Monthly Archives: October 2014

Happy Halloween!  Here’s hoping that the weather doesn’t get too grim for those who will be out and about this evening, seeking treats and celebrating.

Of course, weather conditions won’t be a concern for those trying to win treats and prizes in the upcoming eResources Challenge Lite.  And, at the risk of sounding sanctimonious, since knowledge is its own reward everyone will be a winner.

As you may have already heard, starting on Monday, November 3^rd we will post a monthly eResource Challenge here.  To participate, all you have to do is complete the challenge and post your answer and/or thoughts on the resources you used in the comments section of the blog post by the end of the week (no costume required).

The week following the challenge the Digital Resources Committee will select a response at random and award a playful, useful, or possibly delicious prize to the author of that response.  Look for a new challenge on the first Monday of each month.

Enjoy,

Lisa (CLP)

p.s. We’re also soliciting suggestions for challenges to pose to the group, so if you have some tricky questions up your sleeve, please share them with anyone on the Digital Resources Committee.

OverDrive has made some changes recently that will make patrons, librarians, and library staff members’ experience easier and more user-friendly.  Here are some of the highlights:

Teen and Kids eReading rooms: We now have separate pages for Kids and Teens! This gives a different layout than the main page.  These pages highlight different collections for kids and teens. Check out OverDrive for Kids here and OverDrive for Teens here.

No More Adobe ID: One of the most helpful changes is that with the most recent version of the OverDrive app (3.2) users will no longer need to create an Adobe ID when setting up their account.  Instead, they will be prompted to create an OverDrive account. Users under the age of 13 can anonymously authorize the OverDrive app without creating an OverDrive account.  Existing users will not need to do anything, even if they upgrade to the new app.  This should eliminate a confusing step for patrons and library staff members alike!

OverDrive READ format enhancements:  On October 15th OverDrive is launching a new version of their Read format. The update will move the menu from beside the pages to behind the pages and offers a two-page display on large screens and a single-page view on smaller screens. Patrons will still be able to read offline, bookmark, make notes, search through the book, and customize some settings.  There is still no software to download, no device registration, and the format can be used in any “major modern web browser.”

However, any versions of IE older than version 10 are not considered modern and will not support the READ format. According to OverDrive, less than .2% of OverDrive Read format usage is from a version of IE earlier than 10, so this should not be much of a problem.

If you have patrons that do experience a problem please recommend that they upgrade to a newer version of IE or use the most current version of another major browsers. OverDrive is offering demonstrations and Q&A sessions for staff through their Learning Center.

Suspending a hold: OverDrive users can now suspend a hold on a specific item.  Why is this a great new feature?  If you have a few items on hold and they all appear to be coming in at the same time, you can suspend your hold and keep your spot in line for that book!

Auto-checkout: When a user puts a book on hold, they now have the option to have the book checked out to them when it becomes available.  They can find it right under their bookshelf!

Cover images & maturity settings: Under Settings in OverDrive there is an option to hide adult cover images so they are not displayed.  This makes for a more kid-friendly browsing experience.  Also, users now can select what content is displayed and can pick from: Juvenile, YA, General, and Adult.

– Pam/Baldwin Borough Public Library