Thursday, October 4, 2012

OverDrive Read instant samples now live

In September, we completed rollout of a major milestone for our publishing partners: instant samples with OverDrive Read. The vast majority of EPUB titles available in the OverDrive catalog can now be sampled at thousands of library websites with the click of a button. These samples are a discovery tool for library browsers; readers can now access samples instantly from any device with a modern web browser.

For our publishing partners, instant samples in OverDrive Read offer highly qualified opportunities to engage readers with title and author brands. OverDrive Read samples are flexible—able to be read on modern devices of any size, embedded into webpages, and surrounded by dynamic content. Each book sample is delivered as a persistent URL, which can be shared just like any website.

OverDrive Read allows you to reach your readers on every device with targeted recommendations for what to read next. At the end of each sample, OverDrive Read is capable of presenting the reader with options to purchase the title, view similar titles, or engage more deeply with a title and/or author on websites and social media. Expect to hear more on this exciting feature in the coming months.

Later this year we will be making full titles available through OverDrive Read, allowing readers with permissions to instantly enjoy an entire book. As we approach the full release, we will share more details about the ways in which OverDrive Read can help you connect readers with the books and authors they love. Stay tuned.