TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics » Overdrive

Overdrive Media Console (App Review)

Juli Monroe — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 17:20:14 +0000

At the end of January, I wrote an article on the Overdrive overhaul, and how users weren’t completely happy with the new interface. To follow up on that, I decided to try the Overdrive Media Console app and see how it fares as an e-reading app. My verdict? I want to like it. I really do. [...]

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New OverDrive Site Not Meeting User Expectations?

Juli Monroe — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:49:43 +0000

Late last year, OverDrive began rolling out a new look to their site. My own library in Fairfax County had a “New Look Coming” banner up for several weeks. When I tried it out for the first time, my reaction was, “Not great, but I can live with it.” I wasn’t crazy about the new [...]

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OverDrive Announces Streaming Video and Audio Services

Aggregated Content — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:15:32 +0000

Earlier this week, OverDrive announced that it will enhance its industry-leading library service platform with streaming video and audio technology. The new services will improve ease of use and device compatibility for OverDrive-hosted video, audiobook and music collections at libraries and schools around the world. OverDrive will demonstrate its streaming technology this weekend (Jan. [...]

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Kindle Fire-usable version of OverDrive is now available in Amazon’s app store

David Rothman — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:27:52 +0000

A Kindle Fire-usable version of the OverDrive e-library app has now reached the Amazon app store. That could give the app’s Android version a nice boost—the Fire is essentially an Android machine turned into an Amazon cash register. Fire owners earlier had to go to the OverDrive site to download the app unofficially. But for me personally, the big [...]

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Morning Roundup — Links to start your day

Joanna Cabot — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:18:49 +0000

StoryBundle Second Bundle Available (The Digital Reader) Overdrive Releases New Statistics on Book Lending (Good E-Reader) Newsprint Joins the Internet of Things (Paid Content) Kindle Daily Deal: (2) Richard Castle mystery novels (and) Zombie-Kids

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In Texas, even the e-books are big

Dan Eldridge — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 05:39:51 +0000

Regardless of how the writers at Gawker may feel about the Sunday Styles section, I’ve always been a big fan of trend stories. And as a long-time freelance journalist, I’ve learned to keep a eye out for articles in small-town newspapers, for instance, that might be hinting at a trend-in-progress, but without even necessarily intending to. Case in [...]

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Publishers and libraries still trying to work out e-book lending

Chris Meadows — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 02:37:53 +0000

The Economist has an article which summarizes the current state of affairs around e-book library lending. Publishers have an awkward relationship with libraries when it comes to allowing books to be lent, since someone who borrows a book may not have any need to buy it after reading it, which could account (at least in [...]

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Douglas County Libraries in Colorado builds its own e-book lending system

Chris Meadows — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:04:14 +0000

BoingBoing has a brief but interesting piece from a representative of Douglas County Libraries in Colorado (which we mentioned in March), which has created its own e-book lending system by dealing directly with publishers, rather than relying on a third party such as Overdrive to mediate between them. DCL has cut deals with over 800 [...]

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3M launches library e-book and e-reader program

Chris Meadows — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Is there room in the library e-book field for a competitor to Overdrive? Wired reports that tape and media manufacturer 3M thinks so, and is launching a library e-book lending initiative called the 3M Cloud Library with 40 publishers (including Random House, HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Wiley) and over 100,000 titles. (Last year we covered 3M’s [...]

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OverDrive suspends library pre-sales of Harry Potter e-books

Chris Meadows — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:56:12 +0000

Found via eBookNewser: OverDrive has temporarily postponed library pre-sales of the forthcoming Harry Potter e-books. Overdrive Public Relations and Social Media Specialist Michael Lovett writes: We’re excited about the forthcoming launch of Harry Potter eBooks and digital audiobooks for library lending. We’re working with Pottermore to introduce this compelling series, and as part of the [...]

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E-book checkouts from libraries takes off

Chris Meadows — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:15:00 +0000

We lately mentioned the popularity of Amazon’s Kindle owner lending library rogram, but iPads and Kindles have another popular lending option that is also exploding. OverDrive reported that traffic to its “virtual branch” websites more than doubled last year, seeing a 130% increase. While much of that increase can be attributed to e-readers, OverDrive also [...]

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Penguin extends library e-book restrictions to downloadable audiobooks

Chris Meadows — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:30:09 +0000

We previously mentioned Penguin’s decision to stop making new e-book titles available to libraries in the USA and the UK. The Digital Shift reports that decision extends to downloadable digital audiobooks as well. A message from Overdrive yesterday explains this applies to audiobook titles released after 11/14/2011. In an apparently unrelated move, Amazon-owned BrillianceAudio will [...]

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Kindle e-books not actually available at all 11,000 libraries yet, but soon will be

Chris Meadows — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 23:39:09 +0000

Earlier today we linked Amazon’s press release stating that its Kindle e-books were available in 11,000 libraries nationwide. In some respects Amazon may have jumped the gun a little, as I found when I went looking for these books via my own local library (which lends out Overdrive e-books). I didn’t find anything for the [...]

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Seattle area libraries test Kindle e-book lending program

Chris Meadows — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:09:32 +0000

Amazon’s convenience store package drops aren’t the only new thing it’s testing in Seattle. Reports are surfacing that Seattle area libraries are the first to get to try Amazon’s new Overdrive-based Kindle library lending program. Patrons with Kindles can download time-limited-license e-books in Amazon’s AZW format via WiFi or USB. The books can be checked [...]

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OverDrive CEO drops hint that Kindle library lending launches in September

Chris Walters — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:13:04 +0000

When Amazon promised to introduce its Kindle format to public libraries earlier this year, the company would only say that it would come before the end of 2011. There’s still been no official announcement, but now OverDrive’s own CEO Steve Potash has dropped a not-too-subtle hint that September is the launch month: Throughout the conference, [...]

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