This document provides instructions for setting up and using the OverDrive Media Console app on a Kindle Fire HD to check out and download eBooks from a library's OverDrive collection. It describes how to download and authorize the app, add a library, search for and check out available titles in EPUB or Kindle format, and find downloaded books on the device. It also covers specifics of downloading Kindle books with restrictions requiring transfer via USB and returning titles early.

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Kindle Fire HD Handout with Hands-On Exercises
Preliminary Setup Requirements for Kindle Fire Owners
 An Amazon account.
 A Wi-Fi internet connection.
Section I: Getting to Know Your Kindle Fire HD
Turn Kindle Fire On/Off:
When holding the Kindle Fire HD in landscape mode with the camera at the top, the Power
Button is on the right side of the device, below the headphone jack and the Volume Up/Down
button.
To turn on your Kindle Fire HD, press and hold the Power Button until you see screen activity.
To turn off your Kindle Fire HD, press and hold the Power Button until the following prompt
appears on the screen: “Do you want to shut down your Kindle?” Tap “Shut Down.”
Unlock the Kindle Fire HD:
When you turn on your Kindle Fire or wake it from sleep mode, the lock screen appears. To
unlock, touch your finger to the lock and swipe from right to left.
Status Bar:
The Status Bar appears at the top of the screen and displays your Kindle’s name, notification
alerts, the current time, and Wi-Fi and battery status.
Quick Settings:
Swipe down from the top of the screen to display Quick Settings. From here you can lock/unlock
screen rotation, adjust volume and brightness, access wireless settings, and sync data from the
server. Tap “More” to bring up additional settings, including Help & Feedback, My Account,
Applications, Parental Controls, and more.

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Options Bar:
The Options Bar appears at the bottom or on the right side of the screen:
Standard options that may appear on the bar include, from left to right:
 Home – Tap to return to the Kindle Fire Home screen
 Back – Tap to return to the previous screen
 Menu – Tap to view additional context-sensitive menu options
 Search – Tap to search your Content Libraries, the Store, or the Web.
 Favorites – Tap the star to display apps and content that you’ve marked as favorites.
The Options Bar may be hidden when some applications are running. If this is the case, swipe
the tab that appears on the bottom or right of the screen to display it.
Content Libraries:
Content Libraries are displayed across the top of your Home screen and represent all the
different types of content you may own or access (Games, Apps, Books, Music, etc). To view all
available Libraries, swipe your finger left or right across the display.
Tap a Library name (e.g. Books) to view all available content within that Library. Content
displayed within a particular Library may be stored on the device or in the cloud. If you don’t find
the content you are looking for on the Device, be sure to tap the Cloud tab to check there.
To download content from the cloud to your device, tap and hold the item you want to download
until a menu appears. Tap “Download.” To delete an item from your device tap and hold the item
you want to delete until a menu appears. Tap “Remove from Device.” This item will still be
available in the cloud.
If you tap on a Content Library that is empty (meaning you don’t own any content in that format)
you will be taken to an Amazon “Store” where you can shop for content.

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Carousel:
The Carousel appears on the Home screen and displays recently viewed content, including
books, apps, and photos. To scroll through the Carousel swipe your finger across the screen. To
select an item from the Carousel, tap it once. To remove a title from the Carousel tap and hold
the item, then select “Remove from Carousel.”
.
Section I: Getting to Know Your Kindle Fire HD – Review
Spend your first few minutes of hands-on time making sure you are familiar with the
location and functionality of the following:
 Power Button – Where is it?
 Status Bar – Where is it and what does it show you?
 Quick Settings – Can you display Quick Settings? What additional settings
do you see when you tap the “More” icon?
 Options Bar – When you display Quick Settings the Options Bar appears
along the bottom or right side of the screen. What options does it give you?
 Content Libraries – Can you open the Books Library? Identify books on the
device? In the cloud?
 Carousel – Can you scroll through the Carousel? What happens if you tap
and hold your finger on an item in the Carousel?

