How do I search for eBooks? 

The best way to search currently is to check each service independently.  There is no integrated search feature that would search all eBook collections simultaneously.  Use the descriptions below to find the collection that is right for you.  For example, if you want to listen to an eAudiobook, you should use OverDrive. OverDrive and the 3M Cloud Library are the library’s main sources for downloadable eBooks.

3M Cloud Library

An eBooks lending system for full color eBooks that you can download via the Cloud Library app. Access your eBooks across different devices, including iPads, iPhones, Android phones and devices, Nooks, Kobos and PCs. 

• Downloadable; check out up to 8 titles at a time; place up to 10 titles on hold
• Best for iPads, NOOKs, PCs or smartphones; not compatible with older Kindles; can be used with Kindle Fires using a ‘sideload’ technique.  Wyoming Libraries has a helpful, written tutorial.
• Cloud Library Reader app available for free for mobile devices and PCs (coming soon for Mac computers)
• eBooks only
• Best for popular fiction /nonfiction and books with color images
• Selections for adults, teens and children
• Available to Marin County Free Library, Belvedere-Tiburon, San Anselmo and Sausalito residents with a valid library card
• 3M Cloud Library FAQs
• Check out 3M's Patron Support Page
• Having trouble? View our tutorial

Axis 360 eBooks

Axis 360 offers interactive eBooks. Many titles are enhanced by color, video, and audio using the Blio reading app that is also 100% compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). All eBooks include text-to-speech (TTS) for the print-impaired.

• Downloadable; check out up to 8 titles at a time; place up to 10 titles on hold
• Best for iPads, NOOKs, PCs or smartphones; not compatible with older Kindles; can be used with Kindle Fires using a ‘sideload’ technique.  Santa Clara County Library has a helpful, written tutorial.
• Blio eReader app available for free for mobile devices and PCs
• eBooks only
• Best for graphic content, particularly picture books, cookbooks, craft books and graphic novels; also includes popular fiction /nonfiction and books with color images
• Selections for adults, teens and children
• Available to Marin County Free Library residents with a valid library card
• Axis 360 eBook FAQs and Tutorial

OverDrive

Currently our largest collection of popular fiction and nonfiction eBooks, eAudiobooks, videos, as well as a small collection of digital music.   

• Downloadable; check out up to 8 titles at a time; place up to 10 titles on hold
• Best for Kindles; compatible with a wide selection of eReaders, tablets, smartphones and computers, including NOOKs, iPads, Kindles, etc.
• OverDrive Media Console (OMC) free app for mobile devices available in the Apple App Store, Google Play, Barnes & Noble NOOK Apps
• Mostly eBooks and eAudiobooks; some videos and music
• Available formats:  Adobe EPUB eBooks, Adobe PDF eBooks, Kindle eBooks, WMA audiobooks, MP3 audiobooks, WMA Audio,  WMV Video
• Best for wide range of popular fiction and non-fiction titles
• Always available free Project Gutenberg books do not count against checkout limits
• Selections for adults, teens and children
• Available to all Marin County residents with a valid library card
• OverDrive FAQs
• Having trouble? View our tutorials for the Nook or your Apple Mobile Device

Zinio Digital Magazines  

Browse the library’s collection of recent magazines in digital format. 

• Read online on your PC or Mac, or download through mobile apps to view off-line
• Digital magazines only
• View magazines on your computer or mobile device (iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and Blackberry playbook)
• Free Zinio app for mobile devices
• Set up a library collection account and a viewer account to access magazines
• Magazines are full color digital versions of the print magazine, with the same layout and ads
• Available to residents of the Marin County Free Library and Belvedere-Tiburon jurisdictions with a valid library card
• Zinio FAQs

BookFLIX

Kids can experience classic fictional video storybooks from Weston Woods paired  with nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic.  Watching the online interactive videos helps kids reinforce reading skills and develop real-world knowledge. 

• Read/view online
• eBooks paired with video storybooks
• Streaming media with no files to download; requires Flash
• Fiction/Nonfiction pairs organized by nine themes, including Animals & Nature, Earth & Sky, Family & Community, ABC’s and 1,2,3’s, etc.
• Selections for children, pre-Kindergarten to age 3
• Available to all California residents

EBSCO eBooks

Collection of fiction and nonfiction titles available online.

• Read online (not downloadable)
• eBooks only
• Collection of fiction, including classics, and nonfiction titles
• Selections for adults and children
• Available to all Marin County residents with a valid library card

Gale Virtual Reference Library

A selection of subject-based encyclopedias and reference tools in art, business, the environment, history, law, science and social science.

• Read online
• eBooks only, with color illustrations
• Available to all Marin County residents with a valid library card

Safari Tech Books Online

Online books on technology, digital media and business topics. 

• Read online (titles are not downloadable)
• eBooks only
• Access titles from leading publishers like O’Reilly Media, Prentice Hall, Que, etc.
• Short Cuts feature lets you learn details about specific topics or get the latest information about brand new technologies – before anyone else – with this expert-written, web-only content
• Search for text or code snippets
• Available to all Marin County residents with a valid library card