TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for the ‘Overdrive’ Category

By Paul Biba

Here’s a thoughtful article by Paul Graham, an essayist and programmer. Thanks to Douglas Brebner for the link. His distinction between the medium and the content is a a useful one and one that I don’t think many people have been thinking about.

Publishers of all types, from news to music, are unhappy that consumers won’t pay for content anymore. At least, that’s how they see it.

In fact consumers never really were paying for content, and publishers weren’t really selling it either. If the content was what they were selling, why has the price of books or music or movies always depended mostly on the format? Why didn’t better content cost more? …

Almost every form of publishing has been organized as if the medium was what they were selling, and the content was irrelevant. Book publishers, for example, set prices based on the cost of producing and distributing books. They treat the words printed in the book the same way a textile manufacturer treats the patterns printed on its fabrics.

Economically, the print media are in the business of marking up paper. We can all imagine an old-style editor getting a scoop and saying “this will sell a lot of papers!” Cross out that final S and you’re describing their business model. The reason they make less money now is that people don’t need as much paper. …

The reason I’ve been writing about existing forms is that I don’t know what new forms will appear. But though I can’t predict specific winners, I can offer a recipe for recognizing them. When you see something that’s taking advantage of new technology to give people something they want that they couldn’t have before, you’re probably looking at a winner. And when you see something that’s merely reacting to new technology in an attempt to preserve some existing source of revenue, you’re probably looking at a loser.

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By Paul Biba

After attending the Sony press conference, and hearing all the talk about getting e-books from libraries, I decided to try it for myself. It seems like a great way to read some bestsellers that I certainly don’t want to buy. It’s not easy, however.

My local library here in Bernardsville, New Jersey, only has audio books available. It doesn’t even know that you could get e-books from some libraries! The Bernardsville library told me it dropped Overdrive a couple of years ago. No luck there, and none of the libraries that Bernardsville affiliates with have ebooks.

So, using the Sony library finder I went to the Somerset County library system. Bernardsville is in Somerset County, so I thought I had it made. Not! The Bernardsville Library, in Bernardsville, Somerset County, is not part of the Somerset County library system. That didn’t work. This week I guess I’ll try to go to a library that is part of the system and see if I can get a card. My own library tells me that I probably can’t. I called some of the other New Jersey libraries mentioned in the Finder but was told "residents only".

How about New York, which is the closest other system the library finder mentions. Well, you can only get a 3 month card if you live out of state. Not very practical for me.

Library e-books on my Sony Reader? Looks like it’s not for me.

By Paul Biba

A new OverDrive app will let you download audiobooks from libraries or e-stores directly to your Windows Mobile device.

Looking at the OverDrive site, you can find the link to the Windows Mobile application on the right hand side of the page, under the Windows Mobile category. Unfortunately the page gives no information about the application itself.  Also, Windows Mobile is rapidly losing its already small market share to Symbian and the iPhone, so hopefully OverDrive will come out with something for the majority of the market. Here’s a slightly edited excerpt from an OverDrive news release:

OverDrive…announced the release of the first in a series of free digital book applications for mobile devices. OverDrive® Media Console™ for Windows Mobile® enables users with Windows Mobile phones to wirelessly download audiobooks, music, and video to their devices and play the titles with the same superior navigation features of OverDrive’s desktop software. To view a list of supported devices including Sprint Palm Treo™, AT&T Samsung Jack™, and Verizon HTC Touch Pro™, go here.

By Paul Biba

Here is Overdrives list of most download ebooks for last month. I’ve only included the Adult Fiction category, but you can find all the others here. The full listing includes audiobooks and juvenile books.

Download eBooks – Adult Fiction

1. Devil in Winter, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

2. Vision In White, by Nora Roberts (Penguin USA, Inc.)

3. Again the Magic, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

4. Because You’re Mine, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

5. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho (HarperCollins)

6. Worth Any Price, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

7. Suddenly You, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

8. Dreaming of You, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

9. Brighter Than the Sun, by Julia Quinn (HarperCollins)

10. All About Passion, by Stephanie Laurens (HarperCollins)

Thanks to ResourceShelf for the link.

