The Updates Keep On Comin’…

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

Continue ReadingThe Updates Keep On Comin’…

Overdrive Updates Coming Soon…

The following new features will be available to Overdrive users starting Wednesday, April 29th.

  • If a user borrows a title and the title has (or accumulates) holds, the user will no longer see a “Renew” link for that title on their bookshelf.  Instead, they will see a “Request Again” link that lets them join the title’s holds list and borrow the title again when it becomes available. This is the same way that the “Renew” link currently works for titles with holds; only the language is being updated.
  • The limitation that only lets users renew a title (or request it again) one time during their loan is being removed.

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  • Users will be able to assign star ratings to titles they currently have checked out right from their bookshelf. Users will still be able to rate any title from the title’s details page as well.

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  • A new “Narrated” label will help users identify which eBooks are available in OverDrive Read with narration:

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  • On the title details pages for narrated eBooks, users will also see an audio icon next to the OverDrive Read format:

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  • From here, users can click either the “Narrated” label or the audio  icon to learn more about narration.
  •  The “Enhanced” label for enhanced titles will be updated to match the style of the “Narrated” label:

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Sharon (Mt. Lebanon)

Continue ReadingOverdrive Updates Coming Soon…