to move to the list of books, and arrow up and
down between them. Press Ctrl + P on a book to start playing it
and switch to the Explorer window.
In the Explorer window you can use shortcuts to turn features on
and off, or Tab around to find what's available. Because the book
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starts playing as soon as the Explorer window opens, you may
need to pause it with Ctrl + P, before starting to Tab around. Here
are some other keystrokes that might be useful in the Explorer
window:
 Play/pause - Ctrl + P
 Next/previous part - Ctrl + Shift + Right/Left
 Next/previous media marker - Ctrl + Right/Left
 Volume up/down/mute - F10, F9, F8
 Change speed - Ctrl + 1 through to 6. Normal speed is Ctrl +
2.
 Skip back 15 seconds - Ctrl + Shift + B
 Add bookmark - Ctrl + B
Note that some of these keystrokes may conflict with keystrokes
used by your assistive technology, so it's a good idea how the
"bypass" or "pass through" keystroke, which tells your assistive
technology to ignore the next keystroke.
4.2.2 OS X
When the OverDrive Media Console opens, it shows the Console.
Use the menu bar (Ctrl-F2) to explore features and options. Press
Command-P on a book to start playing it and switch to the Explorer
window.
Once a book is playing, VO-Right to the Play button and press it to
pause the book. In the Explorer window you can use shortcuts to
turn features on and off, or VO-arrow around to find what's
available. Because the book starts playing as soon as the Explorer
window opens, you may need to pause it before exploring the
screen.
Here are some other keystrokes that might be useful in the
Explorer window:
 Next/previous part - Command-Shift-Right/Left
 Next/previous media marker - Command-Right/Left
 Change speed - Command-1 through to 5. Normal speed is
Command-2.
 Skip back 15 seconds - Command-Shift-B
 Add bookmark - Command-Equals
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5. Using assistive technology with the Manchester
Libraries website
Windows
Most Windows screen readers have similar keystrokes for common
actions. Some useful keystrokes include:
 You can use a single letter to move to specific areas on the
page. Popular ones include E for an edit area, H for a heading,
and B for a button. Add the Shift key to move in the opposite
direction.
 Sometimes, if you know the level of heading you want to move
to, you can use it. For instance, 1 or 1 followed by H may move
you to the next level 1 heading.
 To get a list of links with NVDA, press NVDA + F7. With JAWS
it's JAWSKey+ F7, Window-Eyes uses Insert + Tab and
Supernova has CapsLock + 1
 To get a list of headings with NVDA, press NVDA + F7 and then
Alt + H. With JAWS it's JAWSkey + F6. Windows-Eyes uses
Insert + Tab and then Alt + H, and Supernova has CapsLock +
3.
 To move to the top of the page, press Control + Home. And to
get to the bottom, press Control + End
 To tell your screen reader to ignore the next keystroke with
NVDA press NVDA + F2. With JAWS it's JAWSkey + 3.
Windows-Eyes uses Insert + B or CapsLock + B, and
Supernova has LeftControl + 7.
OS X
Mac's VoiceOver
 Turn Quick Nav on and then to to the VoiceOver utility. Select
the Commanders item in the Utilities Category table, then go to
the Quick Nav tab and check the "enable single-key webpage
navigation" checkbox. You can then use F for the next text field,
H for a heading, B for a button and so on. Add the Shift key to
move in the opposite direction.
 If you know the level of heading you want to move to, you can
simply press that number. For instance, 1 will move you to the
next level 1 heading.
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 To get a list of links or headings, use VO-U to open the rotor,
then RightArrow through the categories.
 To move to the top of the page, press VO-Shift-Home (on a
compact keyboard, this is Control-Option-Shift-fn-Left). And to
get to the bottom, press VO-Shift- End (on a compact keyboard,
Control-Option-Shift-fn-Right).
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