Dear Library Partner,

On behalf of Team OverDrive, we would like to wish you a very happy holiday season. Thank you for your partnership in 2008. We look forward to a successful 2009!

The wait is over! OverDrive Media Console for Mac is now available for download at http://overdrive.com/software/omc/download.asp. The free software for Apple computers maintains the superior audiobook listening experience of the original OverDrive Media Console for Windows-based PCs, which is installed on more than 3 million computers worldwide.

Your Mac users can now download OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks from your digital library website and transfer titles to Apple® devices such as the iPod® and iPhone.

Like OverDrive Media Console for Windows, OverDrive Media Console for Mac was designed with the audiobook listener in mind. Patrons can listen to downloaded MP3 audiobooks on their computer, transfer titles to Apple devices using the built-in Transfer Wizard, or burn audiobooks to CD where permissions allow. The OverDrive Media Console for Mac also offers your favorite features, including Parts and MediaMarkers, skip back 15 seconds, resume from furthest played point, and bookmarking. The software has built-in organization, allowing patrons to easily find downloaded titles grouped by author, title, and subject.

OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks downloaded from your digital library website will automatically expire at the end of the lending period, and OverDrive Media Console (for both Mac and Windows) will prompt the patron to delete the expired title from their computer.

It’s Holiday Bonus time! Add a new format to your Virtual Branch and get 10 FREE MP3 Players! For a limited time all OverDrive partners can receive a FREE case of Creative MP3 players when they add one or more new format(s) (Adobe or Mobipocket eBooks, Video, or Music). If you already have all formats, you can still qualify. Contact us about signing up for a qualifying Maximum Access, Download Standing Order, or Holds Manager plan. That's 10 Creative T200 2GB MuVo MP3 players, just in time for the holidays!

- Increase circulation with a new format
- MP3 players are great for training and lending

New formats must be added with a minimum order of $2,500 US/$3,000 CAD by December 31. To get started, log into Content Reserve and check out the Holiday Treats collection lists here!

For more information visit Holiday Bonus or contact Karen and Lindsey: (216) 573-6886 ext. 222 or 232, or collectionteam@overdrive.com.

Each year, Team OverDrive has the privilege of attending the American Library Association annual conferences and dozens of state shows, to meet face to face with our valued library partners; US and Canadian partners that is. But over the last few years, OverDrive has extended our reach internationally, and it’s not often we get to shake hands with our Aussie and Kiwi friends.

Laura Crowe, Lead Project Manager-Library, and Deb Halinski, Lead Training Specialist, recently returned from a month long excursion through Australia and New Zealand. As part of a personal vacation, Laura and Deb planned visits to six OverDrive partner libraries: Sutherland Shire Libraries, Caboolture District Libraries, Gold Coast City Council Library Services, Ipswich Library & Information Service, Logan City Council, and Auckland City Libraries. To see pictures from their trip, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/overdrivedigitalbooks/.

Laura and Deb hosted training at each library location. Librarians learned firsthand about the user experience, collection development process, and community outreach possibilities to increase awareness and usage of their download service.

“Besides being in a location so different from anywhere I’ve been before, I really enjoyed the brainstorming sessions we had with the libraries’ staff and discussing ways they could promote the service in their libraries and communities,” said Deb.

A highlight of their journey was at Auckland City Libraries, where they toured the Heritage Floor, which was created in 1997 and hosts the library’s heritage collection. The collections include published books and documents in the Maori language and medieval manuscripts, specially handled by a librarian.

“Seeing the ancient manuscript was one of my favorite parts of the library visits,” commented Laura. “These documents from hundreds of years ago, once owned by a royal family, were drawn in beautiful colors and gold. It was truly an amazing sight.”

Laura and Deb took in the full experience of the land down under, commenting on the musical accents, beautiful scenery, delicious food, and overcoming the challenge of driving on the opposite side of the car.

“Once I finally figured out how to turn on my signal, rather than the windshield wipers, we were on our way,” laughed Laura.

Although this type of experience is not frequent enough, and takes years of planning and saving, Laura and Deb brought home many fun stories and pictures to share with Team OverDrive. We are truly enjoying our partnerships with our Australia and New Zealand libraries, and we’re looking forward to seeing how our friends ‘down-under’ can grow their Virtual Branch communities in the future.

With nearly 40 events under its belt, the Digital Bookmobile is still making its way around the country. Since the inaugural event with New York Public Library in August, the Digital Bookmobile has been to dozens of libraries and met thousands of library customers who were eager to learn about free digital books and more.

