Chicago-area libraries are working to overcome the idea that musty, old books are all they provide. Many now offer downloads of all kinds of material, audiobooks as well as film and TV shows.

The Chicago Public Library system began offering free downloads of digital audiobooks in March 2006 through a service called OverDrive.  Anyone with a Chicago library card – or a library card from another library with reciprocal-borrowing privileges – can download up to six audiobooks at one time.

“Who we expect [to download books] is Chicagoans of all ages… but especially commuters and joggers,” said Chicago Public Library spokeswoman Tanya King.

To download a book, library patrons must install free OverDrive software on their computers. Then they can browse through more than 3,000 audiobooks: novels, children’s books, health guides and even foreign language tutorials.

The digital audiobooks are borrowed, just like regular books, and can be checked out for three weeks. After three weeks, the files no longer work, essentially “returning” themselves.  And like regular library books, only limited copies of the audiobook are available, and waits for some books aren't unusual.

“It is a very popular program,” King said. She said the library has no circulation figures as yet for downloaded audio books.

There’s one big problem, though: The files aren’t compatible with Macs or iPods.

Because of licensing issues with Apple, the only audiobook service compatible with iPods is Audible, Inc. Audible does not partner with libraries.

Currently, iPods account for 70 percent of all portable MP3 players sold.

Laura Dudnik, head of reader services at Evanston Public Library, said that not being able to download audiobooks on iPods greatly limits the number of potential borrowers.

“Apple won’t play with everybody else,” Dudnik said with a laugh.

But she said patrons downloaded nearly 300 audiobooks through the library in December.

Chicago Public Library and several other area libraries are offering one solution to the iPod problem. They are stocking Playaways, portable audio players that are smaller than a deck of cards and programmed to play only one book. According to King, more than 1,000 Playaways are available through the Chicago library's branches. The Morton Grove Public Library has more than 100 Playaways available, and the Evanston library received its first 20 Playaways this week.

Therese Odlevak, head of the Popular Library at the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago, said the library’s 100 Playaways are becoming popular. They are less cumbersome, she said, than traditional audiobooks on CD or cassette tape.

“I get a lot of older people interested in this,” she said, noting that Playaways require no knowledge of computers. “This is a nice way to get something portable.”

Several suburban libraries have taken their own high-tech offerings beyond downloading audiobooks.

Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District provides both digital audiobooks and MyLibraryDV, a program which lets patrons watch old films and cable television shows. The library also provides a service called NextReads, which uses e-mail to send patrons reading suggestions based on their interests.

Park Forest Public Library has offered MyLibraryDV since November, said Brian Vagt, the library's systems manager. Only 13 files have been downloaded so far, he said, probably because the service is so new.

“One of our new mission statements is to offer technology,'' he said. "We decided what the heck, go for it." The library pays $1,100 a year for its MyLibraryDV service, he said.

Despite all the new technology offered by libraries, many patrons – both old and young – may choose to stick with traditional books.

Dwight Young, who checks out large-print books from the Harold Washington Library Center, said he wouldn’t want to go through the trouble of downloading a book.

“We like to sit comfortably on the sofa to read,” he said of himself and his wife. “We like to read print.”