3M Cloud Library - Android Mobile App
The 3M Cloud Library app for Android allows you to checkout,
download, and read ebooks directly on your Android device without
the need to transfer the books from your computer.
Compatibility: tablets and smartphones with Android version 2.1
and above. Please note that tablets made with limited access
to the Android Market/Google Play app store (such as the Nook
Tablet, Pandigital Supernova) are unable to get the app directly on
the device. Devices that cannot get the app must have ebooks
transferred to them via computer for now. More information on
what to do with these devices, can be found here:
http://www.kslib.info/kansas-ez-library/digital-help/3m-help.html#sideload
Current App Version: 1.25.8 (released 6/15/12)
Instructions:
These instructions were made from screenshots on a Motorola
Droid. If you have a tablet, the display is larger and you
may not have to scroll on some pages as noted in the intstructions.
Getting Started
1. Download the 3M Cloud Library app to your device. You
have two good options for doing this:
· Open your Market app (may also be called Google Play).
Search for "3M Cloud Library." Once you have found the app,
install it.
· Visit the 3M Download Portal on your device, and
click on the Android icon. This should take you to Google
Play and you will have the option to install the app.
· No Longer Recommended: getting the app through the Amazon
App Store for Android. If you get the 3M Cloud Library
through this route, you may be unable to get timely
updates/upgrades for the app. If you delete the Amazon App
Store app from your device, the 3M Cloud Library app may stop
working entirely.
When downloaded to the device, the app icon looks like this (the
background on the device is green). If you have a large
number of apps, please realize that the app is alphabetized as
"Cloud Library."
2. Open the app to set it up for your initial use (should only
have to do this once). Answer each field!
a. Select State/County-pick KS from the menu.
b. Select Library--for Kansas, there is only one Cloud
Library, but you must select it to continue. It is named
"State Library of Kansas - Capitol Building."
c. Enter Your Library ID--tap here to enter your
6-digit Kansas Library Card number. At this time your
regular public library card number is not compatible with the new
system. If you need a Kansas Library Card, please visit your
public or school library to get one.
d. Enter Your Library Pin--this is your birthdate in
MMDDYYYY format. Example: January 1, 1980 should be entered as
01011980 or 01/01/1980.
e. End User License Agreement--open this and tap
"agree" to continue. A green check will appear on this
section when it is complete.
d. Tap the Login button to finalize your setup!
Overview of App Features
The 3M Cloud Library has 4 main tabs, accessible by tapping
their buttons at the top of the app. Each section is
described below.
Shelves
These are the display cases of the library. Right now,
other than the "New This Week" and "Popular This Week" we have to
make the shelves manually. As you can imagine, that leads to
the shelves falling behind quickly. Later this summer we will
have more options to create shelves that pull in books
automatically. Until then, please realize our limitations,
and thank you for your patience!
To browse all of the books in a Shelf, click List
View (left image, circled in green). This brings you a
page that is easy to scroll through. Note that each book's
checkout status is shown on the list view as you scroll down (right
image).
Shelves Main Screen
Shelf List View
Categories
Categories are still a work in progress (mostly categorizing the
books properly, working on slowness issues), but when complete you
will be able to browse our entire collection by subject.
Currently in the Android app, a category is shown by the cover
of one book in that subject and the title of the category.
Note that Categories has a Filter button (left image,
circled in red). Tapping this allows you to limit to browse
only books available for checkout right now (center image).
Opening a Category, such as Fiction, allows you to then browse in
the sub-categories or choose to "show all" within a main category
(right image).
Categories Main Screen
Filter Categories Popup
To set this to "available for checkout" tap the line,and the
selection button will turn green. The popup will close and
return you to the results.
Sub-Categories View in Fiction
Sub-categories will change over time as 3M works on indexing
books. If you see a title where it does not belong, do not
worry about this for now.
Search
Try simple searches for best results. A keyword, author last
name, part of a title. Shown below is part of a search
screen. The word "dog" was searched.
Refine Search Result button allows you to opt to only see
books that are currently available for checkout in your
searches. This currently pulls up a second page--set the
option then hit your device's back button to go back to the search
screen. Note: if you did a search before setting the "only
available" option, the search will need to be re-run. Tap the
magnifying glass to accomplish this (circled in green).
