We have thousands of audiobooks for kids, teens, and adults that can be checked out instantly with a library card. Each audiobook platform is unique and has its own website or app. You can check out most (but not all) audiobooks directly from the library catalog. Our two main audiobook platforms are OverDrive and Hoopla.
Need help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch, and listen on a PC, tablet, or phone.
Finding What to Listen to Next OverDrive routinely features audiobooks of interest on their home page and in their app. What is featured often coincides with current events and trending or seasonal interests. They also have an audiobook subjects page you can browse that includes fiction and nonfiction listings for adults, teens, and kids. See the FAQ below for audiobook recommendations from our staff!
Skip the Wait! Hold lines can get very long for new and popular titles, but there are actually thousands of audiobooks available with no wait. Lucky Day! Audiobooks are popular titles that are immediately available. All Lucky Day titles have a seven day loan period and cannot be renewed. You may borrow only one Lucky Day title at a time. If you are lucky enough to get a Lucky Day copy, please remember to cancel the hold you might have on the regular copy! Here are two helpful skip-the-wait lists for young readers: No Wait, No Problem Audiobooks for Kids and No Wait No Problem Audiobooks for Teens.
Hoopla has audiobooks for all ages. You can borrow 10 Items each month using your IndyPL library card. If you have never borrowed from Hoopla before directions are available as well as a video tutorial.
If you are listening to Hoopla audiobooks on a PC or Mac you can only stream them, so you'll need an internet connection to listen. Streaming audiobooks can consume a lot of data, so we recommend streaming Hoopla over a Wi-Fi connection. If you are listening to Hoopla audiobooks on the Hoopla app, you can download them when you have a connection, and then enjoy them offline later.
Finding What to Listen to Next Hoopla routinely features audiobooks of interest on their home page and in their app. What is featured often coincides with current events and trending or seasonal interests. You can easily browse the Hoopla audiobook collection by subject or genre here. See our FAQ fo rour staff's audiobook recommendations!
Skip the Wait! You don't have to put Hoopla titles on hold. You are allowed to borrow whatever titles you want, up to 10 per month. However, if you've already read your 10 monthly borrows, Hoopla frequently, but not always, offers Bonus Borrows. Bonus Borrows don’t count against your monthly borrowing limit - look for them on Hoopla.
Get an Audiobook Newsletter
Would you like to receive audiobook recommendations right in your inbox? Subscribe to our NextReads Newsletter and choose the category "Audiobooks." See the latest issue here.
Audiobooks for Kids
You can learn about our audiobook platforms designed specifically for children at Audiobooks for Kids. These platforms feature audiobooks, video read alouds, and read alongs in which the words appear as the story is read aloud.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Where can I find recommendations for good audiobooks?
You can see a variety of recommendations by looking at our staff created audiobook lists here.
For a regular stream of audiobook ideas, try our monthly audiobook list series, Listen with Liz.
Another great source for audiobook recommendations is the Audie Awards, given each year to recognize the best of the best in audiobooks. You can see a listing of the Audie Award winners in the catalog here.
How can I see the greatest number of audiobooks choices?
You can check out most (but not all) audiobooks directly from the library catalog. The advantage to searching in the library's catalog is that you will be searching most of the audiobooks in all of our platforms all at the same time. When you see an audiobook in the catalog it will typically look like this:
Give a Listen to Lit
Audiobooks are awesome! Once you have downloaded a title to your device, it can go anywhere with you, for anytime listening. Listening to a book is a very different experience, bringing the book to life through a narrator. Favorite narrators can inspire you to sometimes try books you might not have "read" otherwise, just based on the narrator. Narrators may also make or break a book. You may return an audiobook early just because the narrator's voice, or reading pace, wasn't to your liking. Here are few Fiction favorites to get started!
Washington provides an intimate glimpse into the lives and loves of two men in a relationship, told in alternating chapters. Benson is a Black day care teacher and Mike is a Japanese-American culinary professional. Within their relationship, both balance the stress and strain of illness in their families. Benson's parents are divorced and his Dad is an alcoholic. Mike's parents have also been estranged for many years, both living in Japan. Mike's mom plans a visit, but when his father is diagnosed with cancer, Mike decides to travel to Osaka to reunite with him. This leaves Benson with Mike's mother as an extended house guest. The publisher calls this novel a rom-com, but I believe it goes much deeper.
This is a first novel by British author Gould-Bourn and I hope not his last! This is a book, while you are reading, you hope gets shared with a director for the big screen. Danny is a single dad to an eleven- year-old who hasn't spoken since his mom was killed in an auto accident. Danny's world is further shaken when he is fired from his job. Unable to pay his rent to a landlord, with his very own henchman who is more than willing to get what's coming to his boss through whatever means, Danny faces situations that will have you on the edge of your seat. Danny finds unlikely support from a pole dancer and reconnects with his son, Will, when he decides to earn a living as a dancing panda.
If you haven't read/listened to a novel by Rachel Joyce, dive in with this one! Life has just plodded along for school teacher Margery Benson, until she reaches a crescendo that threatens her existence. This pivotal moment sets Margery on an unimaginable adventure to discover a rare, nearly mythical, golden beetle. This being the 1950's, a woman traveling alone is risky, let alone traveling to New Caledonia. So, she hires an assistant, Enid Pretty. Margery quickly realizes that Enid isn't quite what she bargained for. Danger and intrigue follow them every step of the way. Join these two mismatched companions for a tale that will have you laughing and crying and leave you with an itch to travel.
