The Unhinged Librarian

OC-007·Overdue Conversation

Digital Media Timeline: OverDrive, Libraries, and Digital Lending

Seventy-one events with source notes, 1971 to 2026: how one private-equity firm came to sit on both sides of the library's digital shelf, ending in the collapse of Baker & Taylor. The companion record to The Cost of Ebooks and Two Private Equity Firms Own Your Library.

Interactive·Sam Chada·2026.07.06

The story of library ebooks is not really about ebooks. It is about who owns the pipe between a reader and a book, and what they charge for standing there. This is the record, year by year: the founding of OverDrive, the publisher licensing fights, the private-equity buyout, and the 2026 collapse of Baker & Taylor that left one company with almost no rival.

~90%of US public and K-12 school libraries subscribe to OverDrive, by the ALA's own 2023 estimate
1Private-equity firm (KKR) owns the platform and a Big Five publisher

Filter the record by track, search for a company or year, and open any event for the detail and its source. Everything here is cited; nothing is invented.

71 events

  1. 1971
    Project Gutenberg: First eBook CreatedOpen

    Michael Hart digitized the U.S. Declaration of Independence at the University of Illinois, creating the first eBook. Project Gutenberg would become the foundational model for free digital text distribution.

    Source Marie Lebert, “Project Gutenberg (1971–2008),” ebook #27045; Illinois Distributed Museum, “Michael Hart”

  2. 1971-1991
    Project Gutenberg Grows to 10 TitlesOpen

    Project Gutenberg reached its 10th title, the King James Bible, in August 1989. Michael Hart keyed in the early texts himself, with occasional help from others. Growth was limited by the absence of the consumer internet.

    Source Marie Lebert, “Project Gutenberg (1971–2008),” ebook #27045

  3. 1979
    Steve Potash Earns J.D.Open

    Steve Potash earned his J.D. from Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in the late 1970s. The university’s own publications disagree on the year: two give 1978, one gives 1979. He subsequently practiced law and worked in legal publishing technology.

    Source Heights Schools Foundation alumni profile; Cleveland State University

  4. 1983
    Potash Dubbed "The PC Lawyer"Open

    By 1983 Potash had automated his own law practice and was developing digitized law books on large-format floppy disks. “People started calling me the PC lawyer,” he told Publishers Weekly. He later wrote technology columns for the American Bar Association Journal.

    Source Publishers Weekly, “Steve Potash”; Heights Schools Foundation alumni profile

  5. 1986
    OverDrive, Inc. FoundedOpen

    Steve Potash and Loree Potash, a law librarian, co-founded OverDrive, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. The company initially focused on distributing legal and professional reference content on floppy disks and CD-ROMs.

    Source OverDrive newsroom (Oct 30, 2025), naming Steve and Loree Potash as co-founders; Case Western Reserve University newsroom

  6. 1987
    OverDrive Partners with West PublishingOpen

    OverDrive signed its first publishing deal, with West Publishing, to digitize law books. The partnership established OverDrive in the legal technology market. (West did not announce CD-ROM products until 1989; the 1987 work was on disk.)

    Source Cleveland State Magazine, Summer 2022; Cleveland State University College of Law, “Potash Honored with CSU’s Distinguished Alumni Award”

  7. 1990s
    CD-ROM Era for Digital BooksOpen

    CD-ROM became a common medium for digital reference works, encyclopedias and professional content. OverDrive’s own diskette and CD-ROM products date from the late 1980s; through the 1990s the company moved into print-to-digital conversion for publishers and ecommerce for retailers.

    Source OverDrive’s own profile at Library Technology Guides, which places the diskette and CD-ROM products in the company’s early years; Publishers Launch biography of Steve Potash for the 1990s shift to print-to-digital conversion

  8. 1994
    Project Gutenberg Reaches 100 TitlesOpen

    Project Gutenberg reached 100 digitized public domain titles, accelerated by the growth of the World Wide Web.

    Source Marie Lebert, “Project Gutenberg (1971–2008),” ebook #27045

  9. 1997
    Project Gutenberg Reaches 1,000 TitlesOpen

    Project Gutenberg crossed the 1,000-title milestone, demonstrating the viability of large-scale free digital text distribution.

    Source Marie Lebert, “Project Gutenberg (1971–2008),” ebook #27045

  10. 1997
    Sari Feldman Joins Cleveland Public LibraryOpen

    Sari Feldman joined Cleveland Public Library as head of community services. She would later become one of four CPL librarians whom OverDrive credits with directing the development team that built its first library ebook lending platform.

    Source OverDrive 20th anniversary press release (PRNewswire, May 4, 2023); ALA records

  11. 1998
    First Dedicated E-Reader DevicesOpen

    The Rocket eBook and SoftBook Reader launched as two of the first dedicated consumer e-reader devices. Neither achieved mass adoption, but they demonstrated consumer appetite for digital reading.

