From: "Jim O'Donnell" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, 5 Oct 2014 15:10:18 -0400

Forwarded with permission of Bob Boissy, subject only to the caution
that the 96% market penetration number that Overdrive offers cannot
easily be independently verified.   My thanks to Bob for his response
and for allowing me to share it with the list.

Jim O'Donnell

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Boissy, Robert, Springer US <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 12:55 PM
Subject: Yes, overdrive

Jim

Yes, overdrive is the primary licensor of eBooks to public libraries,
and even the smallest public is probably in a network of libraries
that collectively purchase some access to some eBooks from overdrive.
Of course we are talking primarily fiction. Loan periods are typically
two weeks, afterwhich DRM makes the ebook go away. There is limited
concurrent use, with just one user per network using the eBook at one
time - unless the network has paid extra for additional concurrent
"copies" of the eBook to be available.

Normally people use overdrive services with a combination of adobe
digital editions software on their home computer, with a USB link to
an eReader device to make for easier reading.

Overdrive probably needs to promote the heck out of this service
because it is no where close to being slick enough to really compete
with Amazon Kindle or BandN Nook or iPad iBooks setups. Of course
the overdrive eBooks do have one big advantage - they are free to the
library user.

Overdrive is generally not marketed as much to the academic library
environment, which is why you may not have heard much about it.

I bet your local public library has overdrive eBooks.

Bob Boissy
Springer Account Development Manager