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