Sincerely,
Shannon Mangan
Partner Services

Team OverDrive and library partners will meet at this year's ALA Conference in Washington, D.C., June 23-26, Booth #617. Download the schedule today and print to bring to ALA or forward to your associates who are attending. The following sessions will be presented:

Visitors will also have a chance to win an MP3 player every half hour as part of the series. Device winners and those interested in seeing download in action are encouraged to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, where ALA attendees can use the OverDrive Download Station to download and transfer audio books from the DC Public Library digital site.

Our team will also host the DC Digipalooza party for library and publisher partners on Sunday, June 24 at the DC Public Library, while enjoying drinks, food, giveaways and live music from Alligator Records' artist Lil' Ed & the Imperials, Blues Band of the Year.

On February 28, Spokane County Library District staff gathered for an OverDrive launch party and celebrated with toy bottles of champagne opening over a wood boat. David Girshick, Technical Services Coordinator, ceremonially smashed a cassette tape (already damaged) as they moved into the world of digital media.

"It's important to get staff on board before promoting it to the pubic," stated Beth Gillespie, Communications Specialist. "We knew with a fun launch party, our staff would be anxious to get this service up and running."

SCLD currently offers the OverDrive Audio Book format and opened with a collection of almost 1,000 unique titles. In just three short months, the collection has gained about 300 additional titles and is climbing quickly up the circulation ladder with nearly 1,000 checkouts per month.

"What we have found most surprising is how well our Maximum Access titles are circulating," said Andrea Sharps, Collection Services Manager. "Our 50 Max Access titles represent fewer than 5 percent of our collection but has accounted for 20 percent of the checkouts." Of the top 10 titles in Spokane's digital catalog, nine are Max Access.

SCLD's strong start is particularly due to staff involvement, a diverse collection, and excellent promotion. A story ran on the front page of the Northwest section in the Spokesman Review, the primary newspaper, and the library's website spotlighted the service on the homepage for three months since their launch. Community outreach extended to displays and distribution of promotional materials at all 10 library branches, local businesses, Starbucks, Chambers of Commerce events, colleges, medical waiting rooms, and fitness clubs.

"Our customers have had very few problems," commented Sharps. "The 24/7 access from anywhere is convenient for everyone."

OverDrive library partners can now upload local digital video, eBooks, and audio and share it with library patrons, and also the OverDrive network of more than 5,000 libraries. And it's all free!

Community Reserve has nearly 150 digital titles, including 130 "Expanded Books" videos, and content supplied by libraries like Rochester Public Library, Denver Public Library, and Cleveland Public Library.

Cleveland is the first to offer Community Reserve. To view their collection, click here.

"Adding digital media from Community Reserve to our collection was fast and easy, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to offer more quality download titles for free," said Cynthia Orr, Collection Development Manager for Cleveland Public Library.

In 2006, Rochester received a grant to educate Somali immigrants on library services, and produced a documentary on the experience, "Ku soo dhawoow maktabadaada". Rochester also uploaded local youth film contest winners and these titles are available to card holders to check out from their digital library site, http://digital.rochesterpubliclibrary.org.

Denver Public Library uploaded the documentary, "Student Voices: Teen Suicide", created to educate today's youth on the reality of teen suicide, following the tragedy at Columbine High School.

If your library has digital content, you can begin uploading today. This shared network is a great way to expand your collection, and also recognize talent in your community. To learn more, visit http://www.overdrive.com/products/dlr/communityreserve.asp.

Staff knowledge is the key to promoting your digital collection. OverDrive has an experienced and energetic training team that is available to answer all your questions and provide the information you need to assist users. We would like to welcome Annie Denison (pictured) and Megan Stack to our team.

Your library may take advantage of all our course offerings at no additional cost:

Marketplace: Learn how to use the new collection development interface that offers the ease and speed of an online bookstore.
Digital Library 101: A customized session dedicated to using your digital library; beneficial for any staff providing assistance to patrons.
Reports: Learn how to use the real-time reports available in Content Reserve to track circulation and make informed purchases.
Support/Troubleshooting: A session that covers the common support resources and issues for staff and patrons.

If you would like to schedule training sessions for your staff, please contact the account coordinator at your library so they can contact your OverDrive Project Manager.

Listen your cares away with the new Creative ZEN Stone. The compact, lightweight 1GB player comes in six vibrant colors and is perfect for any person on the go, fitting in even the smallest pocket.

The Stone works great with OverDrive Audio Books and Music and will play back up to 10 hours of continuous skip-free audio with premium sound quality. You can view more about the Stone here.

Large control functions make navigation quick and simple. Although the device does not offer a screen, an LED indicator will display battery life, playback, and charging status. It also features user-friendly plug-in-play capability, which allows for quick file transfers using the OverDrive Media Console Transfer Wizard.

The Stone may be small, but it packs a punch in value; available for just $39.99 (MSRP).

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This festival favorite is a story about 7 year old Zachary, a lovable adopted child on his way out of the orphanage. Zachary is 7 going on 30, his humorous performance shows he is very particular in how he dresses, fixes his hair and explains the importance of brushing your teeth daily.

Simultaneously, a story of an adult version of Zachary is occurring whose routine reflects the 7 year old. It is unclear if this person is an adult version of Zachary or his soon-to-be father.

The touching story unfolds and young Zachary finally gets the family that he always wanted and deserved. I highly recommend this video, it is short (only 9 minutes), charming and has a happy ending!

If you like this video short I would also recommend "How to Make Friends" and "One Dollar Difference" both from Nano Networks.

"My name is John Tyree. I was born in 1977, and I grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina .."

This is the opening of 'Dear John' by Nicholas Sparks, and as luck would have it I was traveling to Wilmington to meet with members of the North Carolina Digital Library consortium at the same time I was reading this eBook!

In 'Dear John' . John Tyree drops out of school and enlists in the Army. The Army is a good fit for John. He thinks he has finally found that something that will give his life meaning. That is until he meets the girl of this dreams, Savannah. Then John must return to his tour of duty, and while he is away Savannah writes nearly every day. Their love seems to grow with every letter. When finally they can see the end of John's tour and the beginning of their life together, 9/11 changes everything.

That was just a few weeks ago, and since then I've finished 'Dear John'. And I'm nearly finished with 'At First Sight', another Sparks novel. I've been a fan of Nicholas Sparks since I first picked up 'The Notebook' (on a whim) at an airport bookstore over 10 years ago.

This is the first time I've read Sparks in eBook format. I look forward to reading a few chapters on my laptop before bed . often saying to myself "just a few more pages" into the wee hours of the morning. That's probably why my voice sounds the way it does for morning trainings!

I am crazy about how Sparks' stories come to life. His characters show us that love is never easy, and it is absolutely worth everything.

Would you like to add these titles to your collection? Visit Content Reserve or contact Karen Potash, Collection Development Assistant, kpotash@overdrive.com.