Paucity of OverDrive books?

[Friedrich]

My first MobileRead post! I've an ancient Nook (Simple Touch), which mostly still works (except for the page turning buttons), but am looking to get back into an eReader workflow with more modern equipment. I'm gravitating toward the Kobo ecosystem, and may pull the trigger on a Libra or Forma soon.

A draw with the Kobos is the integrated OverDrive support (although I understand I can use OverDrive with Kindles here in the US). However, my enthusiasm has been dampened by looking through the eBook offerings of my local library system and finding ... not much. About 4,000 books total and, after filtering out the categories I'm not interested in (Romance, Mysteries, Juvenile Fiction, ...), there isn't a whole lot left.

Is this typical? Or is my county library system behind the times? Are there other library systems that one can tap into with OverDrive? Or should I ignore OverDrive and stick to the Kobo store, Project Gutenberg, etc.?

I apologize in advance for what might be a naive question. I've never dealt with online lending before. Or "modern" eReaders.

[stumped]

that's typical for a UK overdrive library. overweight selections of romance, urban paranormal.....

its still possible to get a paid-for out-of-state membership of a BIG online library, like FLP, though some have discontinued and are only honoring existing membership renewals

[MGlitch]

It’ll depend on the library and the funding available to them. I’m lucky I live in NYC so I get free access to two well funded library systems.

[stumped]

occasionally, armed with some best of / most popular.... list.. I will go on a library search binge..... and usually come away with nothing.

so I resort to occasional looks at the library front page , via Libby, in the hope of spotting something interesting

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Friedrich

Are there other library systems that one can tap into with OverDrive?

Since you are in California, yes. I just checked Los Angeles:

https://www.lapl.org/about-lapl/borrower-services#apply

However, you have to visit in person. Maybe there are some counties now making an exception to that. You would have to check one by one.

I have a bunch of Pennsylvania out of county cards. Not every county in my state offers eBook borrowing to out of county residents, but most do if you live in-state.

I also pay the Brooklyn out of state fee:

https://www.bklynlibrary.org/use-the...%20cardholders.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by stumped

that's typical for a UK overdrive library. overweight selections of romance, urban paranormal.....

its still possible to get a paid-for out-of-state membership of a BIG online library, like FLP, though some have discontinued and are only honoring existing membership renewals

FLP has stopped out of state library cards. So forget FLP.

[John F]

Have you asked anyone at your library what the policy is? My library always seems eager to take requests for ebooks.

[Deskisamess]

My Ohio library has just under 130,000 total Kindle format books. Most of those are in the OverDrive system as well, 120,000 are ePub, then smaller numbers for PDF and "open ePub".

I can "recommend" books to the library, up to 3 books every thirty days can can be on my "recommended" list at any time. If they buy a book I've recommended, I'm automatically placed on the hold list for that book.

Borrowing limits are 10 books, hold limit is 15, length of borrow limit is 21 days.

My library is linked with other county libraries also, so some holds are ordered by which library the account holder is with. "Some copies of this title belong to specific member libraries, and their users are given priority for holds on those copies. For this reason, users may jump forward or move backward on the wait list, so we can't accurately estimate wait time."

[4691mls]

Like Deskisamess, my library is part of a consortium. I think this is a good thing for smaller cities/counties where any one of them on its own can't maintain a large collection.

For the OP - maybe you can find out if any counties (or larger cities) near you allow non-residents to get a library card?

In my case, the counties adjacent to mine are already part of the same consortium so there's no point in my traveling for one of their cards. But this may not be the case in your area.

[mirage]

Originally Posted by Friedrich

A draw with the Kobos is the integrated OverDrive support (although I understand I can use OverDrive with Kindles here in the US). However, my enthusiasm has been dampened by looking through the eBook offerings of my local library system and finding ... not much. About 4,000 books total and, after filtering out the categories I'm not interested in (Romance, Mysteries, Juvenile Fiction, ...), there isn't a whole lot left.

Is this typical? Or is my county library system behind the times? Are there other library systems that one can tap into with OverDrive? Or should I ignore OverDrive and stick to the Kobo store, Project Gutenberg, etc.?

I apologize in advance for what might be a naive question. I've never dealt with online lending before. Or "modern" eReaders.

If you're in California, both the SF and LA public libraries have enormous Overdrive collections with great variety and most anything vaguely recent of any literary or non-fiction note. I read lots of books through those libraries. I don't know if you can apply for a card online right now or not, though.

[nellie27]

Look at the larger city library websites. You may find that one of the large library systems will allow California residents to obtain a card by emailing the required information. The card may, however, be temporary.

Just glancing through the Sacramento and San Diego library sites, I see that one can get a temporary card, but it isn't clear if one must be a city/county resident, or just a California resident. (Residents of other states could investigate libraries in their states.)

I encourage you to look into this.