    Source Wikipedia entries for the Rocket eBook (NuvoMedia) and SoftBook (SoftBook Press), both dating release to 1998

  12. 1999
    Open eBook Forum (IDPF) Co-FoundedOpen

    OverDrive co-founded the Open eBook Forum (later the International Digital Publishing Forum / IDPF), which developed the EPUB standard. This positioned OverDrive at the center of digital publishing standards development.

    Source IDPF home page on the 1999 founding and the 2005 rename to the International Digital Publishing Forum; OverDrive’s executive-team biography for the founding-member claim, which is self-reported

  13. 2000
    Content Reserve OpensOpen

    OverDrive opened Content Reserve, its wholesale digital marketplace, shifting from physical media distribution (CD-ROMs, floppy disks) to online digital delivery for publishers and libraries. OverDrive rebranded Content Reserve as OverDrive Marketplace in June 2013, describing it as built on “13 years of success and market experience from OverDrive’s Content Reserve platform.”

    Source OverDrive press release, “OverDrive Content Reserve Creates Global Digital Marketplace” (Apr 9, 2001); rebrand announced in “OverDrive Marketplace Launches at ALA Annual Conference” (Jun 18, 2013)

  14. 2001
    OverDrive Adds PDF SupportOpen

    OverDrive added PDF and other digital format support to its platform, expanding beyond its original CD-ROM distribution model.

    Source OverDrive press release, “OverDrive To Broaden its eBook Offerings By Licensing Adobe’s Leading Digital Rights Management Technology” (Jul 17, 2001)

  15. 2002
    Cleveland Public Library Approaches OverDriveOpen

    Cleveland Public Library approached Cleveland-based OverDrive to develop a digital lending platform. In OverDrive's own account, CPL librarians Patricia Lowrey, Cindy Orr, Sari Feldman and Tracy Strobel "directed an eager local ebook development team at OverDrive to build and launch what would become the first popular ebook and audiobook service from a library."

    Source OverDrive 20th anniversary press release (PRNewswire / company.overdrive.com, May 4, 2023). Note: this is OverDrive's own retrospective account, published 20 years after the events it describes; we have not located a contemporaneous 2003-era source. An often-repeated $50,000 Clevnet setup-fee figure is omitted here because we could not trace it to a primary document.

  16. 2003
    First Library eBook Lending Platform LaunchedOpen

    Cleveland Public Library and OverDrive launched the first public library eBook lending platform. Digital books could be downloaded to personal computers. OverDrive says the model it established now reaches 88,000 libraries in 109 countries; that figure is the company's own, and we have not independently verified it.

    Source OverDrive 20th anniversary press release (PRNewswire, May 4, 2023); Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

  17. May 2003
    Sari Feldman Moves to Cuyahoga County Public LibraryOpen

    Feldman left Cleveland Public Library to become Executive Director of Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), where she would serve for 16 years.

    Source Cleveland Jewish News (Mar 2019) and WKYC (Aug 2019), both dating her CCPL tenure May 2003 to Aug 2, 2019

  18. 2004
    CDs Overtake Cassettes for AudiobooksOpen

    Compact discs officially replaced cassettes as the dominant physical format for audiobook distribution in libraries and retail.

    Source Audio Publishers Association, “A History of Audiobooks”: “2004: CDs replace cassettes as the preferred medium for listening to audiobooks”

  19. 2005
    Simultaneous Use (SU) Model IntroducedOpen

    OverDrive and publishers introduced the Simultaneous Use (SU) licensing model, allowing unlimited concurrent patrons for select titles at a higher per-title price. We have not found a primary source fixing the year it began: OverDrive said in 2024 that it had pioneered simultaneous use “over a decade ago,” and its “Always Available” plans were announced in June 2014.

    Source OverDrive press release, “OverDrive to Present 2014/2015 eBook Lending Roadmap” (Jun 26, 2014); OverDrive developer portal, lending models

  20. 2007
    Amazon Kindle Launch / EPUB SupportOpen

    Amazon launched the Kindle e-reader. OverDrive announced support for the EPUB publication standard. The 1 millionth digital book was loaned by a public library through OverDrive.

    Source Amazon press release, “Introducing Amazon Kindle” (Nov 19, 2007); OverDrive, “OverDrive Announces Global Support for New eBook Standard” (Dec 13, 2007)

  21. 2008
    OverDrive Launches MP3 AudiobooksOpen

    OverDrive introduced DRM-free MP3 format audiobooks. DCPL was the first library in the nation to offer MP3 audiobook downloads through OverDrive.

    Source OverDrive press release, “District of Columbia Public Library First in Nation to Offer Download MP3 Audiobooks” (Jun 25, 2008)

  22. 2009
    Multiple Library Lending InnovationsOpen

    OverDrive added McGill University as its first academic library partner. OverDrive helped Baker & Taylor develop digital distribution capabilities. The company expanded to serve corporate, academic, and public library markets.

    Source OverDrive Academic release (Nov 2, 2021), which dates the McGill partnership to 2009; OverDrive press release on the Baker & Taylor distribution agreement (May 26, 2009)

  23. 2010
    Insight Venture Partners Invests in OverDriveOpen

    Private equity firm Insight Venture Partners became the majority shareholder of OverDrive. The Library of Congress’s National Library Service shipped its last cassette book to cooperating libraries in January 2011, completing its move to digital talking books.

