Database Of The Month: OverDrive!

If you are a fan of eBooks and eAudiobooks (especially when they're free!) then you probably have already taken advantage of the downloadable collection the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System has through OverDrive. This fantastic resource has just gone through a few updates that make checking out and reading eBooks even easier, especially if you are using this database to read fun picture books with younger children! We hope all of our users will enjoy these new enhancements, including direct Tech Support from OverDrive Frontline Support. 

OverDrive is excited to announce that a new version of OverDrive Read, the browser-based eBook reading experience, is coming on October 15, 2014. Earlier this year, OverDrive introduced support for fixed layout eBooks using EPUB3 and HTML5 technology, which allows books never before available in eBook format to be enjoyed digitally. The fixed layout nature honors the book's original layout, image display, and fonts which are required for titles like The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, and Humans of New York. This update means that never-available-before eBooks like these are now available to your library or school! Textbooks, children's classics, cookbooks, travel guides, and more can now be enjoyed on any web-enabled device using OverDrive Read. To find fixed layout eBooks in OverDrive Marketplace, simply choose "Fixed layout" from the special features drop-down menu under Advanced Search.

The enhanced OverDrive Read reading experience that is currently used for fixed layout eBooks will soon be extended to all eBooks. The interface eliminates distraction from the page layout because the newly-designed menu is now behind the eBook pages rather than to the right of the book. The new OverDrive Read also offers a two-page display on large screens for a true reading experience, and a single-page view on smaller screens (unless otherwise required by the publisher). This update retains all of the great features users are currently enjoying in OverDrive Read, such as the ability to read offline, bookmarks, notes, search, and custom readability options. And, best of all, OverDrive Read is available with just one-click in any major modern web browser, and doesn't require any software installation or device registration. In order to adopt this new technology required to support fixed layout eBooks, OverDrive Read will no longer work in older versions of Internet Explorer (i.e., any IE version less than version 10) beginning October 15. Less than 0.2% of OverDrive Read usage is from a version of IE less than 10, so the few users impacted by this change will simply need to upgrade to a newer version of IE or switch to the most current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Android, Safari, or the standard browsers on devices like Kindle and Nook.