By David Rothman

The $199 Sony Pocket Edition, aka the PRS-300 e-reader, gets a big knock from Mike Cane, who briefly tested one at a New York store.

From the page-changing speed to the “nauseating, vulgar pink” of the unit he tried, Mike wasn’t happy, at least not for the most part.

Sampled a PRS-300 yourself—whatever the color? Share your thoughts. No, the photo to the left isn’t of the reader that Mike tested and hated.

Related: Mike’s observations on borrowing e-books from the New York Public Library, which, like many, uses the OverDrive service. Agree or not?

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By David Rothman

The big gorilla among e-book suppliers for public libraries is OverDrive, providing more than 100,000 titles to 8,500 libraries in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere—including such major institutions as the New York Public Library. Why?

“Library partners cite OverDrive’s provision of a locally branded-portal to manage their eBooks, audio books, music, and video,” says an IFLA survey of interest to library fans, publishers, libraries and tech companies. The survey covers a bunch of topics, but this one leapt out at me.

“Publishers and other copyright holders report confidence in OverDrive’s secure DRM-content protection and user authentication via library card log-ins,” says the survey. “Public library collection development staff cite download software that will allow patrons to access quality collections assembled by local collection development librarians while leveraging the new found portability of audio books, music, and video for 24/7 access.” Ahead are my thoughts—from a user perspective—on OverDrive’s pros and cons and its future.

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By David Rothman

Robert Kingett, a witty, gifted writer in Florida, just happens to be a high school student who can barely see.

Tomorrow in the TeleRead blog, he’ll share with us his own personal PDF hell, as well as a partial solution. I invite our friends at Adobe to reply if they’d like. Yes, I know—some of the problem is with the publishers who format and misformat Robert’s e-books. Meanwhile I can at least take heart in Adobe’s advocacy of the reflowable ePub format, which is much, much friendlier to the world’s Kingetts. Perhaps Robert’s words will inspire publishers, retailers and librarians to speed up the switch from PDF to ePub. Hello, OverDrive. I especially hope you’ll pay attention, as a major provider of e-books for public libraries.

Kingett on the Kindle

In the near future, Robert also will be writing up the Kindle. I hope that our readers over at Amazon will pay attention. You really should be willing to go to court if need to be safeguard your customers’ enjoyment of text to speech. It’s not very good PR to knuckle under to publishers and writers’ assault on fair use and accessibility for disabled people. Ideally Robert’s observations will make it worse PR. Hey, guys, read Robert, then do the right thing. Robert’s review, by the way, will cover much more than just the issue of TTS. He is not the biggest fan of the current E Ink, and he’ll explain why. That’s something to ponder amid cries for “A Kindle in every backpack.”

By Paul Biba

Received the following email:

Hi Paul,
I write for a site called ChamberFour.com, and I recently did an interview with a librarian at the Seattle Public Library about ebooks, libraries and the OverDrive catalog. I thought it might be interesting to you and your readers. The post is up here: http://chamberfour.com/2009/06/25/interview-with-a-librarian/

Nico Vreeland

It is always interesting to hear something from a librarian’s perspective. We don’t get enough postings on library matters here. I guess I now have another site to add to my RSS feeds.

By Paul Biba

Here’s part of a press release I received from OverDrive.

OverDrive (www.overdrive.com) today announced that digital audiobook catalogs from leading publishers will be compatible with iPod® and other Apple® devices after a simple upgrade of OverDrive’s free, easy-to-use audiobook software. Starting in mid-June, millions of new and existing users with Windows® PCs will be able to install OverDrive Media Console version 3.2 with enhanced transfer functionality for iPod, iPhone™, iPod touch®, and iPod nano®, as well as Zune® and thousands of other portable devices. Participating publishers include Random House Audio, Hachette Audio, Penguin Audio, BBC Audiobooks America, Brilliance Audio, Tantor Media, and many more.
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By Paul Biba

From a press release received from Overdrive:

With the success of EPUB eBook stores at Waterstone’s and WHSmith, as well as the growing adoption of digital book downloading at UK libraries, OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global distributor of eBooks, audiobooks and more, continues to develop new opportunities for publishers in the United Kingdom. Publishers offering EPUB eBooks in the UK through OverDrive include Random House, Hachette Livre, Harlequin Mills and Boon, Penguin, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, and other major publishers. OverDrive also recently signed an agreement with BBC Audiobooks to make digital audiobook titles available to libraries in the United Kingdom and other territories, complementing the thousands of audiobooks and eBooks already available to UK libraries.

