Athens-Clarke County Library, Headquarters2025 Baxter Street · Athens, Georgia 30606 · 706.613.3650
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Members of the Athens Regional Library System can download audiobooks through the Georgia Download Destination. Check out up to five audiobooks at a time.
We do not currently offer e-books for check out, but we have a list of recommended sites for free e-book downloads.
Download Audiobooks
Georgia Download Destination allows Athens-Regional Library System cardholders to download audiobooks for free. You may check out up to five books at a time; once you have checked out a book, you can download it to your computer and to a portable device such as an mp3 player or an iPod. The files on your computer automatically deactivate at the end of 7 days, so you never get late fees.
You will need to download and install the free Overdrive software to use Georgia Download Destination from home, or you can come into the library and use the GDD kiosk to check out audiobooks to your portable device. Follow the instructions in the Quick Start Guide to get started at home.
Download E-books
Although the Athens Regional Library does not offer e-books for check out at this time, we would like to give some tips as well as a list of recommended sites for downloading free e-books online.
Tips for Downloading Free E-Books
- If a site gives you a choice of file formats, choose the format native to your e-book device. Suggested formats for popular devices:
- Kindle: mobi, azw, & prc
- Nook: epub & pdb
- Sony E-reader: lrs, lrf, & epub
- Most readers can display an Adobe document in .pdf format, but unless it is specifically formatted to the device, the font size may be unreadable. The ability to zoom text in a pdf document varies depending on the device.
- Avoid sites which promise you the latest bestsellers for free. The free books on legitimate sites are old enough to have entered the public domain and are no longer protected by copyright. Sites offering recent works are most likely going to send unwanted spyware or viruses with your ebook download.
- Never give personal information to a site in exchange for free ebooks. All of the recommended sites below allow the download of public domain books without requiring any information.