Library2Go update - changes for ebooks published by Penguin

Last week, the publisher Penguin announced that they were terminating their contract with OverDrive. OverDrive is the vendor of the service that powers Oregon's Library2Go website for ebook downloads.

This means a couple of changes for users of Library2Go.

1. There will be no new Penguin titles available in Library2Go, due to Penguin ending their contract with OverDrive.
2. Existing Penguin titles in Library2Go will remain. However, the Kindle formatted Penguin titles will only transfer to a Kindle device via USB. Transfer over wifi is no longer available for Penguin titles.

For details on #2 - that is, how you can access existing Penguin titles in Library2Go if you have a Kindle, or use a Kindle reading app, check out the information we posted on our Library2Go help page.

If you have a Nook, iPad, Android tablet, or other device compatible with the OverDrive Media Console app, you can continue to read ebooks as usual, by choosing the EPUB version of the book at checkout. Find step-by-step help guides for the OverDrive app for iOS devices here, and for Android devices here.

The larger issue of publishers, ebooks and libraries is complex, to say the least. If you are interested in learning more about the current issues in the publishing industry and the library world with regards to ebooks, here are some articles you may find interesting.

From the LA Times' Jacket Copy: Why can't you borrow that Penguin e-book from the library? by Carolyn Kellogg

From Library Journal's Digital Shift: Penguin Group Terminating Its Contract with OverDrive by Michael Kelley

A December article from the New York Times: Publishers vs. Libraries: An E-Book Tug of War by Randall Stross

*Image credit: Kindle by ...-Wink-... on Flickr