Drawing on this successful entry into the UK market, OverDrive will participate in a seminar on digital reading and the industry standard EPUB eBook format at the London Book Fair. OverDrive CEO Steve Potash will join representatives from Sony, Penguin UK, and Waterstone’s for the Sony-sponsored seminar, “Introducing the Dedicated Digital Reading Device to the UK Consumer.” The session takes place on Monday, April 20, 2009 at Earls Court One, Level 1, Cromwell Room. For more information, visit http://www.londonbookfair.com/sonyseminar.

By Paul Biba

Here part of Overdrive’s Most Downloaded list for March. If you follow the link you will also see Juvenile Fiction and Nonfiction, as well as audiobooks.

Download eBooks – Adult Fiction

1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski (HarperCollins)

2. Devil in Winter, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

3. Again the Magic, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

4. Devil’s Bride, by Stephanie Laurens (HarperCollins)

5. Dreaming of You, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

6. All About Passion, by Stephanie Laurens (HarperCollins)

7. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)

8. Because You’re Mine, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

9. It Happened One Autumn, by Lisa Kleypas (HarperCollins)

10. Brighter Than the Sun, by Julia Quinn (HarperCollins)
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By Paul Biba

A Google-Sony partnership is now bringing 500,000 of Google’s public domain books to the Sony Reader as well as PC desktops and laptops—in ePub format.

David Rothman and I learned of the deal in a half hour interview Tuesday with Steve Haber, President of Sony’s Digital Reading Division, and Jennie Johnson, a spokesperson for Google.

A new "store" was added to the Sony library software, effective 9 p.m. Pacific Time yesterday. It will let Sony Reader owners download the 500,000 public domain e-books to their libraries, and their Readers, at no charge. And non-Reader owners, including Kindle owners with the right conversion software for ePub, can also benefit. This is only a part of Google’s library of 1.5 million books, but Google is working to add the rest of the books to this program. Google and Sony did not give a time frame for completion of this project.

No, you don’t have to own a Sony Reader to enjoy the new ePub library created by Google. David successfully downloaded an ePub copy of Will Warburton, the George Gissing novel, to his HP desktop after using a different mailbox for registration from one he had when he owned a PRS-505. The partial screen shot shows the book as viewed on free Sony software that PC owners can download and use. Plus, you can see the file in Adobe Digital Editions, if it’s on your desktop or laptop, by clicking on the "external viewer" option within the Sony reading program.

Viewable with any ePub reader—and fodder for conversion to Kindle

The related ePub file are not encrypted, so any ePub-capable software should work, as will the Calibre library management and file conversion program, meaning that e-book-smart people could change the ePub books into a variety of formats for nonSony handhelds, even Kindles via Calibre.

For now, at least, as best David can determine, an ePub version is not reachable directly from Google’s listing for Willburton. That would be a still-more open approach. But this week’s moves are still very welcome news. The Sony software is only for PCs, not Macs, but Sony intends to address that issue. Will we see a version for Linux desktops and laptops, too, someday?

Sony’s apparent intent, meanwhile, beyond adding value to the Reader, will be to use public domain books in ePub to entice people to install its software and in time buy its reader devices.

In the exclusive TeleRead interview, Steve emphasized that this program is part of Sony’s commitment to an open platform, as opposed to the closed platform of its major competitor (hint, hint, the name starts with an A). The ePub conversion is being done by Google itself, as noted; and Sony and Google are exploring ways to make copyrighted ePub material available.

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By Chris Meadows

I hope TeleReaders will forgive the preponderance of Kindle stories this morning, but it is a pretty newsworthy event in the e-book world. (And besides, David has made two Kindle posts to my one, and I need to catch up!)

