From OverDrive on Futurebook.net: More customers equal more revenue, right? But how publishers find those customers is, of course, the challenge. Ultimately, reaching out through as many channels as possible allows publishers to access the widest variety of customers possible. Multi-channel distribution, something OverDrive has supported for years, allows publishers and content owners to maximise their… Read more »
Library Blog
2011 is the Year of the eBook in Boise
Lindsay Wyatt, reference librarian at the Boise Public Library in Idaho, shares a year-long initiative for educating users on eBook downloads. We at the Boise Public Library are celebrating eBooks all year long with our Year of the eBook outreach events. After taking the first few months of the year to train staff, purchase eReading… Read more »
Lindenwood University engages students with audiobook promotion
At the library for Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, it was easy for our staff to notice that a large portion of our students were very into listening to their iPods or MP3 players while studying or walking to class. While some folks might interpret this as a precursor to the end of hard-copy… Read more »
US Air Force libraries provide eBooks of Chief of Staff reading list titles
In 1996, the Chief of Staff (CSAF) of the US Air Force created a professional reading list to develop a common frame of reference among Air Force members – and every CSAF since then has continued the Professional Reading Program. The books are always available for check-out in our over 100 US Air Force libraries… Read more »
OverDrive now supports third-party subscription services
OverDrive has partnered with Disney Digital Books to release a new service for library partners: Customers can now enjoy the world of Disney in a browser-based interactive online book, an OverDrive first. Channel partners can add Disney Digital Books to their catalogs using the same process in Content Reserve as other subscription services. Each title is… Read more »
School libraries go digital
Over the past year, there has been a lot of talk in school library circles about the best ways to provide books in digital format for students. In the Mesquite Independent School District, we’d been following with interest news stories of schools like Cushing Academy, where the majority of the print books were replaced with… Read more »
eBooks and immediate gratification
Recent blogs about the Kindle and library eBooks have sparked interesting comments from library users and non-users, showing new perceptions of libraries and eBooks. Check out “Will Kindle ever add support for library books?” at Stephen’s Lighthouse and the Kindle Blog for more details. Libraries are constantly battling the perception of library obsolescence, and the comments in… Read more »
Douglas County Libraries offers electronic petting zoo
Last month, Douglas County Libraries collaborated with our local Best Buy to offer a electronic petting zoo for patrons and staff. With a staff member on hand, Best Buy brought one of every type eBook reader to the Philip S Miller Library in downtown Castle Rock, Colorado, so patrons could explore and ask questions. Patrons… Read more »
eBook fills demand for Giller Prize winner at Kitchener Public Library
For most debut authors the dream of winning a highly coveted literary prize rarely becomes a reality; however, that is what happened last November to Johanna Skibsrud, when her debut novel, The Sentimentalists, won Canada’s most prestigious literary award, The Scotiabank Giller Prize. In fact, the award has the distinction of immediately creating “bestsellers” and… Read more »
Launching eBook downloads in the UK with Luton Libraries
Fiona Marriott, principal librarian at Luton Cultural Services Trust, shares her experience launching the OverDrive service in the UK. Being one of the first to launch a new service is always a challenge and it means that you have few people to compare with or ask advice. It can be more expensive than “waiting and seeing”… Read more »