How Does Overdrive Work?

[SpiderMatt]

I didn't quite know where to post this question so I hope this is the right spot. I'm wondering if anyone knows how the operations of an Overdrive library works. The U.S. Navy has an Overdrive library for its sailors and I have found quite a few good books there but it is still very limited. I want to see what can be done about getting the selection increased. However, if Overdrive charges for every book that is made available in the library, then the Navy General Library Program might be limited due to funds. I plan on sending an email to the NGLP but I want a better understanding of how Overdrive operates so I can make a better case. If the issue is, in fact, funding, there's probably not much that can be done. However, the number of people in the military interested in ebooks has dramatically increased thanks to the Kindle and the Sony Reader (which is sold at military exchanges all over the world).

[AnemicOak]

The way I understand it, from someone at our county library a few years ago, a library can basically subscribe to OD and get ebooks, eAudioBooks, or both for their patrons. Whatever they pick, they have access to a certain number of copies at a time of OD's full offering in that category. She said they couldn't select individual titles that it was just whatever OD included in their library.

As I said that was a few years ago and it was a fairly new program at the library so it may have changed.

[ilovejedd]

Iirc, my local library "buys" a copy of the ebook. My local library uses Overdrive, too, and on their ebook page, it lists how many "copies" they have of a particular title and how many of those are available or lent out, much the same way they do for paper books. When I checked the FAQ, it mentioned something to the effect of you can request/recommend purchase of specific titles but it needs to be available via Overdrive. I think you can go to http://search.overdrive.com but so far, that seems to only list what titles are available in what library so it may not be very complete. I would suggest checking online ebook retailers (e.g. booksonboard, fictionwise, etc) since they seem to have the most complete selections. Search for titles available in Adobe PDF or Adobe ePub format. Chances are, those will also be available on Overdrive for your library to purchase.

Oh, and if you're going to be borrowing books from the library, don't bother with the Kindle. Just stick to Sony Reader. Less hassle transferring borrowed ebooks that way. The Kindle doesn't have native support for Adobe DRM protected formats, and Amazon has taken steps to prevent you from using ebooks with regular Mobipocket DRM (which currently encompasses library ebooks). Sure, there are hacks to get around this limitation, but going the Sony Reader route is less troublesome.

[SpiderMatt]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Iirc, my local library "buys" a copy of the ebook. My local library uses Overdrive, too, and on their ebook page, it lists how many "copies" they have of a particular title and how many of those are available or lent out, much the same way they do for paper books. When I checked the FAQ, it mentioned something to the effect of you can request/recommend purchase of specific titles but it needs to be available via Overdrive. I think you can go to http://search.overdrive.com but so far, that seems to only list what titles are available in what library so it may not be very complete. I would suggest checking online ebook retailers (e.g. booksonboard, fictionwise, etc) since they seem to have the most complete selections. Search for titles available in Adobe PDF or Adobe ePub format. Chances are, those will also be available on Overdrive for your library to purchase.

Oh, and if you're going to be borrowing books from the library, don't bother with the Kindle. Just stick to Sony Reader. Less hassle transferring borrowed ebooks that way. The Kindle doesn't have native support for Adobe DRM protected formats, and Amazon has taken steps to prevent you from using ebooks with regular Mobipocket DRM (which currently encompasses library ebooks). Sure, there are hacks to get around this limitation, but going the Sony Reader route is less troublesome.

I am well aware of the "limitations." I tend not to pay attention to them. I had Sony PRS-500 and bought a Kindle after it broke. Personally, I like the Kindle as a device much more than the Sony. I have since purchased a Kindle 2 (I like it that much). I'll gladly work around the DRM issue if it allows me to continue using the Kindle.

Thank you for the information. I'm interested in what the NGLP has to say about the issue. It's odd that there's a much larger selection of audio books than there is ebooks. This seems to be true of many Overdrive libraries. I wonder what it is about audio books that makes them more readily available.

[JSWolf]

Since you have a Kindle, you can forget using the libraries eBooks. None of them are compatible.

If you had a 505 or 700, you could take out PDF eBooks and request eBooks in ePub.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

The way I understand it, from someone at our county library a few years ago, a library can basically subscribe to OD and get ebooks, eAudioBooks, or both for their patrons. Whatever they pick, they have access to a certain number of copies at a time of OD's full offering in that category. She said they couldn't select individual titles that it was just whatever OD included in their library.

As I said that was a few years ago and it was a fairly new program at the library so it may have changed.

If that's how it originally worked, then it has changed. Overdrive has eBooks in whatever formats and the libraries that do subscribe can buy them in whatever formats they want and that are available. Audiobook formats are WMV and MP3. eBook formats are PDF, Mobipocket, and ePub. Not all support Mobipocket and ePub. ePub is just starting to be supported. I have requested eBooks and some have been purchased and some not. Most that I've requested have been purchased.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If that's how it originally worked, then it has changed. Overdrive has eBooks in whatever formats and the libraries that do subscribe can buy them in whatever formats they want and that are available. Audiobook formats are WMV and MP3. eBook formats are PDF, Mobipocket, and ePub. Not all support Mobipocket and ePub. ePub is just starting to be supported. I have requested eBooks and some have been purchased and some not. Most that I've requested have been purchased.