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Section II: Using Your Kindle Fire HD with OverDrive
Because the Kindle Fire HD supports web browsing via Amazon’s Silk browser, it’s always been
possible to check out Kindle-format eBooks from OverDrive and send them directly to the Kindle
Fire using nothing but the Kindle Fire. This is great, except for the fact that not all OverDrive
eBooks are available in Kindle format.
Luckily, in October 2012 Amazon added the OverDrive Media Console (OMC) app to their
Amazon App Store. By downloading and installing this free app, Kindle Fire owners can now
check out and download OverDrive eBooks in both Kindle and EPUB formats as well as
OverDrive MP3 audiobooks. We’ll show you how to check out and download the eBooks below!
How to Download and Install the OverDrive Media Console App:
Note: Although the app is free you must have a credit card on file within your Amazon account to
complete the transaction.
The OverDrive Media Console app is available for free from the Amazon App Store. To access
the app store select “Apps” from the row of Content Libraries displayed along the top of the
Kindle Fire Home screen. This takes you to the Apps Library, which displays apps that are
currently installed on your Kindle Fire. To shop for additional apps, tap the “Store” link in the
upper-right corner of the screen.
Tap “Search Appstore.” Type “OverDrive” in the search field and then press the magnifying
glass search icon.
Once you’ve found the OverDrive Media Console app, tap it once to select it. Tap the orange
“FREE” button. Tap the green “Get App” button. The download and installation process should
begin immediately.

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Opening and Authorizing the OverDrive Media Console App:
Tap on the OverDrive Media Console app icon to open the app. If you don’t see the app icon on
your Kindle Fire home screen, look in the Apps library.
The first time you open the app you will see a blue “No Books” screen that prompts you to “Get
a book by tapping the Home menu button or swiping the screen and then tapping your library.”
Tap the Home menu button, or swipe your finger from left to right across the screen, to open the
Home menu. The Home menu will appear on the left side of the screen. The Home menu allows
you to add your library to the “My Libraries” list, go to the app Bookshelf, access app Settings,
and more.
Before you can download Adobe DRM-protected eBooks to the app you will need to authorize
the app with your Adobe ID. To do this ahead of time, select “Settings” from the Home menu.
If you already have an Adobe ID and password: Type your Adobe ID and Password in the
appropriate fields on the app Settings screen. Tap “Authorize.” (Tip: If you’d like to access your
Adobe-protected eBooks on more than one device during the checkout period, be sure to
Home
menu

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authorize each device with the same adobe ID. You may authorize up to 6 computers or devices
with the same ID.)
If you don’t have an Adobe ID and password: Tap “Get a free Adobe ID” to jump to the
Adobe website where you can create one. After creating your Adobe ID, tap the back arrow on
your Kindle’s Options Bar to return to the app Settings screen. Proceed with the app
authorization.
To authorize the app later: If you don’t authorize the OverDrive Media Console app with an
Adobe ID right away, you will be prompted to do so the first time you try to download an Adobe
DRM-protected eBook. As soon as you initiate the download process, a pop-up menu will
appear informing you of the need to authorize the app with an Adobe ID. The menu includes a
“Get ID” link you can click on to jump to the Adobe website where you can create an Adobe ID,
as well as a link to the Settings screen where you can go to enter your ID and password in order
to authorize the app.

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How to Access Your Library’s OverDrive Website Through the OverDrive Media Console
App:
If you’ve already added your library to the app, it will be listed in the “My Libraries” section of the
Home menu (e.g. Nebraska OverDrive Libraries). Tap on your library’s name to access its
OverDrive website.
If you haven’t added your library to the app, select “Add a library” from the Home menu. Follow
the on-screen prompts to find a library by name, city, or postal code. When you find your library,
tap its name to select it. Tap the star next to your library’s OverDrive website in order to save it
to your “My Libraries” list for future access. Tap on the link to your library’s OverDrive website in
order to access it.
How to Check Out and Download eBooks:
Note: The mobile version of the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries website displays differently depending on whether
you are holding your Kindle Fire in portrait or landscape mode. The screenshots below depict its display in
landscape mode.
The mobile version of your library’s OverDrive website allows you to search and browse for
content in a variety of ways. A basic search box, into which you can type a title, keyword, author
name, or subject term, appears at the top right corner of the screen. A link to an advanced
search screen appears beneath it.
Scan down a bit further and there are links you can click on if you’d prefer to browse content by
categories such as All Fiction, All Nonfiction, New eBooks, Most Downloaded, etc.

