Overdrive and MP3s: Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

Yoy and double yoy! My major Midwest library got the word today: iTunes and Overdrive just don't play nicely together. iTune's auto synch function must be disabled to successfully download MP3s onto an iPod.

Now I face a stark decision: do I manually synch my iPod from this day forward, or do I give up on my library's creamy MP3 goodness? It's the most important decision in my lifetime... with the possible exception of Obama v. McCain. OK, maybe not that important. But I gotta play around with it for a while so I can explain it clearly to customers.

Overdrive MP3s Arrive

On Monday 11/10/2008 moldi.org, the Overdrive Web site for a consortium of libraries in central Ohio, will add 177 audiobooks in the DRM-free MP3 format. At last! iPod compatible audio!

I'll be at Main Library's Overdrive download station bright and early to load up my trusty 5th gen 80GB iPod. Many of the initial MP3s we purchased are classics (read: public domain) of literature. I plan to download Das Kapital in honor of the commie socialist Barak Obama's decisive victory over the mud-slinging mavericks.

I haven't dipped into Marx since my college days. When I crank up the Sennheisers, comrades, I'll either wax nostalgic or drop off to sleep. Or both.

Thing #22: MOLDI

So, is MOLDI the worst acronym in the history of the universe or what!? I cringe every time I say to a customer, "let's visit the MOLDI Web site..."

Whew! I feel so much better now.

There are some problems with MOLDI. It's not the content - we have lots of content, although many publishers have exclusive deals with competing services and we'll never see their material.

Mainly, the problem is that the site is sooo Windows - it takes 10 screens to get to the download now button. The help pages are even more difficult; don't believe me? I dare you to read the entire Help - Troubleshooting - Adobe PDF eBooks page without flinching.

What I believe our customers want is a Geico experience: so easy even a caveman can do it. I understand OverDrive is working to improve the user experience. Good for them!

Of course those MP3 audiobook files are coming soon and, coupled with the promised Media Console for the Mac, many more customers will have access to our eServices. If we communicate the news appropriately, our digital checkouts could rise pretty dramatically. It's all about having the right tools and the right technology!

I gaze skyward and yearn for that glorious day when all files are DRM-free and play on all devices. And yes, I am familiar with the phrase "when hell freezes over".

OverDrive's Going Mo-bile

Check out this August 11 PW article on the OverDrive Digital Bookmobile's kickoff at NYPL. This baby's a digital sandbox on wheels.

There's good news for users of that little Apple music player you may have heard about. Bookmobile visitors were treated to:

... demonstrations of how to download for free its ebooks, audiobooks, music, and video titles onto various mobile devices—including, in the case of the 3000 MP3 audiobook titles OverDrive introduced to its catalog of 20,000 WMA files in June, the iPod.

OverDrive modestly set out to create THE digital content distribution model for libraries. Their commitment to the MWA format for audios kept libraries from penetrating the huge iPod customer base, which must have limited OverDrive's file sales. By adding iPod-compatible files, OverDrive may be on its way to intergalactic domination. It's gonna take a big dog to knock them off their pedestal.

I want my - I want my - I want my MP3s.