Harry Potter eBooks to be distributed through Maryland Digital eLibrary Consortium in April

Bestselling series available for digital library lending for first time

Pottermore, the online experience and home of the Harry Potter eBooks created by J.K. Rowling and partnered by Sony, announced today it has entered into an exclusive worldwide eBook and digital audiobook distribution agreement with OverDrive for public and school libraries.  Under the terms of the agreement, OverDrive, a leading global distributor of eBooks and digital audiobooks, will manage hosting and digital fulfillment for libraries for the Harry Potter collection of eBooks and digital audiobooks.

Through Allegany County Library System via the Maryland Digital eLibrary Consortium, OverDrive’s digital book lending service will promote to new and returning readers a popular way to access  the official  Harry Potter eBooks and digital audiobooks.  The Harry Potter series has sold over 400 million copies worldwide and is widely credited with immersing an entire generation of young readers into books and reading.  With this agreement, the seven books in the series will be available in digital formats for the first time for lending from public and school libraries.

Charlie Redmayne, Pottermore CEO, said:

“We are keen to support public and school libraries, and OverDrive, as one of the leading suppliers in this market, provides us with a global network that helps us achieve this, as well as encouraging the discovery of these amazing books across the world.”

OverDrive CEO and President Steve Potash said:

“J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is a once-a-lifetime phenomenon and has been an extremely significant catalyst for reading and literacy for current and future generations.  We are honoured to bring this beloved storytelling experience digitally to public and school libraries  worldwide.”

http://overdrive.com/News/Harry-Potter-eBooks-to-be-distributed-to-Public-and-School-Libraries-through-OverDrive

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Copies of all of the books in the series have been pre-ordered and should be available in April 2012 through the library’s website at http://maryland.lib.overdrive.com