Help - Android Products

A PDF document of these instructions with images is also available.

The first thing that you will need to do is download the Overdrive App from your devices app store.  There is no charge for the app.  Using the Overdrive App, you can download EPUB eBooks and MP3 eAudio. No other format is compatible with the Overdrive App.

When the app is finished downloading, you will need to open the app.  The first time you open the app, you should see an audiobook called “Welcome to Overdrive Media Console.”  

In order to read eBooks in the Overdrive app, you will need to register for an Adobe ID.  You can create an Adobe ID by going here.  If you are only using the app for eAudio, you do not need an Adobe ID.

To enter your Adobe ID, click the menu button of your device.   In the menu that pops up, select “App Settings.”

In the app settings screen, you will need to scroll down the screen a little by moving your finger up the screen.  You will see an area to enter an Adobe ID and Password.  You will need to enter the Adobe ID in order to read eBooks in the Overdrive App.

To start downloading eBooks or eAudio, click the menu button of your device.   In the menu that pops up, select “Get Books.” 

You will now need to select a library to download eBooks from.  Select “Add a Library.”

You can type in your zip code or you can browse for your local branch name or for “Harris County Public Library”.  You will need to choose a HCPL branch to access our catalog. 

If you click on the star next to the library name you selected, the app will remember your library selection in the future.

Once you have selected a library, you will be taken to our digital catalog. 

While browsing the catalog on your mobile device, please be aware that you will only be shown the compatible titles for your device.  You will not see the titles that cannot be downloaded to your device. 

Next you will need to search the catalog to find and check out a title.

To download a title that you have just checked out, select the “Download” button.  To access any title you have previously checked out, click on the link for “My Digital Account.”  Then select “My eBookshelf.”

Once you select “download”, the app will open and the download will begin. 

To read or listen to the title, select it from the app menu and it should open.  While reading the title, you can press the devices menu button to bring up a menu from the bottom of the screen.  Select “Reader Settings” to bring up some settings that may enhance your reading experience.

Here you can change the font, color, font size etc.

To return the title early or to delete it from the device, you can either click the menu button while reading the title and press “delete” from the options, or from your bookshelf in the app, press and hold with your finger on the title you wish to delete and then select “Delete” from the options.

After selecting “Delete,” you can make your selection from the next screen to either “Delete” the title or “Return and Delete” the title.

A PDF document of these instructions with images is also available.

To return the title early or to delete it from the device, you can either click the menu button while reading the title and press “delete” from the options, or from your bookshelf in the app, press and hold with your finger on the title you wish to delete and then select “Delete” from the options.

After selecting “Delete,” you can make your selection from the next screen to either “Delete” the title or “Return and Delete” the title.

“Return and Delete” will return the title and delete it from the device, while “delete” will only delete the title from the device, but it will not remove it from your card.

Photo Credit: Reading by Adactio. By courtesy of the artist via Flickr Creative Commons.

On the HCPL Digital Media Catalog, the only eBook formats that will work on the Android devices are the “EPUB” and “Kindle” formats.  The PDF format will not work on the Android Device.

If you wish to listen to eAudio on the Android Device, the only compatible format is the MP3 eAudio.  The WMA format will not work on the Android device.

If you would like to learn how to read our eBooks or listen to the eAudio titles on your Android device, please see the support topic called “Find out how to download eBooks and eAudio books to your Android Device.”