In some ways, the internet has disintermediated libraries from their patrons, and disrupted traditional avenues of book distribution, but at the same time it has opened up new possibilities for electronic distribution. This has opened up a whole class of metrics, and a wealth of information about their readers that was previously hidden from publishers.

In this episode, Lindsey Levinsohn talks through disintermediation, what it means for libraries, and what sort of information a service like OverDrive sends back to publishers.