Our challenge was to provide more immediate access and availability to a wider range of titles desired by our customers. A majority of recently surveyed Sno-Isle eBook customers confirmed that while they preferred a large variety of titles, only 20 percent usually requested an item if it was not available in our OverDrive collection. Instead, a large percentage of our eBook customers turned to other sources such as Amazon. Additionally, over 85 percent of the requests we did receive through the “Request to Library” module were approved; those that were not were typically either out-of-date or didn’t meet our collection policies.

Sno-Isle Libraries and OverDrive formed a key partnership. We loaded tens of thousands of not-yet-purchased materials into our collection based on various criteria we set including publisher, publication date, and lending model. Sno-Isle customers could then immediately borrow from this selection of titles and the distinction between owned and non-owned titles was invisible to them. This eliminated barriers and wait time for many purchase requests; provided a more retail-like experience to which new and returning customers are accustomed; and more directly engaged our customers in developing an eBook collection that meets community needs and interests.

The availability of DDA titles has proven extremely popular with our customers, exceeding both Sno-Isle’s and OverDrive’s estimations. Year-to date results include an 18 percent increase in new users; a 26 percent increase in customer activity; and a 36 percent increase in checkouts. We are very excited about our improved first impression of the Sno-Isle eBook collection and expect project objectives to be met or surpassed based on customer use results experienced in the first 30 days. The resulting eBook collection will be a dynamic and collaborative representation of the diverse interests and needs of our communities.