CLEVELAND – May 14, 2014 – OverDrive, the leading global eBook, audiobook, music and streaming video platform for libraries and schools, today announced that it has added 2,173 public, school, academic, and corporate libraries to its global network this year alone. As libraries and institutions seek lending services for eBooks, OverDrive is overwhelmingly selected as a vendor with more than 90 percent of U.S. libraries and a growing number of schools partnering with OverDrive.

A sampling of the new libraries joining the OverDrive network include Cheshire Libraries (UK), Princeton Public Library (NJ), Brigham Young University (UT), Duke University (NC), Georgia Tech Library (GA), Napa Valley Unified School District (CA), Douglas County School District (CO), and Hawaii Public Schools (HI).  With a renewal rate of over 99% for all libraries using OverDrive during the past five or more years, this brings the total of library, school, and institutional partners to 30,000 worldwide.

“Promoting literacy for enjoyment as well as improving reading foundations is now easier, and ultimately, we feel that our students deserve ongoing access wherever they are,” said Ernesto Villanueva, Principal of Lilian J. Rice Elementary School, an OverDrive partner in Chula Vista, Calif. “They have that opportunity because of the publishers that OverDrive works with, and we found that other companies are limited in their scope or selection.”

OverDrive’s commitment to supporting libraries and schools is driven through continuous innovation and improvements based on feedback from library staff members and educators. Working with more than 5,000 publishers, OverDrive’s catalog is unmatched, and the OverDrive app is compatible on all major mobile and tablet devices, including Kindle® (U.S. only). Recent enhancements to the OverDrive service include eReading Rooms for kids and teens, multilingual user interfaces, OverDrive APIs for a seamless user experience, and coming soon, fixed-layout EPUB3 and interactive eBooks.

Last year, OverDrive announced their “Million Digital Checkouts Club,” consisting of partners who experienced a million or more digital checkouts in a year. This year is shaping up to be even better for libraries, with King County Library System and Toronto Public Library on pace to circulate more than 2 million digital titles, while Hennepin County Library and New York Public Library are moving quickly toward more than 1.5 million.

 

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. We support all major computers and devices, including iPhone®, iPad®, Nook®, Android™ phones and tablets, and Kindle® (U.S. only). OverDrive offers all digital media on a single platform, and offers APIs to streamline a seamless user experience. We also offer in-library touchscreen stations for browsing and instant sampling of eBooks or audiobooks, and OverDrive Read, the EPUB and HTML5 browser-based reading experience, among other world-class products and services.

The OverDrive app was named one of PC Magazine’s 100 Best Android Apps of 2013 and one of TechRadar’s Best Free Android Apps of 2014. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland. www.overdrive.com.

Contact:

David Burleigh

Director of Marketing & Communications
216-573-6886 ext. 218
dburleigh@overdrive.com

 

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