Digital distributor builds on industry-leading service, will demonstrate new ways for libraries to expand discovery and increase access to eBooks

 

(Philadelphia) – Public Library Association Conference – March 13, 2012  – OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global distributor of eBooks and audiobooks for libraries and schools, is demonstrating a number of service enhancements at the Public Library Association Conference in Philadelphia this week. Initiatives such as WIN Catalog and Test Drive™ reflect OverDrive’s ongoing effort to add value to its industry-leading technology and services.  OverDrive will preview these and other innovations at PLA (Booth #818) in Philadelphia, March 14-16.

As the sole digital distributor delivering eBooks and audiobooks together in a single website, OverDrive offers the largest selection of eBooks and audiobooks for libraries and schools.  The OverDrive catalog features more than 700,000 popular eBook and audiobook titles—including J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series—and is growing at a rate of 30,000 titles per month.  OverDrive’s new WIN Catalog and Test Drive™ program complement unique, popular features such as Kindle® compatibility (U.S. only) and the OverDrive Advantage plan, which gives libraries participating in shared collections the ability to offer popular titles exclusively for their patrons. Also at PLA, OverDrive will discuss how their recent acquisition of Australian eBook company Booki.sh will enable browser-based reading on all OverDrive platforms, and how the forthcoming OverDrive APIs will allow partner libraries to seamlessly integrate digital titles into existing online catalogs.

The OverDrive WIN Catalog suite of features supports a win-win-win between libraries, publishers and readers.  With pilot programs now live in several OverDrive-powered libraries, including New York Public Library, Boston Public Library and Cuyahoga County Public Library (OH), we’ll be demonstrating these and other initiatives at our PLA booth:

  • Buy It Now: Now active in 75 U.S. library markets, Buy It Now links for most individual titles enable readers to easily connect with online booksellers offering the titles for sale. The program involves over 300 independent U.S. booksellers through Indiebound, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, BooksonBoard.com, Powells.com and others.  OverDrive credits a portion of each sale back to the referring library as an affiliate fee.
  • Additional Titles to Discover, Sample & Recommend to Library: With WIN, readers have the option to discover and sample excerpts from hundreds of thousands of “Additional Titles” beyond their library’s collection. Via “Recommend to Library” links, they can also suggest titles they’d like to see added to the catalog, giving libraries a new method of patron-driven acquisition.
  • Reader’s Advisory Services, incl. “Author Impressions”: The WIN Catalog provides recommendation services, including “Librarian Likes” and “Read-a-Likes.” OverDrive’s “Author Impressions” service gives readers a way to directly connect with authors’ fan pages and learn about literary events.

Accessed in OverDrive’s collection development portal Content Reserve under “Select Express,” Smart Lists save librarians time with custom title-selection profiles.  Choose automated selection criteria by author, series, review sources or publishers, and request titles not already in the library’s collection.  Smart Lists can provide data-driven and editorial lists, such as best-seller and award lists, and even let libraries automatically purchase content according to profile, making ongoing collection development faster and easier.

The Test Drive™ program gives libraries a way to offer to patrons popular, OverDrive-compatible eBook devices for demonstration and lending, while honoring publisher copyright permissions.  We provide guidelines, device recommendations and promotional materials to help libraries launch the service.  Taking advantage of Test Drive™, libraries throughout the OverDrive network are using eBook devices for hands-on staff training, demonstrations at branches and lending to patrons.

OverDrive provides digital distribution services for more than 18,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide with support for Windows®, Mac®, iPod®, iPhone®, iPad®, Kindle®, Sony® Reader, NOOK™, Android™, Windows® Phone and BlackBerry®. To find a library near you, visit search.overdrive.com.

About OverDrive
OverDrive is a leading multichannel digital distributor of eBooks, digital audiobooks, music and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools and retailers, serving millions of end users. OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. overdrive.com

Contact:
David Burleigh
OverDrive, Inc.
216-573-6886 x218
dburleigh@overdrive.com

 

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