ALA Annual 2011: Boopsie App Feature Enables OverDrive Catalog Search and Download

In the run-up to the American Library Association (ALA) Conference in New Orleans, mobile app maker Boopsie unveiled OverDrive ebook and audiobook catalog search and download capability for its custom-made library-branded smartphone apps. The feature lets patrons search for compatible OverDrive ebook or audiobook titles without having to leave the app, and then download content directly—although patrons do need a separate OverDrive Media Console app to read or listen to the content.

The first libraries to roll out the feature are Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH; Los Gatos Public Library and Santa Clara County Public Library, CA; and Douglas County Libraries, CO. The feature will also be available as part of the MyMobileLibrary: App, to be released this fall by Boopsie in partnership with Tech Logic. It is available on iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry versions of the Boopsie app (but currently not its Nokia, Palm, or Windows Mobile versions). The company's demo is viewable on YouTube:

API access to come
OverDrive, which recently announced that it would be simplifying and streamlining its services, has said that it will soon expand access to its application programming interface (API). Such access would ease the creation of more third-party applications that use OverDrive content.

Boopsie CEO Greg Carpenter told LJ at ALA that to provide search functionality Boopsie's new feature doesn't access OverDrive's API but instead indexes the catalogs of the dedicated OverDrive mini-sites of the libraries its apps serve. The company plans to make use of an API once it becomes available for development. Carpenter also told LJ that Boopsie has plans to integrate a native ebook reader into the app.

See our ALA Conferences site for complete event coverage from the editors of Library Journal and School Library Journal.