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Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl
I am positively livid today. I just discovered that my library has unexpectedly and without warning or public input dropped Overdrive in favor of 3M! Ugh!
Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone use 3M that can offer any postive input to make me less depressed? Is there any reason to like 3M over Overdrive?
My library was one of the early adopters of ebooks. I had access to over 70,000 ebooks and one of the largest Overdrive libraries in the US. The library had the audacity to put out a public statement that says they thought very hard about their decision to drop Overdrive. They believe that 3M offers more choices and less wait times. They are very excited about their collection of 3500 books.
Seriously! We went from 70,000 books to 3,500 books. Bye bye Kindle or Sony/Nook borrowing and now you have to read via a tablet app. I can't find anything to borrow because the selection is so poor that anything decent has waits now. All of this is better how?
Did I mention how angry I am?
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Overdrive is a HUGE expense for libraries. My library had to go in with 3 other libraries to afford it on a grant. I was chatting with one of the librarians the other day (I used to work there) and she mentioned they were constantly trying to figure out how to budget for it because it's extremely popular, but the most expensive program at the library after the actual licensing of checkout software.
As a member, you can certain express your interest in Overdrive, but to really have an impact, you might have to go to whatever board funds the library (be it county or city or state). In my area, it's city funded, but next door in Austin, it's city and state. If I want to impact the budget I can attend a city council meeting and express my opinion (and they are very condescending, believe me. I've gone there, done that and been laughed at.)
Overdrive is very popular, but they are also very expensive. There are many libraries trying out different programs (including buying direct from authors--Houston, and buying direct from other sources).
I'm sure others have mentioned, you can take your business elsewhere these days. You'll have to pay out of state yearly fees, but many libraries will welcome you for 50 dollars a year on average!!!