Sabah State Library - Digital Book Borrowing

I did a posting on 11 Nov 2010 on joining the Sabah State Library after they had publicised the availability of eBooks borrowing.

As mentioned there, I was disappointed that the PDF and ePub editions were only readable on the PC (using the Adobe Digital Editions reader) and on certain eBook readers (eg Sony eReader). Thus I could not download the eBooks to my Android phone as there was no android software that could handle the Adobe DRM.

In January 2011, Aldiko released Version 2.0 of the Aldiko Reader (free and premium editions - only for Android 2.1 and above), which could both handle PDF files and also Adobe DRM ePub & PDF books from public libraries. I quickly updated my Aldiko Reader to the new version from the Android Market.

Note that you need to enter your Adobe ID into the Aldiko reader. Also ensure you are on a wi-fi network or a cheap data plan, otherwise the phone bill maybe more than the cost of buying the book from the bookstore!

Now off to the Sabah State Library (SSL) ...

... there were some 900+ ebooks available to browse through. It was not that many (say half appealed to the opposite sex, some were for teenagers and others). Hopefully the library will increase their purchase of eBooks; more likely with increasing number of users ...

I selected Crisis Economics by Nouriel Roubini; and clicked [Add to My Cart] ...

... then clicked [Proceed to Checkout] ...

... which then allowed me to download the eBook (actually only the ACSM file - Adobe Content Server Message file; ie the Key) ...

... I needed a file manager that knew what to do with acsm files (I used ASTRO File Manager) ...

... which started the download of the eBook from SSL ...

... and knew to store it in the Aldiko Reader's Book shelf ...

... to be opened for immediate reading ...

... available for 14 days (the eBook will then expire and will not open in the reader). You can also"return" the eBook if you finished reading it before the expiry date.

It was all very convenient. As I mentioned in the November posting, I would only "borrow" one book at a time; keeping those eBooks I was interested in, in my Wish List (I am not sure how long they stay there).

Those of you with Android phones should take advantage of the eBook Borrowing from our SSL.

Sabah State Library - Borrowing eBooks

I gave up my Sabah State Library membership many, many, many years ago. But, reading in yesterday's newspapers, I saw an article about another "FIRST" in Sabah. The Sabah State Library (SSL) was the first in Malaysia to have an eBook service.

This system allows the borrower to borrow the book (ie download an electronic copy) online without physically visiting the library.

I immediately went to the State Library to join the eBook service. I thought the State Library was at the Beautiful Building situated next to the Agriculture Ministry and near The Gaya Teacher Training College. Very nice architecture and huge parking lots.

The interior was nice too. Unfortunately, I was told this was the Library HQ and held only reference material.



I took up the membership at RM10 (for 2 years - cheap!). I was told it can be used at the Kota Kinabalu Library and also at the Penampang Library. You could also register for free wi-fi usage at the library premises (using your personal laptop).

I asked about the eBook service, but no info was given. I thought I could get more at the KK Library.

This was the KK Library, next to the KK City Hall. I enquired about the eBook service but only received blank looks and vague comments. I specifically asked if any other steps or any forms that had to be done to use the service. No help, so I went home to try it online.

The official website pointed me to the Overdrive Sign In page (Overdrive provided the Digital Library Systems). The sign-in page asked for Library Card Number and PIN (as usual). The "Info for Beginners" page explained that the Library Card Number was your IC number and the PIN was ssl2010.

WHAT KIND OF CRAP SECURITY WAS THIS!

The Beginners' Info page also said that the service had to be activated at the branch. I was upset that the KK Branch did not know this. I called the guy in charge of the Branch. He said that they had NOT BEEN TRAINED YET on this eBook service. OMG! why announce the service when your staff had not been trained? Anyway, I asked for the name of the staff at HQ I could contact for assistance. No one answered the phone at HQ (4.35pm).

This morning I tried and was kindly assisted by a staff at HQ, who activated the service for me.

Upon activation, you get to browse through the available books. You are allowed a maximum of 4 books at any one time. The borrowed books can be downloaded to your PC and read (or listened to in the case of an audio book) for specified borrowing period. "My Bookshelf" page showed that I had borrowed 2 books (1 an audio book) which could be downloaded and read (or listened to) until the expiry dates.

The eBooks were in a number of formats (PDF and ePUB). You will need to install Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) as the reader (see screen capture above). You will discover that ADE meant that the "protected" books could only be read on your PC and certain eBook readers (eg SONY eReader). No ADE versions for iPhone or Android phones (so no reading on mobile devices).

For audio books, you will need to install Overdrive Media Console. This software was available for PC, iPhone and Android. So most of the audio books are available for mobile devices.

To conclude, this adventure in eBook borrowing from a library was not very user friendly in all aspects.

Although I was very grateful, I felt that activating the eBook service on my account over the phone was not really security-conscious of the library. The seeming lack of security in the account login was also a concern. If anyone from the SSL reads this; please take these comments constructively.

I do intend to be a user of this eBook service as it should become very convenient for both the user and the library. Because of the convenience, I would only borrow 1 book at a time.