OverDrive announced today that booksellers, libraries, and schools in its global network will soon have access to DRM-free eBook titles from O’Reilly Media. The publisher’s entire eBook catalog will be available to OverDrive’s channel partners, including those in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and dozens of other territories worldwide. Bestselling eBooks on computer technologies available through the distribution agreement will include: “iPad 2: The Missing Manual, Second Edition,” “Head First Java, Second Edition,” and “Windows 7:Up & Running,” as well as O’Reilly’s legendary ‘animal books’ like “Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript.”

http://www.overdrive.com/News/getArticle.aspx?newsArticleID=20110621

---

It looks like OverDrive is trying to undo all that bad press it got with the HarperCollins loan cap. First they announced a partnership with Amazon to offer proprietary Kindle e-books and now this. It’s all actually part of a larger campaign called OverDrive WIN <http://overdrive.com/news/getArticle.aspx?newsArticleID=20110615>. Fun times.

—Allie

OverDrive announced today that booksellers, libraries, and schools in its global network will soon have access to DRM-free eBook titles from O’Reilly Media. The publisher’s entire eBook catalog will be available to OverDrive’s channel partners, including those in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and dozens of other territories worldwide. Bestselling eBooks on computer technologies available through the distribution agreement will include: “iPad 2: The Missing Manual, Second Edition,” “Head First Java, Second Edition,” and “Windows 7:Up & Running,” as well as O’Reilly’s legendary ‘animal books’ like “Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript.”

http://www.overdrive.com/News/getArticle.aspx?newsArticleID=20110621

---

It looks like OverDrive is trying to undo all that bad press it got with the HarperCollins loan cap. First they announced a partnership with Amazon to offer proprietary Kindle e-books and now this. It’s all actually part of a larger campaign called OverDrive WIN <http://overdrive.com/news/getArticle.aspx?newsArticleID=20110615>. Fun times.

—Allie

[Jane Brodsky Fitzpatrick]

Except for this development with Overdrive, from Library Journal:
Kansas State Librarian Goes Eyeball to Eyeball with OverDrive in Contract Talks
http://bit.ly/gjed4B

[Alevtina Verbovetskaya (she/her)]

More DRM-free ebooks coming to OverDrive:

http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/07/06/drm-free-ebooks-are-now-available-to-libraries/

I wonder how (or if) users’ experiences will be different with DRM-free books. All it will mean on their end, probably, is being able to copy and print text. On our end, it will mean (ideally) free updates and actual ownership of the books.