    Source OverDrive press release (Mar 19, 2015), which states Insight “has been the majority shareholder of OverDrive since 2010”; Library of Congress Information Bulletin, April 2011, for the last cassette book

  24. 2010–11
    OverDrive Sues Baker & TaylorOpen

    In May 2009, B&T made OverDrive its exclusive digital-media provider, gaining access to OverDrive's platform, account lists, and proprietary catalog data. Within months, OverDrive found B&T distributing the rival Blio e-reader and sued in Delaware Chancery (2010), alleging B&T used the partnership as a "subversive device" to take trade secrets. In June 2011 the court let the core claims stand: trade-secret misappropriation, fraud, breach of exclusivity. The outcome never became public. B&T launched its own ebook platform, Axis 360, immediately after. (These are allegations from the complaint; the case never reached a merits ruling.)

    Source OverDrive, Inc. v. Baker & Taylor, Inc., C.A. No. 5835-CC (Del. Ch. June 17, 2011); Justia; Potter Anderson case summary

  25. 2011
    HarperCollins 26-Checkout Cap / Kindle LendingOpen

    HarperCollins imposed a 26-checkout cap on library eBook licenses, generating significant industry controversy. OverDrive and Amazon launched Kindle compatibility for library eBooks (U.S. only).

    Source Library Journal, “HarperCollins Puts 26 Loan Cap on Ebook Circulations” (Feb 25, 2011); OverDrive, “OverDrive and Amazon Launch Kindle Compatibility with Library eBooks” (Sep 21, 2011)

  26. 2012
    LexisNexis PartnershipOpen

    OverDrive partnered with LexisNexis to launch a customized e-lending platform for the legal market, returning to the company's legal technology roots.

    Source LexisNexis / Business Wire, “LexisNexis Announces LexisNexis Digital Library” (Apr 23, 2012)

  27. Dec 2012
    Kroll Solvency Opinion for OverDrive HoldingsOpen

    Kroll (Duff & Phelps) issued a solvency opinion for OverDrive Holdings, Inc. dated December 12, 2012. This occurred during the Insight Venture Partners ownership era.

    Source Kroll transaction record, “Solvency Opinion – OverDrive Holdings, Inc.”, dated 2012-12-12 in the page metadata. It is a one-line transaction listing, not the opinion itself: no counterparty, transaction type or figure is given

  28. Apr 2013
    OverDrive Blue Sky Campus Grand OpeningOpen

    Steve Potash hosted the grand opening of OverDrive's new headquarters, the Blue Sky Campus, in Garfield Heights, Ohio. OverDrive's announcement said Potash "will present" donations to two library directors: CPL's Felton Thomas, Jr. (for Cleveland Public Library's "I'm Ready to Read" campaign) and CCPL's Sari Feldman (for Cuyahoga County Public Library's STEP tutoring program). Both directors were recognised, not one; and the release announces the presentation in advance rather than reporting that it occurred.

    Source OverDrive press release, "OverDrive Announces Opening of World Headquarters" (company.overdrive.com / GlobeNewswire, Apr 9, 2013). Retrieved and quoted directly.

  29. 2014
    WMA Audiobook Format SunsetOpen

    At ALA Midwinter in January 2014, OverDrive announced it would “take steps to discontinue the sale of audiobooks in the WMA format,” moving its audiobook catalog to MP3. The phase-out ran into 2015; we have not found an OverDrive source giving a completion date.

    Source OverDrive announcement at ALA Midwinter (Jan 2014), reported by Writers Write (Jan 26, 2014)

  30. 2015
    Rakuten Acquires OverDrive for $410 MillionOpen

    Japanese conglomerate Rakuten acquired OverDrive for approximately $410 million. Rakuten also owned Kobo, creating a vertical integration between e-reader hardware and library digital lending.

    Source Rakuten press release, “Rakuten to Acquire OverDrive for $410 Million” (Mar 19, 2015); completion announced Apr 28, 2015

  31. 2015-2016
    Sari Feldman Serves as ALA PresidentOpen

    Feldman served as President of the American Library Association. She co-chaired the ALA Digital Content and Libraries Working Group, which engaged digital content vendors, including OverDrive, on licensing terms and library access policies.

    Source ALA, “Feldman wins 2015–2016 ALA Presidency” (May 2014). Note: we have found no evidence that Feldman’s ALA or working-group role benefited OverDrive, and none is implied. The dates are recorded as a sequence, not a causal chain

  32. 2017
    Libby App LaunchedOpen

    OverDrive officially launched Libby in June 2017 (beta began December 2016) as the modern successor to the legacy OverDrive app. Libby would become the primary interface for library digital lending.

    Source OverDrive press release (Jun 22, 2017); App Store records

  33. 2017
    OverDrive Achieves B Corp StatusOpen

    OverDrive achieved Certified B Corporation status, formalizing its commitment to social and environmental standards. The company adopted the mission of a "World Enlightened by Reading."

