Overdrive has been quite progressive about having content displayed within an internet browser. Whenever a patron borrows an e-book from the local library, they have the option to read it within a dedicated app on their smartphone or tablet, or their favorite browser. Today, Overdrive has just announced that they now have support to listen to audiobooks in a web browser too.
The new platform is called OverDrive Listen and requires no software to play an audiobook, other than your internet browser. You can now browse, checkout and listen in a singular experience, without the need to lean on a dedicated app.
Libraries can rest assured that Overdrive Listen feature has automatically been added to any audiobook that is available in the MP3 format. Nothing else has to be done on an individual branches part, other than just build awareness that patrons now have the ability to listen to audio content on their PC, MAC, smartphone or tablet.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.