Library Technology Guides

OverDrive expands leadership team with education advocate and EdTech leader. OverDrive, the world's leading digital content provider for libraries and schools, announced the appointment of Renee Davenport as its first Vice President of Education. Davenport will lead OverDrive's strategy to expand digital access in schools, deepen engagement with educators, and support literacy and learning outcomes for all students through Sora, OverDrive's award-winning student reading app. [Full Announcement].

Erasmus University Rotterdam becomes the first university in the Netherlands to offer OverDrive digital leisure reading service for students. As students return to classes this semester at one of Europe's leading research universities, they will be provided with a new kind of service from their university library. At Erasmus University Rotterdam, alongside access to their academic collections, students will have access to a digital leisure reading library offering fiction and nonfiction ebooks and audiobook from OverDrive. [Full Announcement].

Digital Reading Among Students Hits Another Milestone. Sora announced the release of its second annual digital reading report for the 2023-2024 year, “The State of K-12 Digital Reading.” The report reveals a second consecutive year of record-breaking ebook and audiobook usage, underscoring the growing role of digital reading in classrooms. The report draws on data from the Sora platform, which is used in 62,000 schools worldwide. The data was collected from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive celebrates a decade of eBook and audiobook lending in Germany. Ten years ago, Bücherhallen Hamburg (Hamburg Public Library) became the first library in Germany to partner with OverDrive, the world's leading digital content provider for libraries and creator of Libby, the library ready app. To celebrate a decade of enhancing digital reading in Germany, OverDrive is deepening its investment in the market. The first step in this investment is Lesefreude mit Libby, a collection of dozens of premium in-copyright eBooks and audiobooks. This collection, licensed and donated by OverDrive, will be available to all German public libraries through March 2026. [Full Announcement].

Together We Read Digital Book Club to explore Hattie McDaniel's Story in The Queen of Sugar Hill. Readers across the country are coming together to celebrate literature and history through the annual Together We Read digital book club. From March 13-27, thousands of public libraries will offer access to The Queen of Sugar Hill by bestselling author ReShonda Tate, available as an ebook and audiobook through Libby, the award-winning library reading app. The ebook and audiobook will be available without waits or holds during the book club and will automatically return at the end of the lending period. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive appoints Eric Miller to lead the company's data and information science services. OverDrive, the world's leading digital content provider for libraries and schools, announced today the appointment of Eric Miller as the company's first Director of Data and Information Science. With a wealth of experience in library data systems, Miller will lead a team of researchers, engineers, platform and app developers, and content specialists introducing supplemental search and visual knowledge maps to OverDrive's platforms, apps, and catalogs. Miller will oversee OverDrive's expanding data repositories, which process billions of transactions each month. He will also lead the development of next-generation discovery tools to enhance how readers and students explore library collections across Libby, Sora, Kanopy, and TeachingBooks. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive launches Worldwide distribution with Podium Entertainment, serving as exclusive audiobook partner outside the U.S. and Canada. OverDrive, the leading digital content provider for libraries and schools, has announced a new global distribution partnership with Podium Entertainment, one of the world's largest audiobook publishers. Through this agreement, OverDrive will distribute Podium's extensive audiobook catalog to libraries and schools worldwide and serve as Podium's exclusive partner for audiobook sales outside the United States and Canada. This partnership reinforces OverDrive's commitment to connecting readers worldwide with premium content, ensuring that Podium's audiobooks reach passionate listeners through their local libraries and schools. Podium Entertainment is an industry leader in science fiction, fantasy, and romance and is recognized for amplifying emerging and bestselling authors in digital-first publishing. Now, through OverDrive's Marketplace, over 1,000 Podium audiobooks are available to libraries, with more titles expected to be added throughout 2025. [Full Announcement].

Libby Announces Finalists for the Second Annual Libby Book Awards. The award-winning library reading app Libby announced its finalists for the second annual Libby Book Awards. The awards honor public librarians' best books of 2024 spanning 20 different categories. The finalists were nominated by a panel of expert librarians and winners will be determined by public library staff and librarians across North America. [Full Announcement].

Libraries break Digital Lending Records in 2024 with Over 739 million Checkouts. Librarians and educators achieved remarkable new milestones in 2024 by providing increasingly robust digital lending and streaming options to satisfy library patrons of all ages. Using OverDrive's award-winning Libby and Sora apps, readers worldwide borrowed over 739 million ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines, a 17% increase over 2023. Streaming video through libraries and universities on Kanopy also reached a record 27.8 million plays. A record 192 library systems, consortia, and school libraries reached over one million digital checkouts, with Los Angeles Public Library topping the list. Over 30 library systems and consortia surpassed one million digital checkouts for the first time in 2024, earning them a spot in Libby's Million Checkout Club. 2024 marked additional significant milestones for the Libby app and the streaming app Kanopy. More than 9.1 million people installed the Libby app, and over 118.9 million new users joined library systems globally, signaling the continued expansion of digital library services. In 2024, Kanopy's total streaming minutes surpassed 950 million, an 18% increase over the previous year. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive and Ex Libris announce new integration for streamlined discovery of digital resources in Alma and Primo. OverDrive announced a new integration with Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, allowing academic institutions to seamlessly discover OverDrive ebooks and audiobooks within the Alma and Primo library services platforms. This integration, highly requested by academic institutions, simplifies access to OverDrive's extensive collection of digital content, offering a powerful solution to enhance discovery for students, faculty, and researchers. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive launches Heights Press: A Cleveland-Inspired publishing imprint. OverDrive announced the launch of Heights Press, a boutique publishing imprint inspired by the vibrant creativity and community spirit of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Rooted in OverDrive's Cleveland home, Heights Press reflects the company's deep mission to support schools and libraries in promoting literacy and a love of reading. Heights Press debuts with “Hickory Hollow” a six-book series for middle-grade readers, along with a series of video shorts. The initial titles are now available exclusively for public libraries and schools worldwide for readers using the Libby, Sora, and Kanopy Kids apps and platforms. [Full Announcement].

