Global distributor of eBooks to libraries, schools & booksellers unveils Blue Sky Campus in Cleveland

 

Cleveland—April 9, 2013—OverDrive, the leading distributor of eBooks and audiobooks to libraries, schools and booksellers, will celebrate the grand opening of its Blue Sky Campus and World Headquarters tomorrow with a special event for partners, vendors and members of the media. At the 18-acre campus in Garfield Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, guests will be able to tour the LEED-certified facility which is designed to promote an environment of innovation and international expansion.

An industry leader that helped shape the eBook revolution over the past two decades, OverDrive extends the culture of reading by supplying 22,000 public libraries, schools and retailers with world-class technology and the industry’s largest eBook and digital audiobook catalog that includes the world’s greatest publishers and authors.  OverDrive development teams continue to innovate its products and services with Next Generation enhancements targeted to meet the demands of the Next Generation of readers.

“Blue Sky Campus represents the realization of a longtime goal for OverDrive,” said OverDrive Chief Operating Officer Lori Franklin, who led the campus development project. “Now we have an ideal place where we can collaborate to constantly improve our services for readers around the world. This new, modern facility reflects OverDrive’s progressive mindset and will help us continue to build our workforce around world-class talent.”

Highlights of Blue Sky Campus include a 95,000 square-foot facility designed to accommodate up to 300 employees, digital test labs and partner training rooms, 18-acre tech campus encompassing pond, walking path and par-3 golf hole, fitness/wellness center featuring indoor basketball, yoga area and locker rooms, and LEED-certified green building with efficient HVAC, lighting and low-flow water fixtures.

Libraries and schools play a vital role in shaping OverDrive’s services for readers around the world, and during tomorrow’s grand-opening ceremony, OverDrive CEO Steve Potash will recognize two longtime partners—Cleveland Public Library (CPL) and Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL). Potash will present CPL director Felton Thomas, Jr. and CCPL executive director Sari Feldman with donations to, respectively, the “I’m Ready to Read” Campaign for the Cleveland Public Library and the STEP (Supporting Tutors Engaging Pupils) Program at Cuyahoga County Public Library.

Blue Sky Campus was designed by Davis Smith Certo Architects, with interior architectural services by Vocon and interior furnishings by Environments 4 Business. Premier Development Partners managed construction. The development project received incentives from the Ohio Department of Development, Cuyahoga County, and the City of Garfield Heights.

OverDrive employs approximately 200 people in Northeast Ohio and plans to add 50 more this year. The tech-oriented workforce includes 17 librarians on staff and more than 100 graduates from area colleges and universities, including Kent State University, Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University and Baldwin Wallace University.

Key OverDrive milestones:

1988 – Created the first electronic, searchable law books on floppy diskette

1999 – Helped found the Open eBook Forum (now International Digital Publishing Forum); later contributed to development of specifications for EPUB, the international eBook format standard

2003 – Developed first popular lending platform for eBooks for public libraries (Cleveland Public Library)

2004 – Downloadable audiobooks introduced to OverDrive’s catalog for libraries

2006 – One million checkouts passed at OverDrive network libraries

2007 – Launched first eBook lending platform for K-12 schools

2007 – Added downloadable music and video to OverDrive’s catalog for libraries and schools

2008 – Launched the Digital Bookmobile, the nationally-touring 18-wheel exhibit promoting eBooks at libraries and schools (580 events and 125,000 visitors through March 2013)

2011 – Developed first eBook apps for library lending (OverDrive Media Console for Android and iPhone)

2012 – Passed 100 million checkouts at OverDrive network libraries and schools

2012 – Introduced OverDrive Read, the first browser-based eBook reader platform for libraries and schools

2013 – Scheduled to pass 200 million checkouts during summer

OverDrive is currently rolling out its Next Generation library service platform, which includes completely reimagined library websites featuring One-Step Checkout™, a powerful search engine, and the browser-based eBook reading technology OverDrive Read. Additional Next Generation enhancements coming later this year include streaming video technology, and new APIs that enable libraries to fully integrate digital and print catalogs.  Also later this year, OverDrive will host more than 500 librarians and industry leaders in Cleveland at its fourth international user conference, Digipalooza.

Based in Cleveland, OverDrive offers a catalog of more than 1 million eBook, audiobook, music and video titles on a single platform, with support for all major computers and devices, including iPhone®, iPad®, NOOK®, Android™ phones and tablets, and Kindle® (U.S. only). 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 supply a secure lending platform for 22,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide with support for all major computers and devices, including iPhone®, iPad®, Nook®, Android™ phones and tablets, and Kindle® (U.S. only). OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry and is a member of the 2012 Technology Fast 500. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland. www.overdrive.com

Address

OverDrive Inc.

One OverDrive Way

Cleveland, OH 44125

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

 

###