OverDrive

I love to read about companies succeeding in ‘the rust belt’.  Unfortunately it’s not an everyday (every month, year) occurrence.  More companies are packing up and leaving cities that were once manufacturing giants (Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit) than moving in.  But not OverDrive Inc.  
OverDrive is a growing company in a quickly expanding field that was founded, and remains, in Cleveland, Ohio.  OverDrive began with diskettes and CDs in the 1980s and adapted to meet the digital needs of schools, libraries and retailers. Now OverDrive distributes digital materials to libraries around the world.  They provide the interface and supply the licenses for libraries to offer downloadable ebooks, audiobooks and other digital content.  These virtual books can be downloaded onto computers, phones, ipods and book readers.  Overdrive currently provide services for 13,000 libraries, including my system in Niagara County and the New York Public Library (the websites look almost the same!).  Overdrive provides a “virtual library” environment that is customized to fit each library and handles the behind the scenes technology that makes it all work.
While I’m excited that OverDrive had a 200% increase in circulation last year, I’m a little worried about the libraries.  In USA Today, Jonathan Ellis reported that each ebook license costs significantly more than a printed book (which typically is heavily discounted for the library).  This year libraries are struggling to keep the lights on and the doors open - definitely not a good time to make major investments in new technology.  While book budgets can be redirected, you can’t get blood from a stone.  
And how about the different formats of e-readers, the Nook and Kindle are currently battling for market share and don’t support the same ebooks format (the Nook and many other e-readers use epub but the Kindle does not).  Are you old enough to remember the Beta vs. VHS battle?  I remember a video rental place we went to when I was a teenager that was divided in half to offer both types of tapes and I always worried that either way the market went they were destined to lose a lot of money.  They are certainly rolling the dice at Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis, MN.  Gail Mueller Schultz, who manages the libraries collection, reported that they went from spending $35,000 on e-books last year to $350,000 this year.  I know that will keep the patrons happy, I just hope it pays off for the library in the decades to come.