The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every trade—publishing and librarianship included. But what has it revealed about these markets? How can stakeholders best prepare for the fast-approaching fall semester? What of these temporary changes will stick once we regain “normalcy”?

Jill Grunenwald, Communications Specialist at OverDrive, explains how OverDrive has adjusted to meet student and faculty needs during the pandemic. “We’ve actually started working closely with our publishing partners to try and provide more access to content. A lot of publishers have stepped up and reduced pricing or have changed their lending models to open up access, which is greatly appreciated.”

In this second episode of the four-part series, Grunenwald discusses how OverDrive has made headway into the academic library market. Both appealing to academic libraries and adjusting to challenges of the pandemic have revealed similar needs: “Readers are relying on ebooks and audiobooks more than ever, so if nothing else I think it sends the message that it’s important that libraries of all kinds invest in this type of content, and also that publishers embrace the format as well.”