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The screenshot below shows the result list I retrieved when I clicked on the “All Fiction” link
under the “eBook Fiction” category heading.
If you are having trouble finding a title that’s not already checked out, click on the blue “Show
me only titles with copies available” button. You can tell an eBook is available to check out if the
book icon in the upper-right corner of the cover image is dark gray. If an eBook isn’t available to
check out the book icon will be grayed out (i.e. light gray).
To Check Out an Available eBook:
1. Tap on the eBook title or cover image to view eBook details.
2. Tap on the blue “Borrow” button.
3. If prompted to sign in, select your library name from the list and type in your library card
number (and pin, if required). Tap “Sign In.”
Your eBook should now be ready to download!
Basic and
Advanced
Search
Options
Click on a
link to
browse by
category

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How to Download an EPUB eBook:
Tap the blue “Download (Select one format)” button, select EPUB eBook as your format, and
finally tap “Confirm & Download.” The EPUB eBook will be downloaded directly to your
OverDrive Media Console app Bookshelf.
To return to the app Bookshelf tap the “Home” menu button in the upper-left corner of the
screen, and then tap “Bookshelf.”
The EPUB eBook you just downloaded should appear on the Bookshelf. Tap the title to open
and read.
How to Download a Kindle eBook:
Tap the blue “Download (Select one format)” button, select Kindle Book as your
format, and finally tap “Confirm & Download.” You will immediately be
redirected to a “Get Your Digital Library Loan” page for the book on Amazon’s
website.

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Make sure you are signed in to your Amazon account. Select your Kindle Fire from the “Deliver
to:” drop-down menu that appears beneath the gold “Get library book” button. Tap the gold “Get
library book” button.
You should now be presented with a message telling you that your digital library book will be
delivered to your Kindle Fire the next time it connects to Wi-Fi. Since you are obviously
connected to Wi-Fi if you are performing the checkout process on your Kindle Fire HD, tap the
Home button on the Kindle Fire’s Options Bar to return to your Kindle Fire Home screen, where
you should find the Kindle book you just checked out displayed on the Carousel.
How to Download a Kindle eBook That Must Be “Transferred via USB”
Due to publisher restrictions, some Kindle eBooks are accompanied by
notation indicating that they must be transferred via “USB Only.”
This restriction has the greatest impact on users trying to get Kindle-
format eBooks borrowed from OverDrive onto Kindle devices other than
the Fire: These users really do have to connect their Kindles to their computers with USB cables
before dragging and dropping eBook files from their computers to the Documents folders of their
Kindles.
Kindle Fire users are spared most of this rigmarole – they can complete the checkout and
download process entirely on their Fires – but they may notice that the process varies slightly
from what they are used to when borrowing and downloading Kindle-format eBooks not
governed by these restrictions.

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First, immediately after checking out the “USB Only” Kindle book you will be redirected to
Amazon’s “Get Your Digital Library Loan” page for the book, just as with other Kindle-format
books. However, there will be notation on this page noting that publisher restrictions require the
book to be downloaded and transferred via USB.
Notice that the default selection in the “Deliver to:” drop-down menu on the right side of the
screen is “Transfer via Computer.” This selection cannot be changed!
Tap the gold “Get Library book” button.
On the next page you will be prompted to “please choose which Kindle you plan to transfer your
title to via USB:” Select your Kindle Fire from the “Deliver to:” menu and click “Continue.”
You will now be prompted to save the Kindle eBook file to your computer/laptop. Since you are
using a Kindle Fire, not a computer or laptop, you can ignore this step. Instead, tap the Home
icon on the Kindle Fire Options Bar to return to the Kindle Fire “Home” screen.
At this point, the Kindle eBook you just checked out may or may not appear on your device,
either in the Carousel or in the Books Library, under Device or Cloud. If you don’t see it in any of
these three locations, swipe down from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings. Tap
“Sync.” After the device syncs, your recently checked out Kindle eBook should appear in your
Carousel and in the Books Library under “Cloud.” (Tip: You may have to leave a screen and
come back to it before the title appears.) Tap on the eBook cover to finish downloading the
eBook to the device.
Finding EPUB eBooks Downloaded to the Kindle Fire HD:
EPUB eBooks checked out from OverDrive and downloaded to the Kindle Fire HD will appear
on the Bookshelf within the OverDrive Media Console app. When you open an EPUB eBook
and begin to read it, you will be using reading tools and settings built in to the OverDrive Media
Console app.
Finding Kindle eBooks Delivered to the Kindle Fire HD:
Kindle eBooks checked out from OverDrive and delivered to the Kindle Fire HD will appear on
the Carousel, or in the Books Library. (If you don’t see it in the Books Library under Device,
check under Cloud). When you open a Kindle eBook and begin to read it, you will be using
reading tools and settings built in to Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD.

