Boston Public Library Brings Downloadable Local Music to the Community

The Boston Public Library is sharing Boston's local music scene through the Internet by adding albums of area bands to its online collection of audio books, music and videos to lend to patrons through its website, as well as share with libraries around the world.

Through the Boston Public Library download collection (accessible through http://www.bpl.org or directly at http://overdrive.bpl.org ), thousands of popular download titles are available for patrons to borrow 24/7. Content can be used on personal computers or compatible MP3 players, Pocket PCs, and other devices. The library recently added music from local band The Blind King to its download collection and made it freely available to thousands of libraries using Community Reserve, a digital resource sharing tool.

The Blind King's recent albums, "The Silent Wheel" and "Till You're Gone" are available in Boston with other Community Reserve titles including author interviews from Free Library of Philadelphia and student movies from Rochester Public Library ( http://overdrive.bpl.org/10/226/en/Community ). Both of The Blind King's albums are now part of several Kentucky libraries' collections as well ( http://kyunbound.lib.overdrive.com ).

"This is just the beginning of a great collection of local music," said Boston Public Library Applications Manager, Scot Colford. "We want to add several more albums from local bands and give these talented musicians a chance to be heard across the nation by sharing their music with other libraries."

The Blind King, a group of eight musicians, has performed in the Boston area for several years. Using a collection of instruments including accordion, trumpet, mandolin, theremin, lap-steel, cello, and simple vocal harmonies, the band creates a mellow acoustic sound.

"When Michael Colford, Manager of Regional Services for the Boston Public Library, approached us about adding our music to their library collection, we were thrilled," said The Blind King's founding member, Josh Boughey. "We see this as a great way to expand our audience and hope to see our music added to other library collections as well."

Boston's download collection is enabled by OverDrive, the leading provider of download media to libraries with 100,000 audio book, eBook, music, and video titles and 5,000 library partners worldwide. They recently introduced Community Reserve so libraries can share digital content with patrons and other libraries. To see if your library is a member of OverDrive's network, go to http://www.overdrive.com/search . Contact your library to learn how you can contribute to Community Reserve and share your original content with your community and thousands of other libraries.

About OverDrive, Inc.

OverDrive is a leader in providing world-class infrastructure for downloading premium digital content. We deliver secure management, protection and download services for hundreds of publishers and institutions (rights holders) and thousands of libraries, retailers and distributors serving millions of end users. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. www.OverDrive.com

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Contacts: Amber Webb OverDrive, Inc. 216-573-6886 x220 Email Contact