DOGO book reviews, beta testing, BISAC and more: looking back at #ALAAC16
By: Adam Sockel, OverDrive’s Social Media Specialist
Two weeks ago, Team OverDrive came back from a long weekend in Orlando. We weren’t vacationing (although some of us may have visited a certain “Boy Who Lived”), rather we were meeting with hundreds of library partners and presenting on the latest innovations and features available for your OverDrive digital collections. Going into trade shows we prepare presentations and notes with the things we feel will get librarians excited moving forward. However, It’s important to look back and see which of these new innovations had our partners buzzing the most:
BISAC Headings are now live
We shared tips and tricks on using BISAC in Marketplace earlier this week but here’s a quick summary of why it’s a big deal. BISAC allows you to dig deeper into our available content quickly and easily, finding the specific genres and subgenres you’re looking for. Using BISAC saves time for purchasers and these new search terms are perfect for creating new curated collections on your digital library website.
The New OverDrive private beta
At ALA we announced that the new version of the OverDrive app is coming later this year, with a closed, private beta now available. We want to know what our library partners and power users think of our app before we share it with the world. We’re looking for any and all feedback. What people love, what they don’t love and what they think could be added to make the OverDrive app the easiest way to experience digital reading ever.
DOGO Book Reviews
We’ve recently collaborated with DOGO Books, the largest website for book reviews by-and-for kids to engage more kids with eBooks. Kids and teens use DOGObooks to safely discover, review and rate books and it provides a safe and interactive environment for children to share reactions and opinions about books.
These reviews are now available on OverDrive websites and when kids use DOGObook.com, they can instantly borrow eBooks from their library’s OverDrive digital collection by clicking the “Borrow eBook” button. This unique collaboration allows younger readers the ability to get honest opinions about titles from their peers and offers another way for users to discover the availability of digital content at the library.
We’d like to say thank you, once again, to our library partners for making ALA another exciting event full of positive interactions and feedback. You’re the reason we exist and why we strive to continue to innovate our digital reading platforms.