Harry Potter eBooks to be distributed to Public and School Libraries through OverDrive

From the press release:

Pottermore, the online experience and home of the Harry Potter eBooks created by J.K. Rowling and partnered by Sony, announced today it has entered into an exclusive worldwide eBook and digital audiobook distribution agreement with OverDrive for public and school libraries.  Under the terms of the agreement, OverDrive, a leading global distributor of eBooks and digital audiobooks, will manage hosting and digital fulfillment for libraries for the Harry Potter collection of eBooks and digital audiobooks in English and more than 20 other languages to OverDrive’s growing network of over 18,000 public and school libraries worldwide.

Through local public library and school catalogues, OverDrive’s digital book lending service will promote to new and returning readers a popular way to access  the official  Harry Potter eBooks and digital audiobooks.  The Harry Potter series has sold over 400 million copies worldwide and is widely credited with immersing an entire generation of young readers into books and reading.  With this agreement, the seven books in the series will be available in digital formats for the first time for lending from public and school libraries.

Charlie Redmayne, Pottermore CEO, said:

“We are keen to support public and school libraries, and OverDrive, as one of the leading suppliers in this market, provides us with a global network that helps us achieve this, as well as encouraging the discovery of these amazing books across the world.”

OverDrive CEO and President Steve Potash said:

“J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is a once-a-lifetime phenomenon and has been an extremely significant catalyst for reading and literacy for current and future generations.  We are honoured to bring this beloved storytelling experience digitally to public and school libraries  worldwide.”

In keeping with Harry Potter’s international appeal, OverDrive will provide schools and libraries the ability to offer the official eBooks and digital audiobooks in many different languages – initially English, French, Italian, German and Spanish – with more languages to follow.

Readers will have immediate access to eBooks and digital audiobooks on a wide range of popular computers and reading devices including PC, Mac®, eReaders, tablets and smartphones.  Supported devices include Sony® Reader, Kindle® (US only), NOOK™, iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, BlackBerry®, and Windows® Phone.  In addition to the eBook collection, the complete digital audiobooks will be made available for digital borrowing in the MP3 file format on listening devices such as computers, smartphones and iPod®.

To find a participating library or school in the OverDrive network, visit http://search.overdrive.com.