How to Import Audiobook CDs to iTunes
The Apple iPod is a great platform for listening to audiobooks. If you have audiobooks on CD, you can easily import them into iTunes. Although audiobooks can be imported from CD and managed as music tracks, a better option is to import them as audiobook files, with bookmarking and other features that will make your listening experience similar to audiobooks downloaded directly from the iTunes store.
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Instructions
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Import settings are strictly a user preference but, for audiobooks, importing at lower quality will preserve precious space on your iPod for additional audiobooks and music. You can use AAC Encoder with the "Spoken Podcast" setting to import your audiobooks. Adjust your import settings in iTunes by selecting "Edit” and then “Preferences.” A new window opens. Under the "General" settings tab, click "Import Settings" near the middle of the form. Another window opens in which you can customize your settings. Alternately, after you load the first CD of your audiobook into your computer, an "Import Settings" button will appear near the bottom of the iTunes pane when viewing the CD contents.
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Insert the first CD of the audiobook into your computer. After it loads, you should see a list of tracks on the CD. If not, select the CD from the navigation panel on the left to display this view. To edit this data, select all tracks by placing the cursor in the window and pressing the “Ctrl” and “A” keys on your keyboard simultaneously.
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With all tracks of the audiobook CD selected, right-click and select "Get Info." You may be prompted to confirm that you want to edit information for multiple items. Answer “yes” to close that dialogue box. Under the "Info" tab, enter the book's author as the "artist," the book's title as "album," the book's reader or performer as the "composer," and enter “Audiobook” as the book’s "genre." It is important that all CD's in the audiobook be given the same “album” name; otherwise, they won’t be grouped properly in the same book. One final setting to check is to make sure that the CD is not imported as a "compilation." Under the "Options" tab, set the "Part of a compilation" value to "No."
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Once you are satisfied with your settings, click "OK" to close the track-info dialogue box. To import the entire CD as a single track, click "Advanced” and choose “Join CD Tracks” from the iTunes menu bar. The entire CD will be imported as a single "song" instead of multiple tracks, which makes managing your audiobook in iTunes much easier. You can now import the CD by clicking the "Import CD" button near the bottom of the pane.
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After the CD has finished importing, navigate to the imported "song" in your music library; select it, right-click and select "Get Info." Click the "Info" tab if the current tab is something else, such as Summary. The "Name" and "Album" values of the imported CD should be the same at this point. If the audiobook has multiple CDs, you’ll have to edit the song name to distinguish between each of them.
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With the Song Properties dialogue box still open, click on the "Options" tab. Check the boxes for "Remember Playback Position" and "Skip When Shuffling." Click on the "Media Kind" drop-down menu and select "Audiobook."
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With the song properties window still open, click the "Artwork" tab. Here you can import any associated artwork, such as the book cover, if you wish. Simply click on the "Add" button, and then browse to the desired image file and select it.
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Click "OK" to close the dialogue when you are finished editing the various options. The imported CD should appear under the "Audiobook" category in your iTunes library. Repeat these steps to import all CDs of the audiobook, then sync your iPod and you are ready to listen.
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Tips & Warnings
When editing options, iTunes will attempt to auto-complete your entry. For example, if you start typing "au" in the "Genre" field, it will auto-complete to "Audiobook."
These instructions are based on iTunes version 9.0.2.25. Variations of this method will work on earlier and possibly later releases of iTunes. All reasonably recent versions of iTunes should support the methods described in this article.
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