OverDrive Offers Audiobook Plan

In a response to market demand, as well as the announcement of the Recorded Books/netLibrary partnership (see "Feeling a Squeeze," LJ 11/15/04, p. 36), OverDrive launched "Maximum Access," which allows libraries to lend unlimited quantities of a selection of downloadable audiobooks.

The audiobooks come from Blackstone Audiobooks, which has over 2500 titles and one of the largest collections offered via OverDrive Audio Books, which launched in November 2004. OverDrive president Steve Potash said nearly 400 Blackstone titles were live in the system as of late January. Potash likened OverDrive's plan to those in which libraries lease best sellers, since libraries need not purchase access to the entire catalog, as with the Recorded Books plan, but can start with a minimum of 50 titles.

Price is based on the size of the library and its circulation. For the smallest library, unlimited simultaneous access to 50 titles could cost $500 annually; for the largest library, $7500. Potash noted that for lower-demand classics and nonfiction, many libraries might choose to buy a title that can only be checked out once.