OverDrive to Present the Future of eBook Lending at National Library Conference

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 25, 2015) - ALA Annual Conference at The Moscone Center - As the nation's librarians convene in San Francisco at the 2015 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference this weekend, leading digital content provider OverDrive will present the Future of eBook Lending in Booth #2541. To help librarians meet the growing demand for digital content in all popular formats, OverDrive will release its roadmap for a completely reengineered platform, including web, app and mobile services through the use of improved technology and APIs.

As the leader in digital lending for public and school libraries serving 34,000 institutions worldwide, OverDrive has enabled partners to achieve proven results for more than 12 years. Based on hundreds of millions of checkouts, librarian feedback and patron surveys, OverDrive will introduce its groundbreaking digital platform that is more powerful with lightning performance and ultimate ease of use. The new user experience will be simple and consistent across web, mobile, app and in-library displays and will feature library branding and local curation to reinforce the library relationship.

The New OverDrive is based on three pillars of success designed to enable libraries to win in the increasingly competitive landscape of digital books and media:

1. Onboard new users quickly and easily. Because 50% of Americans still do not have a library card, customer acquisition is core to the new OverDrive. With improved speed and ease of use -- including instant access, sampling and searching -- all library users will enjoy better discoverability of the library's entire digital catalog.
2. Deeper engagement with readers. Once the new user has discovered digital media at the library, the new OverDrive will provide new tools and data-driven services to increase engagement and conversion to a loyal library customer.

• With an improved recommendation algorithm, faster search engine and page loading, users will browse and discover more of the mid-list and backlist and more easily find what to read next.
• To maximize title availability for users and ROI for libraries, OverDrive already supports multiple access models, including Cost-per-circ, Simultaneous Use -- from a growing list of suppliers -- and Classroom Sets. OverDrive has also piloted a "Book Club" model in certain markets for city reads and other programs.

3. Reach more of the library community. OverDrive will continue to innovate to support this critical library objective with new and existing programs:

• Kids and Teens. With the recent introduction of Kids eReading Rooms, a safe section within the library's website, libraries have seen significant circulation increases for children's and YA content. OverDrive is also the only digital lending platform that offers nearly 1,600 Narrated eBooks, audio synced to text with fixed-layout in the EPUB3 format. Circulation has skyrocketed at the thousands of libraries who offer these interactive titles.
• Non-English readers. To reach new users who prefer to browse and read in their community language, OverDrive already offers a multilingual website interface in 13 languages as well as a catalog of more than 116,000 non-English eBook and audiobook titles in 52 languages.
• Business commuters and Periodicals users. OverDrive and NOOK Media partnered recently to bring more than 1,000 popular digital magazines and newspapers including content only available from OverDrive: USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Cleveland Public Library (CLEVNET) and Cuyahoga County Library (CCPL) have seen dramatic increases in their circulation due to digital periodicals. 
• Readers in places outside the library walls. Libraries in the OverDrive network have pioneered access to library eBooks in a variety of community centers, such as at the San Antonio airport and schools in Oklahoma.
• Casual readers browsing other parts of the web. OverDrive's Readbox samples allow users to discover and begin reading excerpts of a library eBook on any website and provides a direct link to borrow the title. Vancouver Public Library has used Readbox to help their community learn about their digital collections, increasing both circulation and library card sign-ups.

The features of the new OverDrive align with the needs of today's library customers. According to more than 10,000 respondents in a June 2015 Patron Survey conducted by OverDrive (complete survey results will be available at Digipalooza), device compatibility (74%), ease of use (63%), and immediately available content (52%) are among the most influential criteria stated when obtaining digital content. A full demonstration of the new OverDrive will take place at Digipalooza, August 5-7, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. To see the latest innovations and learn more, visit OverDrive's booth #2541 at ALA.

About OverDrive
OverDrive is the leading global digital distribution platform, supplying the industry's largest catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, periodicals and streaming video to 34,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide. We support all major computers and devices, including iPhone®, iPad®, Nook®, Android™ phones and tablets, Chromebook™, and Kindle® (U.S. only). OverDrive offers all digital media on a single platform, and offers APIs to streamline a seamless user experience. OverDrive Read, the breakthrough EPUB and HTML5 browser-based reading experience, now supports fixed layout and narrated eBooks. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com