TechBits

OverDrive Digipalooza 2021

Every two years, OverDrive hosts Digipalooza in Cleveland, Ohio. I've attended a number of times and I always learned lots of information to bring back to you. It's also a lot of fun and I really miss in-person conferences! I captured this image from the 2017 video and you can see Sara Gold from WiLS and Molly Warren from Madison in the image as well.

The 2021 Digipalooza is going completely online! And, the cost to register is only $39* for three half-days of content. Digipalooza runs from Tuesday, August 3 through Thursday, August 5 with programs starting at noon Central Time (1 p.m. Eastern Time) each day.

The conference schedule is packed with programs geared towards Public, School, and Academic & Corporate libraries. This is a great way to learn more about OverDrive and Libby including a keynote address featuring Dr. Carla D. Hayden, Librarian of Congress, networking and social opportunities, and many more. One of the highlights for me is a session called OverDrive Technology & App Updates where OverDrive developers share what they're working on next.

I hope you take advantage of this unique opportunity to attend Digipalooza virtually in 2021! I'm sure that OverDrive will make it a memorable experience.

*SCLS libraries can use CE Grant funds to offset the registration cost.

 

Libby and OverDrive Updates

Wow - I am so impressed with all of our libraries and how they're responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of you have been posting about Wisconsin's Digital Library, OverDrive, and Libby and I wanted to make sure you knew of some of the recent updates and additions to the service.

First, the Lucky Day collection went live on February 14 (an appropriate day, I think!). This collection of almost 2500 popular titles is available to check out for 7 days and patrons may borrow 2 Lucky Day items at one time.

Second, Holds Redelivery is now live. What does this mean? Basically, after receiving notification that a hold is available, patrons have 3 days to borrow it, suspend their hold and pass it along to the next person in line, or cancel the hold. If the patron takes no action, the hold will automatically be suspended for 7 days and the title will go to the next person in line. If no action is taken a second time, the hold will be cancelled automatically. 

Third, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to offer additional resources to our patrons, WPLC added 400 Duke Classic ebooks. These are all simultaneous access and will be available for a year.

Fourth, a happy announcement from Macmillan today. According to an article on the Publishers Weekly website, Macmillan will abandon their embargo on new release ebooks for libraries on Friday, March 20 (or maybe sooner). Woo hoo!

Lastly, I will be running a second OverDrive Support Course for the spring beginning on March 30 and running through May 1. If you or your staff are interested, please register here.

Just for fun...If you return a book early in Libby, you may notice a small icon in the middle of the screen. If you tap on it, you'll see this - enjoy!

Wisconsin's Digital Library Updates

Regular users of Wisconsin's Digital Library through the Libby App noticed some recent updates. One of my personal favorites is the improved wait time display. Now it's easier to see the approximate wait time for my holds by tapping on the little calendar icon. I also love seeing my place in line go up and all the other data about the holds that I've placed.

Another big update was adding new Shelf tips - including one that encourages readers to return books when they're done rather than waiting for the loan to expire. The prompt appears based on the reader's progress and the number of others waiting for the title. This means the next patron will get the book earlier and, hopefully, cut down on some of the long wait times in our collection.

OverDrive updated the Loans display on Shelf page. It's easy to see how much of a book you've read or listened to with the progress bar. OverDrive also lets you know if there are others waiting for the book and prompts you to place a hold or renew a title when your expiration date is getting close. (I better get going on The Breakers!)

To see other updates to Libby, visit the Libby menu on the app (Menu>Libby>What's New in Libby?).

On another OverDrive note, the next SCLS OverDrive Support Course is scheduled for March 11 - April 12 and SCLS member library staff can register here!

 

 

OverDrive's new status page

Did you see the news? As of September 4th, OverDrive has a new status page to communicate service issues at https://status.overdrive.com/.

OverDrive’s new status page is available to all staff and end users. You can visit the page at any time to view the status of browsing and searching, signing in, downloading, and reading and/or listening to a book. If services on the OverDrive side are running smoothly, their status will be listed as Operational. If a service is degraded or experiencing an outage, the status will be updated accordingly.

To be notified when issues are posted, you can follow the @OverDriveStatus Twitter account which will be automatically updated, or sign up for alerts via subscription options in the lower right corner of the page.

Please take a few minutes to visit the status page and feel free to share this with your staff. WPLC project managers will continue to send service alerts to the WPLC Announcements list and to the Google WPLC Support Community.

The many joys of Internet Archive

I attended a fun NFLS webinar last week and was reminded all over again about Internet Archive, a "non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more." Have you been there?

Here's just a tiny sampling of what you might find:

• special performances or albums by your favorite favorite band (mine is the Old 97s: audio, video)
• declassified CIA documents related to UFO sightings (and another 15,000,000 freely downloadable books and texts)
• fact-checked clips from TV news shows
• classic TV commercials

Definitely worth a look around!

The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine also allows you to view more than 310 million webpages saved over time. Run into a dead link? Wonder what a webpage used to look like? Pop it into the Wayback Machine!

