Is all Overdrive the same?

CWatkinsNash · 12-28-2010, 02:59 PM

I saw in a discussion in News that Overdrive is slow for a lot of people. Mine here in Nashville is working fine, but that could be because no one is using it. I absolutely despise the interface and I'm wondering if others are the same. I tried to check other library sites but the ones I could get to load wanted a log-in before even getting to the interface. (Mine doesn't until I want to add something to the cart.)

Here is how ours is:
If you "browse" by genre, author, etc, you get ALL digital content in the list for that category - ebooks, audiobooks, and video when applicable. You cannot filter it by content type.

If you choose to view just ebooks (or other content type), you can't browse, it's just one big list of 2000+ ebooks sortable by title, creator, and date.

You can search for title, author or keywords and select what type of results you want (ebooks, audiobooks, etc) but the search results are usually endless and mostly irrelevant, with the one you want buried in the middle, if it exists at all. Because of this, even if you know exactly what you're looking for, you might not find it. I was searching for a Michael Crichton book - there were 50+ results, only one was by Michael Crichton and it wasn't the title I searched for. A search for a Stephen King novel using author and title was a little better, but it still wasn't near the top of the results.

Please tell me they all aren't like this. I was considering a paid non-resident membership to one or two libraries.

HelenaJole · 12-28-2010, 03:20 PM

I have accounts at three libraries in the area, and they all have advanced search functions.

HelenaJole · 12-28-2010, 03:23 PM

Are you using the Nashville library? I just checked it out and there's an advanced search there too.

CWatkinsNash · 12-28-2010, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HelenaJole

Are you using the Nashville library? I just checked it out and there's an advanced search there too.

Yes, and now it's working fine for seaching author/title like I was trying to do the other day.

The "subject" search doesn't return the same results as browsing but it's close enough. I'm going to go eat my lunch and feel silly now.

12-28-2010, 02:59 PM	#1
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	Is all Overdrive the same? I saw in a discussion in News that Overdrive is slow for a lot of people. Mine here in Nashville is working fine, but that could be because no one is using it. I absolutely despise the interface and I'm wondering if others are the same. I tried to check other library sites but the ones I could get to load wanted a log-in before even getting to the interface. (Mine doesn't until I want to add something to the cart.) Here is how ours is: If you "browse" by genre, author, etc, you get ALL digital content in the list for that category - ebooks, audiobooks, and video when applicable. You cannot filter it by content type. If you choose to view just ebooks (or other content type), you can't browse, it's just one big list of 2000+ ebooks sortable by title, creator, and date. You can search for title, author or keywords and select what type of results you want (ebooks, audiobooks, etc) but the search results are usually endless and mostly irrelevant, with the one you want buried in the middle, if it exists at all. Because of this, even if you know exactly what you're looking for, you might not find it. I was searching for a Michael Crichton book - there were 50+ results, only one was by Michael Crichton and it wasn't the title I searched for. A search for a Stephen King novel using author and title was a little better, but it still wasn't near the top of the results. Please tell me they all aren't like this. I was considering a paid non-resident membership to one or two libraries.

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12-28-2010, 03:20 PM	#2
HelenaJole Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 580 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3	I have accounts at three libraries in the area, and they all have advanced search functions.

12-28-2010, 03:23 PM	#3
HelenaJole Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 580 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Are you using the Nashville library? I just checked it out and there's an advanced search there too.

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