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Overdrive provides the infrastructure for publishers, retailers, libraries and schools to host and download audiobooks and ebooks. They have an e-warehouse with hundreds of thousands of titles for distribution. They can supply the digital files for a company's website or create one for you.
In fact WHSmith's ebook website is "powered" by Overdrive. Notice the leaving WHSmith dialog box when selecting ebook?
Waterstones receives ebooks from Overdrive.
Unfortunately, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster dont permit Overdrive to provide their titles to libraries for ebook digital download. Although they do allow their audiobooks.
It does seem reasonable to expect a big middleman to emerge. It's easier for retailers, libraries, etc to work with one entity rather than deal separately with thousands of publishers worldwide.
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