After reporting a dramatic increase in electronic book check outs, OverDrive made the new "Overdrive eBook Devices Cheat Sheet" available on January 4, 2011 to help librarians and patrons determine digital book reader device compatibility. The Amazon Kindle does not currently work with Adobe Digital Editions, which is the platform OverDrive uses to create ebooks that are available for libraries to check out to readers. Many ereaders, including the Kobo Reader, the Barnes and Noble Nook, and the Sony Reader Touch, can access OverDrive books at participating public libraries.
OverDrive eBook Devices Cheat Sheet
The "Overdrive eBook Devices Cheat Sheet" shows every ereader and ebook reader app that works with Overdrive books. Library media specialists can download the free pdf file and post it so that library patrons can see if their ebook readers are compatible with OverDrive library ebooks. If your device is on the list, you are ready to learn how to check out ebooks from the library.
Shannon Lichty, the partner services manager for OverDrive, wrote in her January 4, 2011 OverDrive blog post that library media specialists should can expect an updated version as new devices become compatible and apps are released." OverDrive reported large increases in ebook checkouts in December 2010.
According to Dan Stasiewski, marketing associate for OverDrive, in the month between Black Friday 2010 and Christmas, there was surge in ebook checkouts at libraries. He shared these ebook statistics in his December 30, 2010 Overdrive blog post "Traffic and eBook checkout records SMASHED over Christmas holiday." Stasiewski says that between Novermber 26-28, 2010 and December 25-27, 2010, "eBook checkouts increased a staggering 93%." The digital library book movement is growing in momentum as more libraries add the OverDrive service for their patrons.
A Library Media Specialist's Perspective on eReaders and Libraries
According to Quinn Baldwin, library media specialist and author of Crossover, the increase in ebook checkouts at libraries will change how people use the their local libraries. “Once libraries fully embrace ereaders, the role of the traditional library will dramatically change," Baldwin predicts. "You won’t need to go to the library to get a book anymore. You’ll have traditionalists that will go to get books, but I feel like we are on the cusp of a shift in why people need libraries. Libraries will become the place where people go to meet, study, and use computers. The role of a library will expand.” The OverDrive ereader chart will be a helpful tool for public libraries that check out ebooks, according to Baldwin.
If you want to check out ebooks from the library, you will have to have an EPUB friendly ereader. For people who prefer to check out library books instead of buying them, the Barnes and Noble Nook and The Sony Reader is a more attractive option than the Amazon Kindle, because the Kindle is not compatible with EPUB file formats. EPUB is close to becoming the industry standard format for ebooks, and Google Books and Adobe Digital Editions both use EPUB formatting for books. The OverDrive chart also shows that several apps are available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms so that people can check out library books and read them on those portable electronics.
Sources
Dan Stasiewski wrote "Traffic and eBook checkout records SMASHED over Christmas holiday." It was published on OverDrive Blogs on December 30, 2010.
Shannon Lichty wrote "Updated eBook Devices Cheat Sheet Now Available." It was published on OverDrive Blogs on January 4, 2010.
Quinn Baldwin was interviewed about ebooks and libraries on January 5, 2010.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
