Bargain audiobooks

Looking for an easy way to include audiobooks in your classroom or school library? Take advantage of your public library's downloadable titles. Initiate a program for your students to apply for their own public library card through your classroom. In my school, I require all students to have a library card so that I can teach the use of the public library's online databases. To use the public library's downloadable audiobooks, you must have a non-iPod player - a barrier for many of my students. So I have purchased inexpensive MP3 players that are cataloged & may be checked out by students. Post-Thanksgiving sales have lots of players for less than $20 - no need for anything fancy. Have a how-to-download workshop for students & staff, demo how to use their library card to download audiobooks onto their own MP3 player or your school players, and you've created new audiobook evangelists! After last year's how-to-download workshop, I had a bunch of teachers who bought MP3 players for themselves & family members for holiday gifts (the biggest enthusiast was our social studies teacher's truck driving father). And once you've hooked a teacher, they will encourage their students to listen. Worried about copyright? Most downloaded audiobooks "expire," but to be extra careful, be sure to delete content from your school MP3 players as they are checked in.