Category Archives: Overdrive

Why So Few eBooks?

Ever wonder why there are so few titles available as eBooks in our catalog?  The answer is simple, but the solution is not. Many publishers (Macmillan Publishing, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group, Brilliance Audio, and Hachette Book Group) will not sell or license eBooks to libraries.

Your library can purchase a title from one of the above publishers in various formats – large or regular print, hard copy or paperback or even on a CD. However, the publishers will not sell the eBook to the library. The publishers are treating eBooks differently due to something call digital rights management (DRM) or digital rights content.

What can we do as consumers?  Let the publishers know we are disappointed with their decision not to sell their eBooks to libraries.  Write to the publishers, spread the word throughout our communities, put up signs in our libraries, post  messages on our websites,  be proactive.  Make a call, send an email (contact information below) to the publishers not selling eBooks to libraries.

As a profession, we should begin looking at the Digital Rights Management, the copyright law, among other avenues that will allow libraries to lend digital items in the same manner as the physical item.    I contend, that eContent is simply another format.

Macmillan Publishing  – customerservice@mpsvirginia.com  (212) 226-7521

Simon & Schuster-  simonandschuster.com/about/contact_us  (212) 698-7000

Hachette Book Group- customer.service@hbgusa.com (212) 364-1100

Penguin Group – ecommerce@us.penguingroup.com  (212) 366-2000

Brilliance Audio – libsales@brillianceaudio.com (616) 846-5256

Penguin, Kindle app users and Overdrive


Penguin will no longer offer additional copies of eBooks and download audiobooks for library purchase. Additionally, Penguin eBooks loaned for reading on Kindle devices will need to be downloaded to a computer, then transferred to the device over USB. For library patrons, this means Penguin eBooks will no longer be available for over-the-air delivery to Kindle devices or to Kindle apps.

We know that several readers have been waiting for their Kindle book to become available for weeks.  If you are a Kindle app only user and have a book on hold, please contact us  with you library card number and the title of the book.  We are working with Overdrive to find a solution to this problem.

Overdrive news: DRM has been applied to select DRM-free eBooks.

From Overdrive, December 12, 2011:

From time to time, to support the needs of our supplying publishers, updates are made to the permissions associated with content or the format of content offered. In many cases, this results in content being available in formats with wider compatibility (MP3), while in other less frequent cases, permissions become more restrictive. Recently, an update has been made to select eBooks previously offered as DRM-free to add DRM. While DRM has now been applied, expansive print and copy permissions have also been enabled to permit the broadest use of the content by your patrons.

As always, our goal is to maintain a diverse catalog, while balancing the needs of both our library and publisher partners.