    Source OverDrive press release announcing B Corporation certification (Aug 16, 2017)

  34. 2018
    Sora App for K-12 LaunchedOpen

    OverDrive launched the Sora app, a dedicated reading platform for K-12 schools. The 1 billionth digital book was checked out through all OverDrive platforms.

    Source OverDrive, “OverDrive Education’s Sora App Drives Students to Read More” (Jun 18, 2019), dating the launch to September 2018; PRNewswire (Mar 20, 2018) for the one-billionth checkout

  35. 2018
    Metered Licensing and Cost Per Circ ArriveOpen

    Metered and time-limited licensing did not become the Big Five norm until 2018–2019. As late as January 1, 2016, all Penguin Random House ebooks were licensed to libraries on terms that were “perpetual with no limits on the number of circulations or time period.” Penguin Random House moved to two-year metered terms in October 2018, and Hachette followed with two-year terms in June 2019. Separately, OverDrive launched its Cost Per Circ model in OverDrive Marketplace on January 24, 2018, charging libraries per checkout instead of per license.

    Source American Libraries, “Penguin Random House Ebooks Now Licensed for Perpetual Access” (Jan 20, 2016); Authors Guild, “Ebook Library Pricing: The Game Changes Again”; OverDrive, “Cost Per Circ lending model launches in OverDrive Marketplace” (Jan 24, 2018)

  36. 2019
    Lucky Day / Skip the Line FeatureOpen

    OverDrive introduced the "Lucky Day" feature (also called "Skip the Line"), allowing libraries to designate copies of high-demand titles for immediate, first-come-first-served borrowing without a waitlist. This gave patrons faster access to popular titles while libraries controlled how many copies were made available.

    Source OverDrive Lucky Day press release (Jul 23, 2019); Libby help documentation

  37. Aug 2019
    Sari Feldman Retires from Cuyahoga County Public LibraryOpen

    Feldman retired as Executive Director of Cuyahoga County Public Library after 16 years.

    Source Crain’s Cleveland Business (Mar 2019) and WKYC (Aug 2019), “retires after 16 years”

  38. Jun 2020
    KKR Completes Acquisition of OverDriveOpen

    KKR completed its acquisition of OverDrive on June 9, 2020 (announced December 2019). Price never disclosed. Marshall Breeding inferred about $775M from Rakuten’s $410M purchase plus its reported $365.6M gain. Funded through one of KKR's buyout funds. American Libraries Magazine described the LBO structure: "buyer contributes only portion of purchase price and secures loans from investment banks" and "company itself is saddled with paying off the debts." Library Journal compared the deal to KKR's Toys "R' Us acquisition.

    Source OverDrive press release (Jun 9, 2020); Rakuten filings; Library Technology Guides; PitchBook; American Libraries (Dec 2019); Library Journal

  39. Jun 23, 2020
    OverDrive Acquires RBdigital from RBmediaOpen

    Two weeks after KKR completed its OverDrive acquisition, OverDrive acquired the library business assets of RBmedia, including the RBdigital platform in North America, the UK, and Australia. RBmedia was also owned by KKR. The deal brought 45,000+ audiobook titles into the OverDrive platform. KKR stated it was "uniquely positioned to facilitate this transaction" as owner of both companies.

    Source OverDrive press release (PRNewswire, Jun 23, 2020); Crain's Cleveland Business (Jun 25, 2020); Library Technology Guides; American Libraries Magazine

  40. Jul 2020
    OverDrive Adds Directors Under KKROpen

    OverDrive's July 15, 2020 press release named two new directors: Sari Feldman (former ALA President; former Executive Director, Cuyahoga County Public Library) and Milena Alberti-Perez (former CFO, Penguin Random House). That release did not name KKR's own directors. Three KKR executives are separately documented as OverDrive directors: Richard Sarnoff (Chairman of Media, KKR Americas Private Equity), Ted Oberwager (KKR Partner) and Chresten Knaff (KKR Director), each named in his own KKR biography and, together, in trade coverage of the Simon & Schuster board, which states the three "all of whom also serve on the board of OverDrive." OverDrive's own executive-team page states that CFO Greg Farmer "also serves on the company's Board of Directors," as does CEO Marc DeBevoise (from 2026); Steve Potash is Founder & Chairman.

    One dated roster does exist: the SEC Form D filed by Aragorn Holding Parent Corp, OverDrive’s holding company, on August 10, 2021 lists seven related persons. Steven Potash and Gregory Farmer are marked executive officers and directors; Richard Sarnoff, Chresten Knaff, Milena Alberti, Sari Feldman and Ted Oberwager are marked directors. That is one company on one day rather than a continuous roster, and who chaired the board before Potash is still unestablished.

