Overdrive is providing unlimited access to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone audiobook and ebook from public libraries. All library patrons will be able to borrow the title simultaneously, without wait times or holds. This is the first time Overdrive has done this with a major title.
Pottermore Publishing is the digital arm of J.K. Rowling and they are the ones that are allowing library wholesalers to offer this deal. They have verified with Good e-Reader that they are providing unlimited access to the ebook and audiobook in all available languages between now and April 30.
Most library branches are closed, so if you do not have a digital library card to borrow digital content through the main Overdrive app or Libby, there is a system called Instant Digital Card (IDC) Readers can sign up for a library card and begin borrowing digital content from your library in under 30 seconds — all from their mobile device. The verification process is quick, safe, and the patron’s cell phone number doubles as their library card number. This is primarily done through the Libby app, but your library has to have signed up for the service.
Additionally, Audible will provide the audiobook for free as part of its Audible Stories collection. It will be available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Japanese. The English language version will be read by Stephen Fry in the UK and in North America for the first time.
Rowling said: “The teachers, parents and carers working to keep children’s lives as normal and happy as possible while we’re all on lockdown deserve a bit of magic. I hope these initiatives will give children and even adults a happy distraction during their enforced stay-at-home time.”
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.