In September, Somerset County Library System (NJ) (pictured above) welcomed nearly 400 people to their event, held at the Bridgewater Library. The library system also offered a local musician to entertain visitors and attracted local media to help spread the word.

Storytellers, drum circles, and Spiderman were just a few of the surprises awaiting users at the Digital Bookmobile at the Genesee District Library (MI) (pictured right). A local radio station broadcasted live, encouraging listeners to visit the library and check out the one-of-a-kind download event.

Lee County Library System (FL) hosted a three day event in November. The finale at the Lakes Regional Library engaged more than 250 patrons of all ages.

As the year winds down, the Digital Bookmobile will continue its journey through Louisiana, Texas, and further west.

More than 5,000 librarians and nearly 200 library systems and consortia participated in OverDrive’s Open Training Month for Library Staff. This represents a 300% increase over last year's program.

The OverDrive Training Team conducted sessions online, designed for all library staff and included topics such as Digital Library 101, Collection Checklist (10 Steps to a Successful Download Collection), Community Outreach, Patron Support, and Real-Time Reports.

Based on staff participation, the 2008 winners are:

Siouxland Libraries (SD) (pictured above)
Saint Charles City-County Library District (MO)
Pima County Public Library (AZ)
Arrowhead Library System (MN)

Each winning library received a certificate of award for outstanding staff participation, a collection credit, and five Creative Zen portable audio and video devices.

OverDrive would like to thank all library staff who participated and wish congratulations to the winning libraries.

If you would like to schedule customized training sessions for your library or consortium, please contact your Project Manager or Partner Services Associate.

Don’t miss OverDrive at the American Library Association annual conference in Denver, January 23-26, 2009. Visit booth #2042 to participate in a new interactive booth layout, where we'll be demonstrating new formats, user features, and more.

Team OverDrive will offer one-on-one sessions, showing off each aspect of our download service. Learn about the latest titles and publishers added to our catalog, promotion and community outreach ideas, and our industry-leading user experience, including OverDrive Media Console for Mac and our iPod compatible MP3 Audiobooks.

Getting Over It
by Anna Maxted

Adobe eBook, Mobipocket eBook
HarperCollins

Reviewed by Susan Lima, Project Manager, Library

I am a huge fan of Anna Maxted novels. I enjoyed Running In Heels and A Tale of Two Sisters, but to me her first novel, Getting Over It is the most heart-felt and also the most engaging. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Adobe eBook edition version had an extra feature titled “Champagne and Ponies: An Essay” which was additional background information about the conception of Getting Over It.

The novel is a romantic comedy but with more substantiality than just what this generic category would dictate. It deals with the main character in the story named Helen and her grief regarding the death of her father. She was not particularly close to her father, so the revelation of the impact of his death made on the many aspects of her life is a remarkable learning experience.

I recommend this book to women who enjoy true to life, relatable humor with honesty and depth. Anna Maxted novels are witty with very likable characters and plots that are sure to entertain.

Sputnik Sweetheart
by Haruki Murakami

Adobe eBook
Knopf Publishing Group

Reviewed by Cath Smith, Project Manager, Special

I’ve been a fan of Haruki Murakami since reading The Wind up Bird Chronicle. His sensuous, almost tactile prose is deceptively simple. But Murakami’s ideas are often challenging and always thought provoking.

In Sputnik Sweetheart, narrator K is in love with Sumire, a writer obsessed with Kerouac. Sumire is in love with Miu, a Korean woman who lost the capacity to love. When Sumire disappears, Miu recruits K to help find her.

At the same time mystery, romance, philosophical, and abstract - Murakami blurs the boundaries between the real and the surreal. In Sputnik Sweetheart, he writes about the most visceral human emotions – longing, obsession, desire, and loneliness. Characters revolve around each other like ‘lonely lumps of metal in their own separate orbits’. They are connected only by the most tenuous of threads, weaving in and out of each other’s lives. For me, the message of Sputnik Sweetheart is that happiness is so often fleeting, we should cherish what we have while we have it.

Fans of literary or postmodernist fiction will find a gem in Sputnik Sweetheart. Haruki Murakami is also the author of Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.

Would you like to add these titles to your collection? Visit Content Reserve or contact our Collection Development Team, collectionteam@overdrive.com.

Please note: Content featured in Digital Dispatch may vary by geographical location.