OverDrive announced a new integration with Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, allowing academic institutions to seamlessly discover OverDrive ebooks and audiobooks within the Alma and Primo library services platforms. This integration, highly requested by academic institutions, simplifies access to OverDrive’s extensive collection of digital content, offering a powerful solution to enhance discovery for students, faculty, and researchers.
“Academic libraries have been asking for a streamlined way to integrate OverDrive’s resources into their existing workflows, and we’re thrilled to partner with Ex Libris to make this possible,” said Steven Rosato, Senior Manager, Academic & Professional, at OverDrive. “This integration aligns with our mission to support educational institutions by making it easier than ever for students and faculty to access the digital resources they need.”
Through this integration, Ex Libris has added OverDrive’s MARC record feed directly into their “Community Zone,” allowing libraries using Alma and Primo to easily activate OverDrive content within the institution’s “Institution Zone.” OverDrive sends a regular feed of MARC records to Ex Libris, updating the catalog with titles currently owned by mutual customers. Users can discover OverDrive titles in Primo and are directed to their institution’s OverDrive platform, such as Libby or Sora to borrow and enjoy the content.
“We are excited to partner with OverDrive to integrate their metadata into Alma’s Community Zone,” notes Tamar Ganor, Content Product Manager, Ex Libris. “Through dedicated work from OverDrive and Ex Libris teams, we can improve the user experience and support library needs in activating and managing e-resources.”
This integration enhances access to digital content for students and faculty, helping academic institutions seamlessly incorporate OverDrive’s digital resources into their library services. While the integration currently supports ebooks and audiobooks, plans for expanded content offerings, such as films and television shows via Kanopy and magazines, are being explored for the future. This collection will also be available for SFX and 360 customers, and will be added to the Central Discovery Index by the end of 2024.
Academic professionals attending the Charleston Conference are invited to connect with OverDrive’s team to learn more about this integration and the impact it can have on their institution’s digital content strategy.
The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States.
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
- American Consortium for Equity in Educationhttps://ace-ed.org/author/admin/