    Source OverDrive press release (Jul 15, 2020); Shelf Awareness (Dec 8, 2023); Publishing Perspectives (Dec 7, 2023); KKR biographies of Richard Sarnoff, Ted Oberwager and Chresten Knaff; OverDrive executive-team page (company.overdrive.com); OverDrive press release (Jun 23, 2026). Note: the Farmer, DeBevoise and Potash board roles are stated on OverDrive's current executive-team page; the page does not date them, so we do not assert Farmer held a board seat as of July 2020.

  41. Apr 2022
    OverDrive Max LaunchedOpen

    OverDrive introduced OverDrive Max, a metered concurrent-use purchasing model letting libraries and schools buy bundles of up to 100 loans on a title with no expiration date. It is a collection-buying option, not a patron-facing tier.

    Source OverDrive press release, “New Access Model ‘OverDrive Max’ Lowers Library Costs…” (Apr 13, 2022)

  42. 2021
    Kanopy Acquired / Magazine IntegrationOpen

    OverDrive acquired video streaming service Kanopy and migrated digital magazines into the Libby app, creating a unified media experience. OverDrive also expanded OverDrive Academic, its existing college-and-university division, with a dedicated team and a larger catalog (announced November 2, 2021).

    Source OverDrive press release, “OverDrive Completes Acquisition of Kanopy” (Jul 15, 2021); magazines moved from RBdigital to Libby on Jan 28, 2021

  43. 2022
    Amazon Ends MOBI Support, Moves to EPUBOpen

    Amazon added EPUB support to “Send to Kindle” on August 26, 2022 and announced MOBI would be dropped. After two slipped deadlines the cutoff landed in late 2023, winding down from November 1 and ending December 20, 2023. Los Angeles Public Library became the first system to reach 10 million digital checkouts in a calendar year.

    Source Good e-Reader (Aug 2022) on Send to Kindle EPUB support going live Aug 26, 2022; The eBook Reader (Sep 25, 2023) on the MOBI cutoff ending Dec 20, 2023

  44. 2023
    Legacy OverDrive App SunsetOpen

    OverDrive retired the original OverDrive app, directing all users to Libby. The app sunset completed January 31, 2025 across all platforms.

    Source TechCrunch (Mar 28, 2023) on the May 1, 2023 sunset; OverDrive Help article 2315 for the Jan 31, 2025 discontinuation on all platforms

  45. Jul 25, 2023
    OverDrive Creates First-Ever Chief Marketing Officer RoleOpen

    OverDrive appointed Jennifer Leitman as its first Chief Marketing Officer, a newly created C-suite position. Her published career history is in consumer brand marketing, including HGTV, Francis Ford Coppola's lifestyle company, and Preserve Partners, rather than in libraries. It is the first of three first-ever executive roles created under KKR ownership, and the three do not point one way: the Director of Data & Information Science hired in March 2025 came from OCLC, the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative and W3C. OverDrive itself was co-founded in 1986 by Steve Potash and Loree Potash, a law librarian, so a library background is not foreign to the company’s own history.

    Source OverDrive press release (PRNewswire, Jul 25, 2023); Crain's Cleveland Business (Jan 2024); LinkedIn; Potash DC testimony (Jan 2026)

  46. Nov 2024
    MP3 Download and Desktop App Support EndedOpen

    OverDrive removed the MP3 audiobook download option and ended desktop app support for Windows and Mac. Audiobook downloads moved to the Libby app; browser streaming stayed available on the OverDrive website. Libraries like Iowa City Public Library announced total removal of CD audiobook collections.

    Source Alameda County Library notice, “OverDrive Announces Changes Starting November 13” (2024); Iowa City Public Library, “Removing Audiobook Compact Discs from ICPL” (Nov 18, 2024)

  47. Jan 2025
    Three KKR Executives Sit on Both the OverDrive and Simon & Schuster BoardsOpen

    Chresten Knaff, one of three KKR executives on OverDrive's board, leads the Technology industry team within KKR's European Private Equity platform. He was promoted from Director to Managing Director at KKR (per KKR's own personnel page). The wider point is not about him alone: when KKR formed Simon & Schuster's board after acquiring the publisher in 2023, the three KKR directors it seated (Richard Sarnoff, who chairs the S&S board; Ted Oberwager; and Knaff) were, in Shelf Awareness's words, "all of whom also serve on the board of OverDrive." For that period the same three people sat on the board of the platform libraries buy digital books through and on the board of one of the Big Five publishers selling those books. That is an ownership structure, stated as such; we make no claim that any specific decision resulted from it.

    Source Shelf Awareness (Dec 8, 2023); Publishing Perspectives (Dec 7, 2023); KKR personnel pages. Note: the exact start and end dates of Knaff's Simon & Schuster tenure (previously given here as Oct 2023–Sep 2024) rest on a third-party board-tracking site we could not corroborate, and have been withdrawn pending a primary source.

  48. Mar 6, 2025
    OverDrive Creates First-Ever Director of Data & Information Science RoleOpen

    OverDrive appointed Eric Miller as its first Director of Data & Information Science. Miller is a heavyweight in library technology infrastructure: Senior Research Scientist at OCLC, co-founder of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, leader of the Semantic Web Activity at W3C, Research Scientist at MIT. His mandate includes building "visual knowledge maps," "next-generation discovery tools," and a "Science of Reading" initiative using linked data and AI. This is the second of three first-ever executive positions OverDrive created between July 2023 and April 2025, five years into KKR ownership.

