Odilo is a digital library solution for libraries and the company offers an interesting value proposition. They have an extensive catalog of over 800,000 ebooks and 73,000 audiobooks for branches in the United States. The other aspect of their business is a feature known as BYOC, which stands for Bring Your Own Content, which was conceptualized to allow libraries and their patrons to upload digital content. An indie author for example, could use the system to submit all of their titles or the library could document local music and historical content.
Odilo was founded in 2011 and they expanded into the United States in late 2013. Their worldwide headquarters is based in Spain and they have offices in US, Mexico, and Spain, but have staff located in several countries. Their U.S. based team are focused on North America and Australia.
Currently over 1,200 libraries all over the world do business with Odilo and their vast collection of digital content come from the big 5 publishers and 2,300 additional publishers. Their audiobook collection stems from Findaway, which is the largest distributor in the world. They power the collections of Barnes and Noble Audiobooks, TuneIn, Scribd and dozens of others.
Here are a few of the things that makes Odilo different from the competition.
- Same content from Big 5 and other popular publishers, but Odilo offers the largest collection of Spanish titles across various media types.
- We provide apps and customized platforms in multiple languages, along with branded apps if customers choose.
- Odilo does not require readers to log-in with a separate authentication.
- One of our unique differentiators is their multiple lending models – which helps libraries save money and puts them in control of their content. While some publishers only allow the one-copy, one-user model, they encourage all of the publishers to agree to other lending models, including simultaneous access and Pay-per-Use (PpU).
- Odilo offers additional cost savings including a 10% content credit on every title purchased, and no annual platform fees (with a minimal content spend).
- Odilo also offers a few unique resources that are different than some of the other eBook providers: OdiloSimplicity allows libraries to integrate all digital content, along with their print collections, into one easy platform. Odilo eBookClub, an online experience where members are provided direct access to featured titles, online discussions, live chatting, note-taking, highlighting, sharing, and commenting on passages from the book.
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.