My Books
This is your account screen. The My Books screen has an
area that shows what books you are reading, the books that you have
on hold, and buttons related to account information. These
sections are shown independently below.
Currently Reading area has the wood-paneled
background. It will show the books you have currently checked
out, and how much longer you have on those books. List
View (circled in red) allows you to view your checked out
items in another format. You can tap each book to see the
book's detail page, where you can also check the book in. Choose
the back button on your device to return to your main My Books
page.
Holds will always estimate how long of a wait you can
expect on a book (for more on this see the holds section
below). The holds section on the app will show the three
books closest to checkout. Tap the "Show All" button (circled
in green) to see the full list of your holds.
Your User Data Area
Wish List is an area to save books that the library does
not have yet. If you stumble across a book that is suggested,
but we do not have, you may add it to the wish list. If the
library purchases that book you will be notified by the system.
Reading History preserves what you have read, and any
ratings you have applied to those books.
Message Center will be a place that you can read notices
and updates from the library, and notifications of items available
on your holds or wishlist (if you have not yet seen that the book
is available yet). The way that the library can post may
change over time.
Account Profile only shows that you are signed up with the
State Library of Kansas Cloud Library, but it is also where you may
"Log Out Account." This will return you to the login page, where a
another person could sign in with their account. This will
only be necessary if you share your mobile device with another
person.
Lending Periods, Limits
Checkout period is 14 days. Please realize that you can
return your books early. Please return your book when you are
finished so it can be used by another person.
Checkout limit is five. You can have 5 books checked out
at once!
Holds limit is ten. You can have up to 10 books on hold at
a time. Please realize that with the checkout limit this
could cause a bind if you have multiple books come ready at
once. You will have to decide which you are most interested
in if this happens.
Holds grace period is 3 days. You have 72 hours to check
out a book once it becomes available to you. After that time,
it will pass to the next patron.
Search or Browse for a Book
Currently, the Shelves section goes quickly out of date.
If you are looking for something to check out right now, we
recommend using Categories or Search.
Categories (subject browse)
1. Go to Categories, and tap on the "filter" button (circled in
red).
2. You will see an option to show only books available to check
out. Turn this on--you will only see books available now when you
browse.
3. Click on the subject that you want to look through--like
fiction. You can choose to "show all books" or select a
subcategory. Once you are in a sub-category, select "show all
books" for the subcategory.
Search
1. Go to the Search tab, and tap on the "refine search result"
button.
2. Select to search only books available.
3. Search by keyword for best results for a book to check out
right now. Some examples are below.
4. Tap the magnifying glass to start the search.
Examples of a keyword:
· like romances? Try bride.
· like mysteries? Try murder.
· like paranormal books? Try vampire.
Check Out a Book!
When you have found a book you are interested in, click on the
book's cover. This will pull up the Book
Detail page. Note that you can view a full summary as
well as similar books to the one you are interested
in. Usually these are other books by the author.
Obviously, from here tap the green "checkout" button to check
out this book. If the book is currently checked out, the
button will be gray and allow you to place a hold instead.
Immediately after tapping Checkout, the My Books tab comes up.
The new book will appear on in the Currently Reading list, and a
gray loading bar will move across the bottom of the book
cover. When this is complete, the book will open so you can
begin reading immediately.
Typically a book takes less than a minute to download. The book
has been checked out to you for 14 days.
Reading a Book
Turning Pages: tap the edges!
Tap on the right edge of the page, or swipe towards the left
from the right edge to proceed through the book. To back up,
do the same action from the left edge.
Book Options: tap the center.
Tap the center of your book page to bring up the display options
menu. In addition to having display options, it is a good way
to check how far you are in the book (shows chapter)
Book Options: Main Menu
We have circled all of the options in different colors for these
instructions.
RED: Return to My Books
GREEN: Book details page. Access the summary, table of
contents, bookmarks, similar books list. There will also be
an option to check the book in on this screen.
ORANGE: Display settings (details on these at right).
PURPLE: Search within the book. Works reasonably well by
keyword.