    Source OverDrive press release (GlobeNewswire, Mar 6, 2025); Library Technology Guides; LinkedIn

  49. Apr 16, 2025
    OverDrive Creates First-Ever VP of Education RoleOpen

    OverDrive appointed Renee Davenport as its first Vice President of Education to lead the company's K-12 strategy around the Sora student reading app. Davenport came from EdTech sales at Learning Ally, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and McGraw-Hill Education. This is the third first-ever executive position created under KKR ownership.

    Source OverDrive press release (PRNewswire, Apr 16, 2025); ZoomInfo; LinkedIn; Authority Magazine interview (Nov 2025)

  50. Jun 24, 2025
    OverDrive and Clarivate Announce Deep Integration RoadmapOpen

    OverDrive and Innovative (part of Clarivate, NYSE: CLVT) announced a "deep integration roadmap" at ALA Annual Conference for Libby, Kanopy, and Sora with Clarivate's Vega LX/Vega Discover library platform. This merges library circulation data from the integrated library system with OverDrive's digital content usage data into a single analytics layer, directly aligned with Eric Miller's data science mandate announced three months earlier. New tools expected to roll out in 2026.

    Source OverDrive press release (GlobeNewswire, Jun 24, 2025); Library Technology Guides; Yahoo Finance (Jul 6, 2025)

  51. Jul 14, 2025
    OverDrive Discontinues Multiple Library Card Sign-In on KoboOpen

    OverDrive removed the option to sign in using an OverDrive account on Kobo e-readers, eliminating support for multiple library cards on a single device. Feature had previously been enabled when Rakuten owned both Kobo and OverDrive. Kobo confirmed the change was made by OverDrive. Users are restricted to a single library card on Kobo devices; the Libby mobile app still supports multiple cards.

    Source Kobo Help (help.kobo.com, Jul 14, 2025); Good e-Reader (Jul 24, 2025); eReadersForum (Jul 25, 2025); The eBook Reader blog (Jul 25, 2025)

  52. Aug-Sep 2025
    Libby "Inspire Me" AI Discovery Feature LaunchedOpen

    OverDrive soft-launched an AI-powered book recommendation feature in Libby in August 2025, officially rolled out in September. Uses a large language model to surface titles from each library's collection based on guided prompts. Prioritizes immediately available titles. Potash described it as using an “OverDrive-contained LLM that is only utilizing the cataloging information, metadata, and other controlled data points that we have.” Mixed reception from librarians and users.

    Source TechCrunch (Aug 26, 2025); Engadget (Aug 29, 2025); Android Authority (Aug 29, 2025); OverDrive official announcement (Oct 3, 2025); Potash quote from Tech Brew, “Why the Libby e-book app is turning to AI” (Oct 20, 2025)

  53. Autumn 2025
    PocketBook E-Reader Integration with LibbyOpen

    Libby became available on PocketBook devices via firmware update, starting with Era Color and Verse Pro Color models. PocketBook became the second e-reader brand (after Kobo) to integrate Libby directly.

    Source Good e-Reader (Nov 4, 2025); PocketBook announcement

  54. 2025
    Baker & Taylor Shutdown / 820M CheckoutsOpen

    Baker & Taylor announced shutdown; libraries migrated to OverDrive. OverDrive reported 820.5M checkouts (+10% YoY). Audiobooks 315.9M (+13%), Magazines 125.1M (+31%). 9.8M new Libby app installs (+3%). Kanopy added 3.6M new users (+41%). 200+ library systems passed 1M digital checkouts for the year. KKR completed its $1.62B acquisition of Simon & Schuster (announced Aug 2023, closed Oct 2023).

    Source OverDrive press release, “Libraries Break Digital Lending Records in 2025…” (Jan 21, 2026); PitchBook; B&T reporting; Words & Money

  55. 2025-2026
    Ingram Becomes the Sole Major US Book WholesalerOpen

    With Baker & Taylor gone, Ingram Content Group (family-owned, Nashville) became the only major book wholesaler left in the United States, and Ingram Library Services absorbed the largest single share of B&T's stranded public-library business: roughly 2,000 accounts and about 100 former B&T workers. This is the exact consolidation a preliminary FTC antitrust review made Ingram and B&T abandon in December 2018, when it would have left "one national wholesaler." It arrived anyway, through bankruptcy, with no antitrust review triggered.

    Source Publishers Weekly gap-survey (Oct 9, 2025); FTC preliminary investigation records (2018); Ingram Content Group / Ingram Industries corporate records

  56. Oct 2025 onward
    The Scramble to Fill the B&T VoidOpen

    B&T's collapse opened a wholesale vacuum, and the buyers split into two kinds. Financial owners moved in: Barnes & Noble (owned by Elliott Management, which also owns Waterstones) upgraded its &Classwork platform to 3.5 million library-orderable titles; Amazon launched "Books for Libraries" at 30 to 40% off list with free MARC records. Family-owned survivors expanded on their own catalogs instead: Mackin launched MackinPublic (its first public-library line in 43 years), Bookazine (founded 1929) picked up 100-plus library accounts in days, and Brodart survived under George Coe, a former B&T executive, and has kept AI out of its product.

