e-Discover the Classics in NExpress

After the 3M Cloud and Database webinar with the State Library on August 4, we knew we needed to push ahead on a project to bring hundreds of public domain eBooks and digital audiobooks from Project Gutenberg into the NExpress Shared Catalog.  Thanks to the Colorado Library Consortium‘s “e-Discover the Classics” project, Heather was able to get that done last night!

We now have dozens of digital audiobooks (.pdf) and over 350 eBooks (.pdf) in the catalog, ready for you and your patrons to discover, download and enjoy!  As of today, they are all cataloged with a home library of “NEKLS,” an item type of “Book” and a collection code of “Electronic Resource.”  We still need to go through these items and separate the Adult books from the Children’s books.  Click on the image above to execute a search.

This new collection includes foreign-language editions of classics such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, plus books in French, Spanish and Chinese!

I envision Adult Winter Reading Programs with themes like “Cuddle up with a Classic” or “e-Discover a Childhood Favorite” or “Seen the movie? Now e-Read the book.”  I’m sure you all will come up with better ones that that, but it’s a start.  Also look through this list to identify books your teacher and homeschool students may be interested in, like The Illiad by Homer or The Jungle by Upton Sinclair or The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.   Your Romance readers may enjoy Emma by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, or listening to Briar Rose by Grimm.

So, how do you get to these awesome free eBooks and digital audiobooks?

By Following these simple instructions (courtesy of Clicweb).  Patrons will access the Project Gutenburg Web site through a link embedded in each Koha record.  From the Project Web site, they will go to the “Download” tab and then select the format they want (including Kindle).  Project Gutenburg also provides instructions and recommendations at (ignore the line, this link works fine): http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:MobileReader_Devices_How-To.  For example, if your patron owns a Nook and has Adobe Digital Editions set up on her/his home computer, the .epub version downloaded from the Web site will open in that program.  There are also Apps and a mobile Web site available to make these books easier to find and read on a smart phone, tablet or eReader.