ESPN, The Oprah Magazine, Newsweek and more available digitally from OverDrive through cost-effective, simultaneous-use plan

CLEVELAND, OHIO – June 20, 2018 – Rakuten OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries, announced today that popular magazines are now available for public, corporate, and academic libraries’ digital catalogs worldwide. For the first time, readers can read magazines in OverDrive’s Libby app alongside ebooks and audiobooks. Libraries can select from an initial list of 50 top-selling magazines in convenient and cost-effective simultaneous use plans.  New magazines will be added regularly.

Top ranked titles available at launch include Reader’s Digest, O, The Oprah Magazine, ESPN, Newsweek, HGTV Magazine, The Atlantic, OK! Magazine, New York Magazine, and many other popular publications. The full list can be found on the Simultaneous Use tab in OverDrive Marketplace.

“Based on our library partners’ requests for magazines with more cost-effective options, we’re proud to deliver a new way to engage more readers,” said Erica Lazzaro, Executive Vice President of Publisher Services for OverDrive.  “We’ve worked hard to simplify this service for our library partners and their readers, and are confident it will provide an enjoyable experience for all.”

OverDrive’s new magazine service combines simplicity and efficiency for both librarians and readers. All titles will be available in annual simultaneous use packages of 25 or 50 titles, which maximizes the value of each subscription by serving all interested readers. In addition, all magazines are conveniently integrated into the same platform for ebook and audiobooks in the five-star-rated Libby app, providing more options for readers which can lead to higher circulation. Libraries will be able to create automated collections, discard specific issues, and keep all purchased issues, even after the annual subscription expires. As new issues are published, the library will accrue past issues, beginning with the go-live date of each magazine subscription. To maximize cost-effectiveness, there is no platform fee or circulation cap.

For readers, magazines are available through the Libby app, on library websites in the browser (via OverDrive Read), as well as in the OverDrive app. Magazines have no wait lists or holds, do not count towards checkout limits, and provide readers the option to renew their selections. Readers can also download magazines on Libby for offline use.

OverDrive is working with Magzter, the leading digital newsstand, to aggregate and deliver the files for OverDrive’s platform.

To learn more, contact your OverDrive Account Manager, go to the OverDrive blog or visit OverDrive’s booth 3715 at ALA Annual in New Orleans, June 22-25.