YELLOW: Bookmarking / notes feature. Tap this to bring up
a note that looks like a Post-it (3M also manufactures
Post-its). You may leave the note blank to set a generic
bookmark, which is accessible through the book details screen
(circled in green). You may also enter notes on to the
Post-it. You may wish to do this when reading a cookbook, to
save where the recipes you like best are.
Book Options: Display Settings
Font Size: use the A- to shrink the text, A+ to
increase.
Margin Size: use these buttons to decrease or increase the
amount of white space around the border of the book pages.
Brightness (pointed out with pink arrow): move the dot left and
right on this slider to find the most comfortable screen
brightness.
Night View: tapping the empty box for this feature will invert
the colors of the screen (black background, white text). Some
people find this more comfortable for reading in the dark.
Lock Rotation: if your device is touchy, and rotates the screen
at the smallest tilt, turn on LockRotation. The book will not
rotate while this is on.
Holds
When a hold is placed, the progress of a hold is shown on the My
Books screen. It estimates the wait period for a book based
on the number of people ahead of you in the list, the number of
digital copies of that book the library owns, and the maximum
checkout period of 14 days. Example: if the wait is 32 days,
you know that someone has it checked out right now, and there are
two people ahead of you. The math: 14 days x 2 =
28 days, so the person that has it now has 4 days left on the
checkout.
Notifications: the 3M Cloud Library cannot email
you. You must keep track of your holds. If you open your
3M Cloud Library app at least every other day you will be able to
catch any book that comes available to you. Remember that people
can return books early, so the list may move quicker than you
anticipate.
Place a Hold
While searching or browsing the collection, any book that is
currently checked out by someone else can be placed on hold.
These will have gray hold buttons instead of the green checkout
buttons shown on currently available books.
Manage Your Holds
Want to view all of your holds? Decide you do not want a book on
your holds list anymore?
On the My Books tab, tap the "Show All" (left image, circled in
green). This will bring up the full list of books on hold
(center image). The holds will be organized by number of days
remaining on hold. Tap a book to pull up the book details
(right image). The hold may be removed from this screen.
My Books: Hold List
Full Holds List View
Remove a Hold
Hold Available
When a hold comes available, the hold-wait countdown will be
replaced with a green "Check Out" button. Tap this and
finalize your checkout.
Returning a Book Early
If you are finished with a book, please return it. This
will make the book available for the next person to use. Here
is one way to to this:
On the My Books screen, click on the "list view" button (circled
in red).
This will bring up the list of your currently checked out
books. Tap the one you are finished with. You should
now see the book details page (left image). Tap the red
"Check In" button. This will pull up a page where you are
asked to rate the book, then tap the "Return" button to finalize
(right image). Rate the book by tapping the number of stars
you would give the book.
Book Details: Check In
Finalize Check in: Rate & Return
Multiple Books or Multiple Devices
Reading Multiple Books at Once--The Cloud Library is supposed to
save your place when you close a book. Some users are having
trouble with this feature. You may set a bookmark to be
certain of finding your place again.
Reading on Multiple Devices--The Cloud Library is supposed to
save your place in your book, so you can pick up where you left off
on another device. Please realize that it will not be
perfect. Devices do not have the same page size (more text
fits on the screen of a tablet than a smartphone). Set up your
account on the other device as above. Open your account, and
select your book. The book will need to download into this
new device.
When finished reading for the day, always be sure to close
the book and return to the My Books screen. This should
set your progress in the book. You could also set a bookmark
manually to be certain. For more on bookmarks, see "Reading a
Book."
Using 3M on both Mobile App & PC--you should now be able to
open the book in both versions of the app. As above, realize
that the display between reading the book on the computer and your
mobile device is different.
Log Out of the App
It is not necessary for you to log out of the app, unless you
share a device with another person. If you need to log
out:
Go to the My Books tab. Scroll to the bottom and select
"Account Profile," the last selection on the My Books tab (left
image). This will show you the button to log out (right
image). Note: the two small gray boxes in these images are
where your Kansas Library Card number would appear.
My Books: Account Profile
Account Profile: Log Out
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