Overdrive intends on releasing a massive amount of metrics based on all of the schools and libraries that use their service for the facilitation of ebook and audiobook lending. Data from OverDrive’s global library network will be made available to participating libraries and publishers, and includes information about eBook and digital audiobook title circulation, book demand, and holds as well as web traffic and general demographics.
The company is not waiting for the London Book Fair to start giving us some solid information, but has issued some staggering figures for March 2012 early. It seems that over 337,000 visitors a day from 219 countries browsed the OverDrive-hosted “virtual branch” websites of more than 18,000 libraries to search, discover, and sample book content. This resulted in over 146 million page views for the month, and library visitors stayed on the sites for an average of 9.5 minutes, viewing an average 11.6 pages per visit. Also, in March, OverDrive library catalog browsers viewed more than 636 million title cover images.
“OverDrive’s valuable eBook data confirms the benefits that books and authors in library channels enjoy in terms of exposure and discovery to a highly desirable audience,” said Alexis Wiles, OverDrive Manager of Publisher Relations. “We’ve seen the popularity of both frontlist and midlist titles soar in the library, building a loyal following not only through the volume of impressions, but also in conjunction with targeted publisher campaigns and the various social and readers’ advisory features included in the library websites.”
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.
