E-book listening uses TTS (Text to Speech) technology, which converts text into speech. This can be done either with a screen reader or a reading program. For listening to Ellibs books, Thorium Reader and Cantook are suitable.
Screen readers include NVDA and Jaws. They read the content on the screen of the device, including the menus. The reader is specifically designed for reading digital books and reads only the content of the book, not extra elements such as menus.
E-books can be listened to on both computers and smart devices. A computer is easier and simpler to use, while a mobile device is convenient to carry around, although its reading software management capabilities may be weaker than those of a computer. The best way to learn to listen to an e-book is to practice on different devices. Ellibs only allows you to listen to epub e-books, there is no listening option for pdf books.
Thorium Reader has a built-in screen reader for listening to EPUB files.
Click on the speaker icon in the top bar of the book reading mode. The menu that opens allows you to adjust the speed and sound of the reader.
Make sure that your device has the correct machine sound in the correct language. For example, on a Windows computer, Thorium Reader uses Windows sounds.
Note: For e-books in PDF format, there is no listening option.
Ellibs app: you can listen to EPUB books using the text-to-speech feature on your device (TalkBack on Android, VoiceOver on iOS).
To start the feature: start the Talk to Text feature, then open the book you want to read in the Ellibs app in reading mode. The screen reader will start reading the book aloud automatically.
Settings: you can adjust the reader speed and audio level in the function settings.
Note: The TalkBack and VoiceOver functions are gesture-based and require some practice to use.
To download an EPUB book: download an EPUB e-book from Ellibs Library using your device's browser.
Choose a reading program.
Download the book you want from Ellibs Library and download it to Thorium Reader. Once the download is complete, select the Cantook App as your reading application. Find the book in the Cantook app library.
LCP password: To open the book, you will need the LCP password, which you can find on your Ellibs Library bookshelf.
To start the screen reader: Start the screen reader from the menu in the top right corner of the reading view by clicking on "Read aloud".
Note: There is no Thorium Reader for mobile devices to download. However, you can download the LCP file (Thorium Reader file) from the Ellibslibrary page and then open it in a reading program such as Cantook. So, on a mobile device, this has to be done from www.ellibslibrary.com in order to download the correct loan.