An Alternative to Overdrive

The shift to eBooks and digital content has brought many changes to the library field. While many patrons have lauded the relative ease of using e-readers, many librarians have lamented the terms of eBook distribution. Even though eBook distributors have generally provided greater access to digital content, licensing terms and fees have grown increasingly restrictive. Consequently, some library systems and librarians have starting searching for alternatives (Albanese, 2011).

Possibly the most established alternative to eBook distributors is Open Library which is a part of the Internet Archive. The main goal of Open Library is to establish “one web page for every book ever published.” While Open Library admits that it is a very lofty goal they have gathered 20 million records. More importantly, Open Library offers free access to eBooks to anyone willing to create an account with their web site (Kniffel, 2012).

To offer eBooks to its users, Open Library has established a relationship with Overdrive and partner libraries throughout the United States.  The partnership with Overdrive is somewhat disappointing. Essentially, Open Library simply provides a link to the digital content owned by Overdrive. The user must search for their home library system and use their library card number to check out material. This method provides no advantage to users who use Open Library over those who use their home library’s link to Overdrive content (O’Leary, 2011).

The most meaningful way Open Library provides access to eBooks is partnerships with library systems. Partner libraries send Open Library books for digitization that are made available to all Open Library users. Many of the books sent to Open Library are older copies that have been weeded out of the partner libraries catalogue. To comply with copyright rules, the book is generally kept by Open Library or the partner library agrees to not re-enter the book into circulation. While the idea is certainly noteworthy, many patrons looking for recent content will be disappointed. Unfortunately, the lack of recent works is the biggest obstacle to the greater use of Open Library (O’Leary, 2011). Nonetheless, users searching for older manuscripts and older works will find an enormous selection of downloadable books.

In an effort to remain at the forefront of new eBook technologies, many libraries plunged into contracts with eBook distributors without realizing the implications caused by digital rights management. While the goals and access of Open Library are laudable, the site has yet to match the recent content provided by distributors like Overdrive. While in its present form, Open Library does not provide enough recent content for a library to replace Overdrive. Yet, the consortia approach to providing eBooks regardless of library system should serve as a model to help provide greater eBook access to patrons (Houghton, 2011).

References

Albanese, A. R. (2011). Brewster’s Millions. Publishers Weekly, 258(22), 33-37.

Houghton, S. (2011). Open Library offers libraries a third choice for eBooks. Librarian in Black. Retrieved March 19, 2012, from http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/07/open-library-offers-libraries-a-third-choice-for-ebooks.html

Kniffel, L. (2012). Backed by Internet Archive, Entrepreneur takes on OCLC. American Libraries, 39(4), 27-29.

O’Leary, M. (2011). Open Library and the Gatekeepers. Information Today, 28(9), 22-23.