Overdrive the leading content provider for libraries in the United States in 15,000 locations is starting a new initiative to deliver content to both libraries and schools. These new books will be “Always Available” for anyone to download at any time.
The new Overdrive initiative taps into its Global Network to deliver the digital content. They will be offering free ebooks from Thomas Nelson, Encyclopedia Britannica, Crabtree Publishing, and Lonely Planet. These new product lines will enable libraries to provide ‘always available’ eBooks without waiting lists or holds, in addition to offering the publishers’ titles under the one-copy/one-user model. Libraries will be able to choose from thousands of titles in subjects, including Christian fiction and nonfiction, reference, young adult, children’s, and travel.
Since many libraries and schools are seeing increase cost cuts the decision for Overdrive to launch important research content to K12 Schools and Libraries is a good one. It will deliver fresh content to the ailing Non-Fiction resources which many libraries or schools have books that may be out of date. The digital content is more affordable and easily delivered to the PC, Smartphone, e-readers and tablet computers.
This announcement about the new “Always Available” system was just made today at the American Library Association Conference 2011. Overdrive will also be launching news on the updates to its upgrade to its software, codenamed WIN in a day or two, so stay tuned.
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.
