As always, updates are plentiful in OverDrive land! The sun has officially set on the WMA and WMV formats, with a few exceptions. It turns out that the deadline spurred a few audio publishers into action and we have a few WMA stragglers that will stick around for conversion to MP3 by mid-June.
There were some WMA titles with active holds and those patrons have received an e-mail notification that their hold will not be fulfilled. We will also be receiving a list of the WMA titles in our collection and will be checking for a supported format that we can purchase.
OverDrive Listen has also arrived. Like OverDrive Read, OverDrive Listen allows patrons to listen to audiobooks directly in their browser, rather than downloading the files onto their device. You can also still bookmark, notate, and highlight as with downloaded files. Find more information about this new format in the OverDrive help pages.
Starting June 1, there is more happening on the holds front as well. Patrons can now get a better idea of how long they’ll be waiting for requests. Rather than the total number of holds for a title, they will see a whole number ratio that represents the number of holds per copy.
And, finally, there’s more news about OverDrive’s new “Dyslexic font” option. Starting on June 1, patrons will have the option to enable this font through their account settings on the OverDrive site itself. This heavier-weighted font increases readability for patrons with dyslexia. The feature, when turned on, will work site-wide.
Jeff, South Park