Yesterday, I read an article on Digital Life about eReaders. In this article, it states that iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab can be used to borrow Singapore NLB (National Library Board) eBooks.
In the article, it wrote two methods to read NLB borrowed eBooks on iPad. As I am going to utilize the 1024 X 768 resolution of the iPad, I will only show you one method using Bluefire Reader.
To do this, there are a few things that you need to do or register.
Preparation
- Here are the simplified steps:
- Create a Singapore NLB Account (Free)
- Create Adobe Account (Free)
- Download and install Bluefire Reader to iPad (Free)
- Install Dropbox on your PC (Free)
- Download and install Dropbox to iPad
Create a Singapore NLB Account (Free)
- Free to register for Singaporean
Click Here to Register
Create Adobe Account (Free)
- This Adobe Account is needed for Bluefire Reader later.
Click Here to Register for Adobe Account
Download and install Bluefire Reader to iPad (Free)
Install Dropbox on your PC (Free)
- You will need the Dropbox for storing the .ACSM file that you download from NLB
Click Here to Create Dropbox Account
Download and install Dropbox to iPad (Free)
So, now you have all the necessary component to read NLB eBooks.
How to Read NLB eBook from your iPad
In this section, I will guide you on how you can read the NLB eBook from your iPad. To use Bluefire Reader, the process is not straight forward.
You will need to use your PC to borrow the books from NLB. Once borrowed, NLB will create a ACSM file that you need to use to download the eBook. As with other physical books in NLB, the borrow duration is 21 days or 3 weeks.
Here are the simplified steps:
- Go to NLB site to borrow book
- Download the ACSM file
- Drop the ACSM file to your PC Dropbox
- Open the ACSM file on your iPad Dropbox to download the eBook to Bluefire Reader
Go to NLB site to borrow book
You will need to use the NLB account to log in to borrow book
Click Here to NLB Overdrive site
Download the ACSM file
Once you borrowed the ebooks, you will see them in your “My eBookshelf”. You will need to go to “Account” to select “My eBookshelf”.
Once inside, you will see something as shown on the picture above. Click the “Download” button to download the ACSM (Adobe Content Server Message) file.
Drop the ACSM file to your PC Dropbox
Once downloaded, drop this ACSM file into your PC Dropbox
Open the ACSM file on your iPad Dropbox to download the eBook to Bluefire Reader
This is the last step. Open your Dropbox on your iPad. It should synchronize with the same account on your PC Dropbox. Once synchronized, you will see the ACSM file.
Click on the ACSM file. You will see many strange looking lines as shown below. Do not bother with them. Just click on the top right hand corner icon as shown below and you can open this file with Bluefire Reader. It will download the eBook. Once done, you can enjoy reading it. Do note that if this is the first time you open Bluefire Reader app, it will prompt you for the Adobe account ID and request you to authorize it for use on the app.
Hope that I did not confuse you with all the steps. If you think it is too difficult, you might want to try the Overdrive App that you can find on App Store. It seems that it does not have the iPad version and therefore, resolution may be affected. And you will need to have iOS 4.0 and above to use it.
That’s it! Thanks for staying with me.
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