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Returning/Deleting an EPUB eBook:
To return an OverDrive EPUB eBook early, open the OverDrive Media Console app and go to
the Bookshelf. Note that this time when you open the app, you are no longer presented with a
blue “No Books” screen. Instead you will see a “Continue Reading” screen featuring your most
recently read eBook. To jump directly to the Bookshelf tap on the Bookshelf icon on the upper-
right side of the screen.
Find your book on the Bookshelf. Press and hold your finger on the book cover until the
Return/Delete/Share menu appears. Tap “Return.”
When prompted, confirm that you want to return the title early.
Returning/Deleting a Kindle eBook:
To return an OverDrive Kindle eBook early, go to www.amazon.com using the web browser on
your Kindle Fire or the web browser on a computer/laptop. Sign in to your Amazon account. Go
to “Manage Your Kindle.”

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Find the title of the eBook you want to return early in the list of items in your Kindle Library.
Tap the “Actions” button to the right of that title to open the Actions menu. Select “Return this
book”
To completely delete the eBook title from the list of items, tap “Actions” again and select “Delete
from library.”
Note: A book you’ve returned and deleted from your Kindle Library within your Amazon account
may still appear on your Kindle Fire, either on the Carousel or in the Books Library. If you try to
open the book, however, you will receive a message telling you the title is no longer available
because the loan has ended. To completely remove the image of the book from your device,
press and hold your finger on the cover image until a pop-up menu appears. Select “Remove
from Carousel” or “Remove from Device.”
If I have a choice, which version of an eBook should I choose, EPUB or Kindle?
It’s up to you and depends on what’s most important to you! If you prefer the reading experience
OverDrive offers for EPUB eBooks via the OverDrive Media Console app, then download the
EPUB version, if available. If you prefer the reading experience Amazon offers for Kindle
eBooks via the Kindle Fire app, then download the Kindle version, if available.
If what you’re after is the easiest, most straight-forward download process, choose EPUB. You
can download the eBook directly from your OverDrive account to the OverDrive Media Console
app on your Kindle Fire HD, without having to detour through your Amazon account. Early
returns are easier too!

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Section II: Using Your Kindle Fire HD with OverDrive -- Review
For this hands-on exercise you will use the OverDrive Media Console app, which has
already been installed on the Kindle Fire HD, to check out and download an Adobe
EPUB eBook and a Kindle eBook to the Kindle Fire HD:
Adobe EPUB eBook:
 Open the OverDrive Media Console app.
 Open the “Home” menu.
 Tap “Nebraska OverDrive Libraries” to access the Nebraska OverDrive
Libraries web site.
 Search or browse for an Adobe EPUB eBook that’s available for checkout.
 Check out the eBook using the provided library login.
 Download the eBook.
 Return to your OverDrive Media Console Bookshelf and find the eBook you
just downloaded.
 Open your eBook and page through it. (We’ll deal more with this in Section
III.)
 Return to the OverDrive Media Console Bookshelf and return the eBook.
Kindle eBook:
 Return to the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries web site using the OverDrive
Media Console app (see steps above).
 Search or browse for a Kindle eBook that’s available for checkout.
 Check out the eBook using the provided library login (you may still be logged
in from earlier).
 Tap “Get for Kindle” to jump to the Amazon web site.
 Follow the on-screen prompts in order to have the Kindle eBook delivered to
the Kindle Fire.
 Return to your Kindle Fire Home screen and look for your eBook in the
Carousel, or in the Books Library. If you don’t see it open Quick Settings and
tap “Sync” to sync your data with the server. Now look for it again.
 Open your eBook and page through it. (We’ll deal more with this in Section
III.)
 Return to the “Manage Your Kindle” area of your Amazon account and return
the eBook. (You may want to do this directly through the Kindle Fire HD web
browser.)