Meet OverDrive at 76th Frankfurter Buchmesse: The future of global content distribution. OverDrive, the leading global content distributor, will be at the 76th Frankfurter Buchmesse. OverDrive's leadership team will be available to discuss how the company helps publishers and authors expand their reach and achieve success through its trusted digital distribution platform. With tens of millions of users per month and billions of engagements worldwide, OverDrive is uniquely positioned to get content in front of the right audience. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive content catalog joins OpenAthens Federation. OpenAthens announced that OverDrive, the world's largest digital content provider, has joined the OpenAthens access management federation. OverDrive took the business decision so it can more easily scale access to libraries in the education and healthcare sectors, creating a more seamless experience for users worldwide. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive and Youth Communication announce co-produced anthologies spotlighting teen stories. OverDrive announced fifteen anthologies created in partnership with Youth Communication, a nonprofit youth media organization that promotes youth literacy and civic engagement through youth-led media. The anthologies are produced via Youth Communication's rigorous writing program where teens work with professional editors to share their personal stories. Written by teens for teens, common themes include body image, bullying, gender identity, living with a disability, recovering from trauma, and more. [Full Announcement].

Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Public Library launch Chicago Book-Wrapped: a groundbreaking initiative providing immediate eBook and eAudiobook access for all. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Public Library (CPL) proudly announce the launch of “Chicago Book-Wrapped", an innovative popup eCollection initiative that redefines access to literature in the city. Powered by OverDrive, the company behind the library reading app Libby, this initiative eliminates barriers, offering instant access to curated eBooks and Audiobooks with no wait times or library card requirements during the eCollection period. This visionary project not only broadens access to knowledge but also serves as a cultural touchstone, enhancing the experience of Chicago's most significant events. [Full Announcement].

OverDrive announces strategic leadership appointments for global digital media distribution. To keep pace with surging demand from millions of students, readers, and viewers benefiting from digital content available through their local libraries and schools, OverDrive announced the formation of a newly established Content Group. The newly configured business unit will drive innovation for digital content discovery and sales, integrating Kanopy's 30,000+ film and video library alongside OverDrive's vast collection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, comic books, and educational resources, while enhancing metadata and collection development services reaching over 90,000 institutional buyers. To lead the OverDrive Content Group, Jason Tyrrell has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Content. For the past three years Tyrrell served as General Manager of Kanopy, OverDrive's video streaming service. [Full Announcement].

Survey finds that L&D is booming -- and a major boon to retaining employees. OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for corporate and law libraries worldwide, and HR Dive's studioID released a new survey report that highlights the significant growth of learning and development programs and their sharply rising value to companies of all sizes. Survey respondents from companies in a variety of industries are investing more in L&D, recognizing its role as a critical driver for retention. [Full Announcement].

Libby promotes literacy as proud sponsor of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Lakers Literacy Program. As the NBA basketball season draws closer, Libby, the award-winning library reading app from OverDrive, proudly announces its sponsorship of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Lakers Literacy League. As a participating sponsor, Libby and the Lakers will encourage all Laker fans to embrace the lifelong benefits of reading by promoting the resources of their local libraries. Building upon OverDrive's 20+ years of supporting community libraries and literacy, the innovative sponsorship supports the mission of the Lakers Literacy League, the Lakers Girls book club, and a variety of unique community activities. This multi-year sponsorship kicks off with the 2024-25 season and marks a long-term commitment to supporting California libraries. [Full Announcement].

Libby's upcoming July 2024 release. OverDrive announced the July 2024 release of the Libby app, which will go live later this month. It introduces important improvements based on reader and partner feedback. This release brings new features, thoughtfully refines the user experience, and makes the app feel even more like the digital branch of the library. [Full Announcement].

Check Out Your Library events and campaigns to reconnect Americans with their local libraries. OverDrive announced the launch of “Check Out Your Library,” a movement designed to introduce and reacquaint millions of Americans with the invaluable resources and stories housed within their public libraries. This initiative aims to celebrate and elevate the role of libraries and librarians as community cornerstones across the United States. By promoting local events and programming, it aims to draw new and returning patrons to explore the amazing resources and offerings of their local libraries. [Full Announcement].