    Source Publishers Weekly gap-survey (Oct 9, 2025) and B&N coverage (Mar 16, 2026); Barnes & Noble &Classwork announcement; Amazon Business Books for Libraries; Mackin / Bookazine / Brodart records

  57. Nov 2025
    OverDrive Sues OpenAI (Sora v. Sora)Open

    On November 19, 2025, OverDrive filed trademark infringement suit against OpenAI in the Northern District of Ohio. OverDrive alleges OpenAI's use of "Sora" for its AI video generator infringes OverDrive's "Sora" trademark used for K-12 education since 2018. A March 2026 order cancelled the preliminary injunction hearing after OpenAI agreed to stipulations; the case moved to damages discovery.

    Source N.D. Ohio court filings (Nov 19, 2025); OverDrive press release

  58. Dec 2025 / Jan 2026
    Follett Content Partnership / Potash DC TestimonyOpen

    In December 2025, OverDrive announced a partnership with Follett Content, uniting the Sora student app with Follett's print distribution network. On January 5-6, 2026, Steve Potash submitted 55-page testimony to the DC Council opposing the Library E-book Pricing Fairness Amendment Act of 2025 (B26-0490). Potash presented data showing DCPL reduced cost per circulation from $4.75 to $0.85 between 2010 and 2025.

    Source Follett press release; Steve Potash, testimony on B26-0490 to the Council of the District of Columbia, Committee on Human Services, January 6, 2026 (55pp; the DCPL cost-per-circ chart is on PDF page 8)

  59. Late Jan 2026
    Library Futures Responds to Potash DC TestimonyOpen

    Library Futures Executive Director Jennie Rose Halperin submitted a two-page letter rebutting Steve Potash's 55-page DC testimony. Halperin stated Library Futures "played no direct role in its development beyond providing the model legislation on our website" and said Potash "conflates" controlled digital lending with the bill's focus on licensed/rented materials. Halperin called the testimony's claims "unsubstantiated" and its tone "antagonistic."

    Source Words & Money (Feb 6, 2026); Library Futures public letter to DC Committee

  60. Feb 4, 2026
    Third Annual Libby Book Awards Finalists AnnouncedOpen

    Libby announced finalists for the third annual Libby Book Awards across 20 categories. New for 2025: Best Personal Growth category and Reader's Choice awards. Winners to be announced March 3, 2026 at a live ceremony in New York City.

    Source OverDrive press release (Feb 4, 2026)

  61. Feb 5, 2026
    KKR Q4 2025 Earnings CallOpen

    KKR reported Q4 2025 results: AUM of $744 billion, up 17% year over year from $638 billion at the end of 2024. The Strategic Holdings segment reported $43.8M in operating earnings for Q4 and $162.1M for full-year 2025. On the call, KKR said it was tracking toward $350M+ in Strategic Holdings operating earnings for 2026. OverDrive sits within the Strategic Holdings segment alongside approximately 20 other businesses.

    Source KKR & Co. Inc., Fourth Quarter 2025 earnings release (SEC-filed, Feb 2026) for the AUM and segment figures; KKR Q4 2025 earnings call transcript (Feb 5, 2026) for the 2026 target

    62. >
  62. Feb 5, 2026
    OverDrive Not Mentioned on KKR Earnings CallOpen

    OverDrive was not mentioned by name on the public earnings call. KKR's strategic holdings segment targets $350M+ operating earnings in 2026 across approximately 20 businesses. OverDrive is a private company inside a PE fund with no public disclosure obligations.

    Source KKR Q4 2025 earnings call transcript (Feb 5, 2026). Searched in full: “OverDrive” does not appear. Control: the same fetch returned the Strategic Holdings figures verbatim

  63. Mar 3, 2026
    OverDrive Names Marc DeBevoise PresidentOpen

    OverDrive named Marc DeBevoise (former CEO of Brightcove, former ViacomCBS/Paramount) as President and added him to the board. Founder Steve Potash retained the CEO title and the "long-term vision," while DeBevoise took "operational leadership and execution." This was the first time OverDrive had split an operating chief off from its founder since 1986. KKR has held the company since 2020. What the split was for is not something the announcement says.

    Source OverDrive press release (Mar 3, 2026)

  64. Mar 16, 2026
    Baker & Taylor Files Chapter 11Open

    Baker & Taylor filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for New Jersey (Case 26-12863): $100M to $500M in liabilities against $1M to $10M in remaining assets. The company had already been parted out. Between October 2025 and January 2026 it liquidated the bulk of its inventory and fixed assets for about $8.7M and collected roughly $11M in receivables; secured lender CIT was fully repaid February 13, 2026. The case proceeds as a liquidation. The lender got made whole; the libraries got an email nobody was reading.