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Section III: Reading eBooks on Your Kindle Fire HD
Your reading experience will differ depending on whether you are reading a Kindle eBook or an
EPUB eBook. If you are reading a Kindle eBook you’ll be using Amazon’s Kindle reading app. If
you are reading an EPUB eBook you’ll be using the OverDrive Media Console app. While both
share some core functionality, there are differences and you may find you prefer one over the
other. Read on to learn more!
Kindle Fire HD Reading Functionality:
When you open and read a Kindle-format eBook on the Kindle Fire HD you will be using reading
tools built in to the Kindle Fire HD.
Opening the eBook: To open a Kindle eBook that appears on your Kindle Fire HD Carousel or
in your Books Library tap once on its cover. If it’s already downloaded to your device it will open
immediately. If it’s still stored in the cloud it will download to your device and then open. Once
the eBook has been downloaded to your device you no longer need to be connected to Wi-Fi in
order to read it.
Turning Pages: To page forward or backward through the eBook swipe your finger right-to-left
or left-to-right across the center of the screen or tap once on the left or right side of the page.
Reading Toolbar: To view the reading toolbar, tap the center of the screen while reading. The
toolbar will appear along the top of the screen.
The Reading Toolbar provides you with access to the following functionality:
 Settings – Control font size, line spacing, margins, color mode, and font style. There are
also options to turn Popular Highlights and Text-to-Speech functionality on or off.
 Go To… -- Jump to a particular page, location, or chapter, or sync to furthest page read
(if you are reading a book on multiple devices.)
 Notes – View a list of your own notes, highlights, and bookmarks, as well as popular
highlights. Tap a list entry to jump to the referenced passage.
 X-Ray – Allows you to learn more about characters and places in your book.
 Share – Share highlights and notes on Facebook and Twitter.
 Bookmark – Tap to bookmark the current page.
Reading Progress Bar / Text-to-Speech Button: Tap the center of the screen while reading to
display a Reading Progress Bar. This bar shows you visually how far you are through the book,
and also allows you to quickly scroll forward and backward through the text. Also displayed are
a location number, a page number and a percent indicating your progress through the book. If
Text-to-Speech is turned on, a play button appears to the left of the reading progress bar. Tap it
to hear the text read aloud.

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Dictionary / Note / Highlight / Share / Search: If you press and hold your finger on a word in
the text, a menu will pop up. In addition to giving you the dictionary definition of the word, it
gives you the option to add a note, highlight the word, share it, or search for it in the book, in
Wikipedia, or on the Web.
If you put your finger down on the gray handle to the right of the selected word and drag it, you
can highlight a longer passage. You will still be able to add a note to the passage, highlight it, or
share it, but the dictionary definition will disappear. Notes and highlights can be accessed at a
later time by retrieving the Reading Toolbar and tapping “Notes.”
OverDrive Media Console App Reading Functionality:
When you open and read an EPUB eBook on the Kindle Fire HD you will be using reading tools
built in to the OverDrive Media Console app.
Opening the eBook: To open an EPUB eBook downloaded using the OverDrive Media
Console app, you must first open the app. If the app doesn’t open to the “Continue Reading” (or
“Start Reading”) screen for the eBook you want to open, tap the app’s “Home” menu button and
select “Bookshelf.” Your downloaded EPUB eBook should be on the Bookshelf. Tap once on
the eBook to open it.
Turning Pages: To page forward or backward through the eBook swipe your finger right-to-left
or left-to-right across the center of the screen or tap once on the left or right side of the page.
Reader Options: Tap once in the middle of an eBook page to open Reader Options. With
Reader Options displayed you can access the Home menu by tapping the button in the upper-
left corner of the screen or by swiping your finger left-to-right across the screen.

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Additional Reader Options include:
 Settings – Tap to access settings that control brightness, color scheme, font size, font
style, and more.
 Add a Bookmark – Tap to bookmark the current page.
 Share – Tap to share via email, Facebook, or Goodreads.
 Book Menu – Tap to access a book overview, a table of contents, and a list of
bookmarked pages within the book.
 Reading Progress – Reading progress is displayed in a box in the middle of the screen.
It indicates current chapter title, total number of pages in the chapter (and which of those
pages you’re on), plus the percentage of the book you’ve completed.
Tap a second time in the center of the screen to close Reader Options.
Dictionary: Press and hold your finger on a word in the eBook to access the dictionary tool.
Tap the magnifying glass to retrieve a dictionary definition of the word.
There is no note taking or highlighting functionality available within the OverDrive Media
Console app.

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This material was created as part of the 2010 Institute of Museum and Library Services 21st
Century
Librarian program grant to the Nebraska Library Commission
Section III: Reading eBooks on Your Kindle Fire HD – Review
For this hands-on exercise you will need to experiment with the functionality of the
reading tools built in to the OverDrive Media Console app and the Kindle Fire HD.
To experiment with OverDrive Media Console app reading tools, open the app and
then open an EPUB eBook.
To experiment with the reading tools built in to the Kindle Fire HD, go to the “Home”
screen and open one of the Kindle eBooks that appear on the Carousel.
Here are some ideas about what to try in each reading environment:
 Turn pages
 Gauge how far through the book you are
 Explore navigation options
 Experiment with text display options
 Investigate added features, like highlighting, annotation, bookmarking,
dictionary look-up, sharing, etc.
After evaluating both reading experiences, which do you like better? Which is more
robust? Which bells and whistles are most important and which could you most
easily do without?