Here's what the SCLS webpage (www.scls.lib.wi.us) looked like back in 1997:

SCLS libraries interested in looking up your page - try www.scls.lib.wi.us/<3-letter delivery code> 

 

 

 

And here's the SCLS 1997 list of internet search engines:

(remember the days before Google?)

 

 

 

More articles and resources related to Internet Archive

• NFLS "30-Minute Tuesday_ Apps For All" webinar (the section about Internet Archive begins at the 8:00min mark)
• "Hey Jude" blog post with some Internet Archive highlights
• Archive.org and the Wayback Machine: Essential Research tool for Every Educator and Student
• Never trust a corporation to do a library's job - As Google abandons its past, Internet archivists step in to save our collective memory
• More information about Internet Archive projects
• TechBits: Digitized Materials in the Nooks & Crannies of the Internet

Google now showing where to borrow ebooks

This week Google added a new feature to their search results. When you look up a book title on Google, the results will now show a listing of libraries that have the ebook version available to borrow.

The listing shows up in the “quick facts” box either above or next to the search results, depending on whether you’re on a PC or a mobile. The feature is available on both PCs and mobile devices in the US.

I did some experimenting and it appears the information is coming from OverDrive.  Clicking on the link for “Wisconsin Public Library Consortium: South Central Library System – Madiso” brought me directly to the OverDrive page for the book and prompted for a sign in. The local library name at the end of the link will change depending on where you are or if you enter a new location in the “Edit location” window.

One thing I did note is that if you’re searching for a book that also has a movie adaptation, the “quick facts” may default to the movie information, not the book.  Searching for "The Hobbit" originally returned information about the films but adding "book" after the title got me the listing above.

Libby App from OverDrive

OverDrive recently announced the launch of their new app for readers, Libby. If you're subscribed to the WPLC Announcements email list, you've already seen this message from Andi Coffin at WiLS:

Phase 1 will encourage brand new users to download Libby instead of the OverDrive app. While OverDrive users in other states will see this change in June, the WPLC has opted to push this back to August in order to give us time to prepare to properly support the new app. Phase 2, which will happen later in the fall, will begin to encourage existing users to switch to Libby. It is unknown at this time if or when support for the existing app will end.

 

If you are not using Libby, we encourage you or your library's OverDrive support providers to become acquainted with it. Even though the app won't be pushed to new users until later this year, it is already available for public download and there will likely be support requests for it soon. You can download Libby from the App Store or Google Play.

 

OverDrive is providing three webinars on Libby on May 31 and June 1. You can find information about those Staff Training opportunities as well as general information here: https://resources.overdrive.com/meet-libby/.

 

I downloaded Libby last week and it is pretty easy to use. As I learn more, I'll pass the information along to you. Happy reading!

Merging Barcodes in OverDrive Support is Here!

Yes, you read that right. We've been asking for and waiting a long time for this option in OverDrive Support. Now, instead of filling out a support request and waiting for OverDrive Support staff to merge library cards, you can do it on your own.

And, it's pretty easy. Library staff can log into OverDrive Marketplace* with their credentials and then select Support. You'll see the Merge Barcode Activity option. You'll need both of the patron barcodes - the old one and the new one - to merge the accounts. Be sure to search and review the barcodes before merging as any activity merged with the new barcode cannot be removed afterwards.

As you can see by the screenshot, it's a pretty simple process. And, our patrons won't have to wait to be able to use their new library cards - woo hoo! Enjoy!

Updated 7/30/15

A question came in about searching and reviewing the barcodes before merging that I want to address. Here's what you'll see when you enter barcodes in both fields. Any activity on the original barcode - the checkouts and holds - will be merged with the new barcode.You'll need to select each barcode before the Merge button becomes active. Then click Merge and you're all done.

Note - the authentication name is "south" for all South Central Library System patrons.

I'm sure there will be more new things coming from OverDrive soon. Next week is Digipalooza 2015, OverDrive's International  User Group meeting. Sara Gold from WiLS and I will be attending and will bring back news, updates, and more for you. Join us on August 25 at 10 a.m. for our Digipalooza 2015 Highlights webinar.

*Each library should have credentials to access OverDrive Support in OverDrive's Marketplace. Contact me if you need help accessing it or need an account.

LibraryReads and NoveList

I've written briefly about LibraryReads here before and just finished the top pick for April, At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen last week (and I agree with it being top pick). If you haven't used LibraryReads (or Edelweiss or NetGalley to access digital Advance Review Copies) yet, I highly encourage you to give it a try. 

Last week, I learned that NoveList, my favorite database, has made it much easier to find LibraryReads books by giving us several ways to find them. This post from the NoveList blog explains in much better detail than I can here. I'm adding these tips to my upcoming database training programs (contact me if you want to know more).

P.S. I'm currently reading Badlands by C.J. Box which comes out on July 28, 2015. 

OverDrive integration with Bing search engine

Raise your hand if you have ever used Bing as a search engine (instead of Google). Anyone? I hadn't used it either, but I recently tried it when I heard that OverDrive was now integrated with Bing.

If you search a book title in Bing, and the book is available through OverDrive, you'll see a link to an excerpt from OverDrive and a link to Wisconsin's Digital Library (if you are located in Wisconsin). Check it out sometime!