Overdrive does not support MP3. There is no DRM on MP3. These end up being give aways by some libraries. The audio format is WMA, WMV is video.

Dale

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Overdrive does not support MP3. There is no DRM on MP3. These end up being give aways by some libraries. The audio format is WMA, WMV is video.

Dale

I apologize John. I just checked and you are correct in the Overdrive has a special Overdrive MP3 support added. It seems you have to download it via their special console program available on Windows and Mac machines. I am not sure how they enforce the limited time checkout but the resultant files can then be converted to CDROM if allowed by the particular file or for iPOD Touch, iPhone devices. They don't mention other devices as being supported. More checking is needed.

Dale

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I apologize John. I just checked and you are correct in the Overdrive has a special Overdrive MP3 support added. It seems you have to download it via their special console program available on Windows and Mac machines. I am not sure how they enforce the limited time checkout but the resultant files can then be converted to CDROM if allowed by the particular file or for iPOD Touch, iPhone devices. They don't mention other devices as being supported. More checking is needed.

Dale

Here is what I have been able to find out about mp3. It must go through the overdrive console and then get transferred to the mobile device. They indicate that:

To use OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks on a device, the device must be able to play MP3 files encoded at a bit rate of 64kbps or be able to transcode 64kbps files to a supported bit rate. To transfer MP3 Digital Audiobooks to an Apple device, you must have iTunes v7.6.2.9 (or newer) and QuickTime v7.4.5 (or newer) installed. Note that to transfer OverDrive Audiobooks to a Zune® using OverDrive Media Console Transfer Wizard, you must have OverDrive Media Console v3.1 (or newer), Zune application v3.0 (or newer), and Zune device firmware v3.0 (or newer) installed. In this scenario, you must close any other program (such as the Zune application) to which the Zune is connected before attempting to transfer an OverDrive Audiobook to the Zune.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by SpiderMatt

Thank you for the information. I'm interested in what the NGLP has to say about the issue. It's odd that there's a much larger selection of audio books than there is ebooks. This seems to be true of many Overdrive libraries. I wonder what it is about audio books that makes them more readily available.

Supply and demand? I'm guessing more people are aware of and requesting for audio books rather than ebooks. When you stop and think about it, how many people have portable audio players as opposed to people with dedicated readers? I have a co-worker who bought an e-ink reader a year ago (Jetbook, I think) and when he first brought it to work, he kept getting asked what it was. Myself, I've never owned an e-ink reader. Before, I just used my PSP to read, and now, I use my iPhone so I never get asked what device I'm using. When they ask me what I'm doing, though, people seem surprised you can read books on the PSP and iPhone.

Never been much of a fan of audio books, though. The one time I tried listening to an audio book, I fell asleep within a few minutes. I like reading better. When I read, I tend to get engrossed in the book (assuming it's a decent one) and I don't see paper and ink (or in this case, pixels on backlit LCD screens). I see a video of how I imagine the scene would look like.

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I am not sure how they enforce the limited time checkout ...

At checkout, for MP3 audiobooks only, you come to a screen that asks you to click on an "I agree" type of button, where you're agreeing to be honest and discard the MP3 files after the lending period.

The selection of MP3 audiobooks is less in number and desirability (less new popular books).

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by jj2me

At checkout, for MP3 audiobooks only, you come to a screen that asks you to click on an "I agree" type of button, where you're agreeing to be honest and discard the MP3 files after the lending period.

The selection of MP3 audiobooks is less in number and desirability (less new popular books).

yes, that is the conclusion I reached also. Thanks for the clarification. I noticed that music files were available in WMA but not in MP3. I guess trust only goes so far.

Dale

[wallcraft]

So far as I can tell, an ebook on Overdrive for libraries is just like a physical book. A library buys a copy and can then lend it to one reader at a time, if they want more concurrent readers they buy multiple copies. One bad part of this approach is that MOBI and ePub (say) copies are separate, if a library wants to have both formats they must buy copies of both.

[janjanjan]

Originally Posted by SpiderMatt

Thank you for the information. I'm interested in what the NGLP has to say about the issue. It's odd that there's a much larger selection of audio books than there is ebooks. This seems to be true of many Overdrive libraries. I wonder what it is about audio books that makes them more readily available.

I believe this is a library specific issue. When our library first subscribed to Overdrive, there were zero ebooks available. Over time, there was apparently enough demand from local patrons that the local library began to experiment with ebooks as well as audio.

Interestingly, today it is very common to find that the ebook version is readily available while the audiobook is checked out and has 6 reservations. So, it appears that many people are enjoying audio books. I certainly fit into that group, but it may be because I haven't actually invested in a small reading device.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

So far as I can tell, an ebook on Overdrive for libraries is just like a physical book. A library buys a copy and can then lend it to one reader at a time, if they want more concurrent readers they buy multiple copies. One bad part of this approach is that MOBI and ePub (say) copies are separate, if a library wants to have both formats they must buy copies of both.

I do wish they'd change things so when an eBook is bought, all the different formats come with it. As it is, I've had to request Mobipocket because all the library had was the PDF.