Almost twenty years in library software, both sides of the desk. I build the tools I wish we’d had, explain the tech everyone gatekeeps, and show you what a vendor is actually selling. Sources attached.
Most patrons think the app is the library. It isn't. It's OverDrive, and OverDrive is owned by KKR, the same private-equity firm that owns Simon & Schuster. One owner, sitting on both sides of the deal. Disclosure: I worked at OverDrive from 2008 to 2011.
Trace one ebook from library budget to private equity profit. The 4x markup, the expiration trap, the platform cut, and where every dollar actually goes. Evidence-based pricing analysis with action playbook.
At this year's Library Insights Summit, a librarian named the reason small-press books rarely make it onto library shelves. The diagnosis was sharp. The advice stopped one step short of it.
70+ sourced events tracing how library ebook access went from Project Gutenberg to a private-equity monopoly: OverDrive's rise, the publisher licensing wars, KKR's buyout, and Baker & Taylor's 2026 collapse.
The complete history of how library ebook access went from open promise (1971) to private equity monopoly (2026). Names the decisions, amounts, and what happens next.
Move the sliders and see what your library actually pays to lend a digital book. The interactive companion to Follow the Dollar, with every number sourced.
What Librar Labs is, who built it, where the money came from, and what schools should know before signing a contract. The documented criticism here originates with Elissa Malespina; this piece follows her work.