    Source B&T Chapter 11 filing, Case 26-12863-CMG (D.N.J.); first-day declaration; Omni Agent Solutions claims docket

  65. Nov-Dec 2025 (disclosed Apr 2026)
    Meta and Anthropic Buy B&T's Liquidated InventoryOpen

    B&T's Statement of Financial Affairs (filed April 20, 2026) discloses that two of the four largest buyers of its liquidated inventory were AI companies rather than retailers or libraries. The two above them were a Dollar General order at $736,245 and the remainder dealer FarCorner at $719,826. Meta paid $691,192 for books on November 10, 2025; Anthropic paid $563,388 on December 2, 2025. Both are listed under oath as "liquidation sale customers." The oldest library distributor in the country got liquidated, and the AI companies showed up for the physical stock.

    Source B&T Statement of Financial Affairs, Doc 66 Item 13, Case 26-12863-CMG (D.N.J.), filed Apr 20, 2026

  66. Feb-Apr 2026
    Follett Content Reconstitutes B&T's Public-Library StackOpen

    Follett Content Solutions (owned by the private-equity firm Francisco Partners) rebuilt B&T's public-library wholesale business out of B&T's own people. On February 19, 2026 it announced 10-plus public-library veterans hired, several straight from Baker & Taylor, with 300-plus collective years in the field. Ten weeks later, on April 30, 2026, it shipped a Street Date preorder program and a 600,000-title adult print catalog. The talent did not leave the industry. It got re-shelved under a PE owner.

    Source Follett Content Solutions announcements (Feb 19, 2026; Apr 30, 2026); Library Journal; Publishers Weekly

  67. May 5, 2026
    DC Council Passes Ebook Pricing Bill, 13-0Open

    The DC Council passed B26-0490 unanimously, 13 to 0, over Steve Potash's testimony against it. The enacted law addresses specified licensing restrictions and unconscionable pricing in comparable transactions by like buyers, not a retail cap. Restrictions begin 60 days after publication of a board determination that substantially similar laws exist in ten states totaling at least 50 million people. This entry does not establish activation.

    Source Enacted D.C. Law 26-149

  68. Feb-May 2026
    The Multi-State Ebook Legislation WaveOpen

    DC's passage rode a broader wave. Illinois passed the Digital Library Protection Act (HB5236) through the House with no recorded no vote; New Jersey has S4520 (Sen. Andrew Zwicker); Rhode Island filed H7606; Minnesota's HF3698 stalled 10-8 in committee on a procedural deadline dispute, not the merits; Massachusetts has a substantive bill stuck in committee plus a study commission that passed the Senate 37-0. All use the contingent-effectiveness drafting framework Connecticut pioneered in 2025.

    Source EveryLibrary bill tracker (2026); Illinois HB5236; NJ S4520; RI H7606; MN HF3698; MA H.3595 / S.2710

  69. May 13, 2026
    OverDrive Establishes OverDrive Europe GmbHOpen

    OverDrive spun its German-speaking Europe business into a standalone GmbH headquartered in Munich, with DACH customers now contracting and invoicing in Euros through a German bank account. The registration alone does not establish an exit plan.

    Source OverDrive Europe GmbH press release (May 13, 2026); OverDrive Europe German-language website

  70. May 26, 2026
    Five Library Associations Demand Ebook ActionOpen

    Five major North American public-library associations (the Urban Libraries Council, the Public Library Association, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries) issued a joint statement calling on the Big Five publishers and platforms to negotiate sustainable terms. Their number: $13 for the consumer ebook versus $55-plus for the two-year library license of the same file. Many libraries now spend half or more of their collections budget on content they will never own.

    Source Joint statement, "Leading Public Library Groups Call for E-book Action" (May 26, 2026); ALA press release

  71. Jun 23, 2026
    OverDrive Appoints Marc DeBevoise Chief Executive OfficerOpen

    OverDrive announced that Marc DeBevoise has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and that founder Steve Potash has been named Chairman of the Board. Potash had held the CEO title since founding the company in 1986. The president-and-founder split announced on March 3 lasted less than four months.

    Source OverDrive press release, "OverDrive Appoints Marc DeBevoise Chief Executive Officer; Founder Steve Potash Named Chairman of the Board" (June 23, 2026)

Sources and method

Editorial correction, September 11, 2026. The D.C. entry now distinguishes conditional contracting restrictions from a retail cap. The European registration is no longer described as proof of exit preparation. Source notes without document links still need retrieval; a source label alone is not a reproducible citation.

Every entry carries its own source line: OverDrive filings and press releases, Steve Potash's DC Council testimony, KKR earnings-call transcripts, Rakuten disclosures, court and bankruptcy records, and industry reporting. Tracks group each event by what it touches: Corporate (ownership and money), Product (apps and platforms), Governance (leadership and library associations), Legal (lawsuits and legislation), and Industry (the wider market). For the argument behind the record, read The Cost of Ebooks and Two Private Equity Firms Own Your Library.