When a visiting professor researching the life of a Victorian author writing under the name Agnes Parker informed the Lexington Public Library staff that the library had the only remaining copy of an early paperback titled "A Diary of Ten Weeks' Intimate Association With the Real Madeleine Pollard," the library staff decided to do something to make the fragile 120-year-old paperback accessible to the public. With the option of scanning and digitizing the book only possible at the expense of the book's binding, the library staff decided to create an e-book that reproduced the appearance of the book in design and layout as well as text. With know dedicated staff, and no publishing experience, the library drew on what it had to make the e-book possible.

After learning that the unstapling of "The Real Madeleine Pollard" would likely ruin pages and make rebinding impossible, the Library staff consulted its Virtual Librarian to learn about creating e-books and making them available through Overdrive. The key steps in the process were the careful typing of the manuscript, scrupulous editing, and a layout that imitated the look and arrangement of the original, in order to give the reader an experience of the e-book that as closely as possible matched that of the original book. The historian who initially informed the Library of the uniqueness of the book agreed to write a forward to the e-book, which gives the contemporary reader important context at the front. Once ready, the e-book was submitted to Overdrive and made available to Lexington Public Library cardholders. Additionally, other libraries that use Overdrive are able to make "The Real Madeleine Pollard" available as part of their local content as well.

The Real Madeleine Pollard" has only just become available on Overdrive, so it is not yet possible to gauge the extent of interest in the newly-available e-book. However, the greater outcome is the Library staff's creation of a perfected process for creating original content and making archived materials with limited public access more available as e-books. The Library plans to continue its foray into e-publishing as a way to preserve local history, provide original content to its customers, and generate excitement about the service the Lexington Public Library provides its community.