The Scenic Regional Library system will once again offer a previous e-book platform, Overdrive, that had been discontinued last year.Late last year the library switched to the Cloud Library, however, following a number of complaints, patrons will again be able to access Overdrive beginning Feb. 1.In 2007, Scenic Regional Library began offering e-audiobooks and e-books through a platform called Overdrive and usage grew steadily over the next several years.According to Scenic Regional Director Steve Campbell usage grew, but the library received complaints about Overdrive’s usability. However there were no other legitimate alternatives for libraries.He said the change impacts the entire library system, as well as the Washington Public Library, whose cardholders also have access to Scenic Regional Library’s e-resources under the two libraries’ cooperative service agreement. The Washington Public Library does not offer their own e-books, e-audiobooks, or digital content.While the purpose of the move to Cloud Library was to improve usability, many perceived the change as a reduction of services, Campbell said.“They thought it was some kind of budget-cut situation. We were trying to make things better and instead, people felt like we were cutting services. Our budget is fine. It’s been frustrating,” he said.Platform SwitchCampbell said the Cloud Library existed several years ago, but the variety of titles available for purchase through the platform didn’t rival Overdrive.In the fall of 2016, Campbell said, library staff tested Cloud Library on various mobile devices, they thought that it was easier to use than Overdrive. In addition, 95 percent of the titles available through Overdrive could be purchased for Cloud Library; Cloud Library also had titles unavailable through Overdrive.In December, the library system changed from Overdrive to Cloud Library as its main platform for e-books and e-audiobooks.Campbell told The Missourian that the library staff immediately began to receive complaints from unhappy e-book and e-audiobook users. Initially, some of the issues involved logging into Cloud Library and were quickly resolved.However, there were a rapidly growing number of complaints from people with Kindle Paperwhites and MP3 players, he added.“Whenever you move to something new, it’s going to be rocky at first. We expected that. People were having problems downloading the app, or logging in. We were able to resolve all those issues. But we couldn’t fix the problem people with Kindle Paperwhites and MP3 players were having,” Campbell said. “Those devices just don’t work with Cloud Library.”When the library’s statistics for December 2016 were pulled, it showed that e-book and e-audiobook usage had plummeted 50 percent from the previous month. While the library didn’t want to divide its annual e-book and e-audiobook budget between two platforms, it ultimately decided to bring Overdrive back to accommodate Kindle and MP3 player users.“When we saw such a big drop in usage the first month, we knew that we had to do something. The last thing we want to do is cut off access for people,” said Campbell.Rise of E-booksAfter the library’s tax increase in 2014, the library tripled its annual e-book and e-audiobook budget from $33,000 to $100,000, which further buoyed usage.Campbell said that in 2015-2016, there were 91,865 e-books, e-audiobooks, and other digital items, including music, magazines and video, that were downloaded or streamed — an increase of 83 percent from the previous year. Digital usage now represents over 20 percent of the library’s total checkouts.Prior to the move to Cloud Library, the library launched another e-audiobook service, OneClickDigital. The product offers 5,000 adult and 1,500 children’s e-audiobook titles, most of which can be used with MP3 players. OneClickDigital also allows simultaneous use, meaning a title can be checked out by multiple users at the same time—a feature that neither Overdrive nor Cloud Library offer. The only drawback to OneClickDigital is that there are only 50 new e-audiobook titles added to the collection each quarter. Unfortunately, the addition did not appear to satisfy the library’s MP3 player users.“We thought that OneClickDigital would make MP3 player users happy after we moved to Cloud Library, but it didn’t work for some reason,” said Campbell. “It’s (OneClickDigital) still a great product. We’re keeping it. People are using it more and more.”Two OptionsCampbell explained that Overdrive is a “platform” that doesn’t automatically contain content, but is an access point.Over the past 10 years, the library purchased all the e-book and e-audiobook titles individually to fill the platform with content. When the move to Cloud Library occurred, the library moved its 3,500 e-audiobook titles and 7,200 e-book titles from Overdrive to the new platform. These titles will remain in Cloud Library because transferring electronic titles between platforms is not a simple process, Campbell said.“The library is still under contract with Cloud Library and will continue to offer the platform, which it still considers easier to use than Overdrive for many devices,” Campbell said. As a result, he added, library users returning to Overdrive on Feb. 1 will notice a far smaller selection of titles. However, the library has purchased approximately 400 new titles for Overdrive prior to the re-launch and will continue to rebuild the collection each month. Several hundred additional titles which could not be transferred to Cloud Library originally due to copyright issues will also re-appear in Overdrive.“I’m not going to call it (Cloud Library) a mistake. I still think Cloud Library is easier to use than Overdrive on iPads, iPhones, and some other devices,” Campbell said. “That’s why we’re keeping it.“But we want to make our patrons happy and show them that we listen,” he added. “The mistake was probably not offering them both from the beginning.”Scenic Regional Library