Overdrive has been owned by KKR since June 2020

Breeding, Marshall. OverDrive enables Discoverability of books and ebooks on the web. May 2022. Library Technology Newsletter. OverDrive has been a longstanding partner with Google to facilitate the discoverability of ebooks and audiobooks available from libraries. As the leading provider of digital collection materials to public libraries, its efforts have a large impact on the visibility of libraries on the web. Persons can borrow Ebooks and audiobooks from their library's OverDrive collection via Google search results. When searching for a book on Google, results will usually offer a knowledge panel presenting additional information about the title, along with action buttons for buying a copy or borrowing from a library. When available as an ebook or audiobook from a nearby library that offers the title, the Borrow action connects the user directly its page in the library's OverDrive collection.

Breeding, Marshall. OverDrive launches Patron Engagement Tools. March 2022. Library Technology Newsletter. OverDrive, a major provider of digital media services for libraries, has launched OverDrive Hub, a set of tools designed to provide new channels of communication with library patrons, along with additional analytics to measure use and engagement.

Breeding, Marshall. Overdrive Sale Has Closed. July 2020. Smart Libraries Newsletter. The February 2020 issue of Smart Library Newsletter featured the proposed transfer of ownership of OverDrive from Rakuten to investment firm KKR. This transaction, initiated in December 2019, closed in early June 2020.

Breeding, Marshall. OverDrive to Change Ownership. February 2020. Smart Libraries Newsletter. OverDrive, the largest commercial provider of e-books and other digital content to libraries, issued a Christmas Eve announcement of its pending change in ownership. The company's current owner Rakuten has entered into a definitive agreement to sell OverDrive to KKR, a major US-based investment firm. As digital lending continues its steady rise, this news sparks interest and raises questions for the library community.

Breeding, Marshall. Developments in E-book Lending Technologies. June 2013. Smart Libraries Newsletter. The support of e-book lending stands as one of the crucial technology issues for public libraries. The initial phase of library e-book lending was mostly based on acquiring titles from one or more e-book providers and then delivering users to platforms provided by those vendors for selection, check-out, and downloading titles to e-reading devices. Libraries naturally want to provide a similar service for e-books as they offer for their print collections. General expectations would include the ability to develop a collection shaped according to the interests and research needs of its community and for library patrons to borrow e-books without cost, for reasonable loan periods, and with protected privacy. Yet, fulfilling ideal expectations for library e-book lending services continues to face a number of obstacles. From a technology perspective, challenges lie in simplifying the way that patrons can select, check-out, and download items. On the business and legal front, only portions of the collective e-book universe are available to libraries to purchase for their lending programs, and in many cases higher costs per title apply and possibly limitations on lending terms. The developments seen in recent months reflect ongoing progress in each of these areas.

Breeding, Marshall. OverDrive Prepares to Release API for E-Book Lending Integration. May 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. Until now, OverDrive has delivered its service through its own hosted platform, taking advantage of the limited capabilities of established protocols such as SIP2, Remote Patron Authentication, to integrate its services into third-party applications. In response to the increasing demand for interoperability and integration, OverDrive has announced its plans to deliver a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) to allow the developers of other related products, typically integrated library systems, online catalogs, mobile app developers, or discovery interfaces, to incorporate OverDrive's e-book discovery, lending, and management functionality. These APIs will be available to libraries that partner with OverDrive and to approved third-party vendors.

Breeding, Marshall. OverDrive acquires Booki.sh. May 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. OverDrive announced in March 2012 that it had acquired the Australia-based company Booki.sh, a portfolio project of Inventive Labs, a small consulting and software development firm founded by Joseph Pearson and Virginia Murdoch. Following the acquisition of Booki.sh, the remaining consulting business will combine with Icelab, another Web consulting firm.

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February 4, 2025. 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.

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January 27, 2025. 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.

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November 14, 2024. 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.

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October 21, 2024. 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.

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October 15, 2024. 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.

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October 14, 2024. 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.

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September 17, 2024. 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.

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August 15, 2024. 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.

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August 5, 2024. 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.

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August 1, 2024. 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.

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View All OverDrive News Announcements

Jun 09, 2021 OverDrive to acquire video streaming service Kanopy
OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide, announced today that it is acquiring Kanopy, a leading video streaming service for public and academic libraries.

Jun 23, 2020 OverDrive to acquire RBdigital library buisiness from RBmedia
OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools, announced today that it is acquiring the assets of RBmedia's library business, including the RBdigital platform in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia.

May 09, 2020 KKR acquires of OverDrive
OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools, today announced the completion of its acquisition by KKR, a leading global investment firm. In December 2019, KKR announced that it had agreed to acquire OverDrive from Rakuten.

Mar 2015 OverDrive acquired by Rakuten
OverDrive, the leading eBook, audiobook and streaming video platform for libraries and schools, announced it entered into an agreement to be acquired by Rakuten Inc., one of the world’s largest Internet services companies. Insight Venture Partners has been the majority shareholder of OverDrive since 2010. OverDrive will operate as a subsidiary of Rakuten USA and will work closely with other Rakuten companies. Rakuten companies provide a variety of consumer and business-focused services including eReading (Kobo), e-commerce (Rakuten.com, formerly buy.com, and Ebates), instant messaging (Viber), and others in the US, Canada and around the world.

Mar 05, 2013 OverDrive acquires Australian eBook company Booki.sh
OverDrive announced it has acquired Australian eBook company Booki.sh. Booki.sh is the developer of a cloud-based platform for distributing, selling and reading popular eBooks from anywhere and on any device with a modern web browser. Booki.sh founders and principals Joseph Pearson, Virginia Murdoch and Peter Haasz will join OverDrive from their existing offices in Melbourne to expand the global distributor’s publishing, library and school initiatives.

Oct 18, 2010 Insight Venture Partners acquires majority ownership of OverDrive
OverDrive announced that Insight Venture Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on technology companies, has made a major investment in the company.

Nov 25, 2008 Kanopy founded by Olivia Humphrey

May 2003 OverDrive launches its service for library e-book lending
OverDrive launches its service for library e-book lending. Cleveland Public Library and King County Library System are early implementors.

2001 OverDrive launches Content Reserve digital marketplace

1986 OverDrive is founded by Steve Potash