The new OverDrive is a completely refreshed website and app experience that makes your digital library faster and easier to use than ever before.
You’ll know that you’re using the new OverDrive if titles in your library’s digital collection look like this:
What’s changed?
The new OverDrive is a faster, easier digital library experience. Enhancements include:
Better browsing
Titles now have easy-to-understand availability banners, as well as action links that let you borrow or place holds right away:
You can still use the quick search, advanced search, and search filters to find specific titles or authors in your library’s digital collection.
They’ve also added a new Subjects link and a Collections menu, so you can browse all subjects or explore featured content at your library.
New account-level audience filters
If you don’t want to see titles for certain audiences while you browse or search the digital collection, you can set account-level audience filters. For example, you might want to set account-level audience filters if you only want your children to see juvenile and YA titles.
Note: The new “audience filters” setting replaces the old “maturity levels” setting.
The whole digital library on any device
You can now browse and search through your library’s entire digital collection on any device. Previously, any titles that didn’t work on the device you were using at the time were hidden. The new OverDrive shows you everything in your library’s digital collection, with clear messaging about titles that aren’t compatible with your current device. This way, you can borrow or place a hold on any title, from anywhere.
Easier borrowing
With the new OverDrive, you can sign into your library with your library card, your OverDrive account, or your Facebook account. You can use the same OverDrive or Facebook account to sign into multiple libraries (as long as each library has switched to the new OverDrive). Learn more about your sign-in options here.
Easy-to-customize lending periods
You can still choose your own default lending periods for the digital formats offered by your library. If you want to extend or shorten a lending period for just one title (without changing the lending period for the whole format), you can now do that from the title’s details page.
Instant access to titles from the details page
If you borrow a title from its details page, you’ll immediately see a button suggesting the best way to get that title on your device (whether that’s opening the title right in your browser or adding it to the OverDrive app). Or, you can always select 
to go to your Loans page and see all of your options for borrowed titles.
“Books” icon takes you right to borrowed titles
Click or tap to go right to your Loans page and find all of your borrowed titles.
Other improved features
Improvements to placing and retrieving holds
After you’ve placed your first hold (or signed into your library with an OverDrive account), we’ll remember your email address, and you won’t be prompted for it again when you place holds in the future. This way, you can place holds in just one click. You can always edit your email address(es) for hold notifications if you’d like to use a different address.
Holds are automatically borrowed for you as soon as they’re available. If you’d like to turn automatic hold checkout off, you can do so for your entire account, instead of individual holds.
Instant recommendations for your library
If your library allows you to recommend titles for their digital collection, you’ll see a selection of titles you can instantly recommend at the bottom of your search results (or, click See all to see more titles you can recommend).
Changes to the renewal process
You can renew titles (within three days of their expiration) by selecting the Request again link on your Loans page (under ). If the title has no holds, you can borrow it again immediately as soon as it expires. Otherwise, you’ll be placed on the title’s wait list.
Posted by: Heather Blake Western Allegheny Community Library