OverDrive Establishes Australia Office to Propel International Growth

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--(Marketwire - Jul 9, 2012) - Australian Library and Information Association Conference - OverDrive, the leading global distributor of eBooks and audiobooks to libraries, schools and retailers, is accelerating its growth with the opening of a new office in Melbourne, Australia. OverDrive Australia supports the company's ongoing effort to deepen its relationships with library, publisher and bookseller partners in Australia, New Zealand and throughout the Asia Pacific region. At the Australian Library and Information Association Conference (Booth 24) in Sydney, July 10-13, OverDrive will introduce its new team members and showcase Next Generation services that enable instant access to eBooks and audiobooks, rich integration of digital content and a streamlined user experience.

OverDrive Australia will provide enhanced service and valuable new channels for the digital distributor's partners in the region, including those of Booki.sh, the Australian eBook company acquired in March. OverDrive currently serves more than 100 libraries and schools in Australia and New Zealand -- including Auckland City Libraries, University of Technology Sydney, and Brisbane Catholic Education -- and the Melbourne office will provide local, personalized training and tech support. Dozens of Australian publisher partners -- such as New Holland Publishers, Text Publishing Company and NewSouth Books -- will benefit from increased exposure throughout OverDrive's network of libraries, schools and booksellers, including Adelaide-based Booku and Melbourne-based Readings. OverDrive is also working with authorized reseller Softlink to expand its digital content services for schools in Australia.

The Melbourne office will provide a hub for broadening relationships throughout the Asia Pacific region. OverDrive currently hosts "virtual libraries" in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, and partnerships with publishers like Cloudary in China and Kodansha in Japan enrich OverDrive's catalog with popular content for readers in Asia and beyond.

Peter Haasz manages business development for OverDrive Australia and has been working alongside the Australia-based engineering team to integrate HTML5 technology into the recently announced browser-based eReading platform OverDrive Read. "With OverDrive Australia, we have an established and growing team, and we're collaborating with our colleagues in the U.S. to launch our Next Generation digital library platform," says Haasz. "Moving forward, we'll be adding new positions in order to serve more and more partners throughout the region."

According to OverDrive's vice president of international sales, Claudia Weissman, the Melbourne office plays a vital role in the company's strategic plans. "The new office demonstrates our commitment to serving our Asia Pacific partners and growing our business internationally," says Weissman. "From our base in Melbourne, we're supporting these relationships and further extending OverDrive's proven services for libraries, publishers, booksellers and readers."

With an industry-leading catalog of more than one million eBooks and audiobooks, OverDrive provides digital distribution services for more than 18,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide with support for Windows®, Mac®, iPhone®, iPad®, Kindle® (U.S. only), Sony® Reader, NOOK™, Android™, Windows® Phone and BlackBerry®. To find a library near you, visit search.overdrive.com.

About OverDrive
OverDrive is a leading multichannel digital distributor of eBooks, digital audiobooks, music and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools and retailers, serving millions of end users. OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. www.overdrive.com