OverDrive to Present 2014/2015 eBook Lending Roadmap at National Library Conference

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwired - Jun 26, 2014) - As the nation's library professionals convene at the 2014 American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas, June 27-30, leading digital platform provider OverDrive will introduce and demonstrate its 2014/2015 eBook lending roadmap. OverDrive team members will brief librarians on plans to launch a series of content, end-user and platform enhancements over the coming weeks and months. These include new access models, expanded discovery for library holdings, and additional tools for libraries to achieve measurable success with their eBook and digital lending collections. Notable enhancements include:

More content, more flexible access models

• Always Available title plans that enable libraries and schools to select one or a set of titles for simultaneous availability. This is ideal for book clubs, summer reading and "city read" programs.
• Cost-per-checkout (CPC) model that allows libraries to make available a supplier's entire catalog of titles, but only incur a charge when a user borrows a title. OverDrive will launch major Hollywood feature films for streaming video that require this lending model.
• Engage new readers with new eBook lending catalogs: Graphic novels, manga (English and Japanese) and popular children's eBook series and picture books using EPUB3 with fixed layout.
• Classroom set eBook collections for schools with discounts for multiple units. Options include one year, one semester, or 90 day periods.
• Consortia-friendly programs to enable Advantage titles to be migrated from individual libraries to shared collections, as permitted by publishers and suppliers.

Easiest and most proven platform with new apps and services

• OverDrive App updates later this summer will eliminate the Adobe activation step. 
• Automatic title renewals, automatic hold checkout, and other library-managed policies that maximize circulation of library titles by responding to the most requested features of readers and librarians.
• Synchronized audio narration with text, dictionary support, and other features beneficial to students and researchers.
• A series of new APIs that enable deeper integration with ILS and discovery layers, and provide analytics, based on the proven success of OverDrive's Developer Portal (#1 rated library APIs by ReadersFirst).

"We are constantly innovating in response to requests from libraries and users. This includes libraries that are disappointed with competitor eBook collections due to low checkouts and fewer features," said Shannon Lichty, OverDrive's director of partner services. "As a result, we are supporting library requests to migrate their eBook and audiobook titles currently on other platforms to OverDrive in order to instantly benefit from higher circulation and compatibility with more devices."

OverDrive to reach millions of readers and bring new users to the library
As reported by Pew Research, only about half of Americans ages 16 and older used a public library in some form in the past year (see report by Pew Research). At ALA, OverDrive will demonstrate programs to connect new users with their public library:

• "Read Excerpt" and "Borrow eBook" links to local libraries at top search engines and online catalogs. Search for "Goldfinch book" on bing.com to see an example.
• OverDrive Readbox (embedded eBook samples) at high-traffic book and news sites and search engines. See examples of Readbox embedded samples at Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, and OverDrive Blog. 
• Reader-centric OverDrive.com with enhanced locate-your-library services. Libraries and online book communities can share library eBook samples on any website with a simple cut-and-paste of the embed code.

To see these upcoming enhancements and more, visit OverDrive's booth #1317 at ALA.

About OverDrive
OverDrive is the leading global digital distribution platform, supplying the industry's largest catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, music and streaming video to 30,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide. With the top rated eBook & audiobook app for libraries and schools and OverDrive Read, the EPUB and HTML5 browser-based reading experience, we support all major computers and devices, including iOS, Android™ and Kindle® (U.S. only). OverDrive delivers all digital media on a single platform, and offers APIs to streamline a seamless user experience. Recent innovations include in-library touchscreen stations for browsing and instant sampling, multi-lingual user interface, and eReading Rooms for kids and teens. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com.