Did you know that the expressions “the writing on the wall” and “days are numbered” come from the same Biblical incident? When King Belshazzar of the Persians committed sacrilege, a disembodied hand appeared and wrote on the wall, and the prophet Daniel interpreted the words to mean that God had numbered the remaining days of the Persian kingdom.

I fear that Amazon’s recent actions with its Kindle reader mean that the encrypted Mobipocket format’s days are also numbered.

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By Paul Biba

OverDrive, a distributor of audiobooks and eBooks to libraries, schools, and retailers, today announced the ‘Most Downloaded Books from the Library’ for January 2009. Audiobook and eBook titles by Stephenie Meyer, James Patterson, Barack Obama, Lisa Kleypas, and Malcolm Gladwell were among the most popular downloads from OverDrive-powered libraries last month. John Grisham’s “The Associate” and Janet Evanovich’s “Plum Spooky” also appeared on the monthly Most Downloaded fiction audiobooks list for the first time.

You can find the lists here.

By Chris Meadows

In a press release David forwarded me today, OverDrive has announced it is partnering with a number of publishers to sell books in the ePub format. These publishers include Random House, Hachette, Pan MacMillan, Penguin, and others. (The press release in its entirety follows the jump.)

While anything that increases the adoption of ePub as an industry standard is a good thing, it should be remembered that OverDrive is the firm that chose to end its partnership to provide books to Fictionwise, leaving many e-book-owning customers high and dry but for Fictionwise’s actions in negotiating with publishers to provide replacements.

(And Hachette, who is listed as a partner, caused some controversy by pulling its titles from distribution as well.)

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By Paul Biba

He starts out: Confession time. I was wrong about reading ebooks on the iPhone.

The article then goes on to discuss what Apple would have to put into place to do sell books on iTunes. Interestingly, one the things he finds that might discourage Apple is Overdrive’s recent actions:

A source of books. This almost goes without saying, but before Apple can begin selling ebooks, they�ll need a source of books. Apple can either negotiate with individual publishers to acquire a license to sell ebooks, or they might source the books from a third party like Overdrive. The same Overdrive that recently cut-off hundreds of thousands of titles in a dispute with Fictionwise earlier this month. That�s the sort of business practice that probably won�t inspire a lot of confidence on the part of Apple.

By Paul Biba

Editor’s note: Please be sure to read Fictionwise’s long and thoughtful comment on this post after you finish the main text.

“Fictionwise obtains "feeds" of eBooks from several different content aggregators, and these aggregators use their servers to deliver encrypted files to our customers. One of these aggregators recently gave Fictionwise notice that they would cease serving files to Fictionwise customers as of January 31, 2009."

So says a notice I received from Fictionwise. We are all aware that OverDrive pulled its services from Fictionwise leaving thousands of readers, if not tens of thousands of readers, without the ability to read their DRMed Mobipocket books. Luckily, Fictionwise, being the responsible company that it is, went to great lengths to make alternative formats available to readers who had been harmed by OverDrive’s actions.

Not all readers made whole

However, not all readers were made whole. For example, I still have one book in Mobipocket format that seemingly won’t be converted to eReader. And what about all those readers that run on a Symbian platform? After all, Symbian is the most popular mobile OS in the world. There is currently no eReader program available for most of the Symbian platforms.

Now you probably could not bring an action against Fictionwise because by using them you agreed to the company’s terms of service. But I wonder about OverDrive. As a DRM provider OverDrive clearly understand that the end user is at its mercy. It could be argued that OverDrive undertook to deprive the reader, in this case a third party beneficiary, of that reader’s ability to make use of the book the reader had bought. Does OverDrive have an obligation to the reader in a case like this? Overdrive is a content provider, as well as a DRM provider. Could it have mitigated the loss to Fictionwise’s customers by serving the MobiPocket books directly to the customers it had cut off? I don’t know, but it seems to be at least theoretically possible. There’s a lot about the DRM system, and the end customers’ rights, that is still unclear; and maybe it should be litigated to lift some of the fog.

Lawsuit an intriguing possibility if facts justify it

As a lawyer I find this an intriguing possibility, but I am not a class action, or a third party beneficiary, specialist. What does our readership think? Any experts out there?