New OverDrive Help Website

Ever wonder how to install OCM (OverDriveMediaConsole) on a Blackberry? Are you getting user questions about how to return an eBook? Well the new OverDrive Help makes it a whole lot easier to find those answers! The fully searchable website– now linked from the main Help page of each of your OverDrive-powered ‘virtual branch’ websites (English language sites first; bi-lingual sites to come) – contains hundreds of newly written Help articles available to you and your users.

From eBooks and audiobooks to music and video, OverDrive Help covers everything users need to get started and enjoy your OverDrive service. These image-rich articles contain screenshots, download links and links to related articles. Plus, each article can be printed, emailed or shared via Facebook, Twitter and other sites using the ‘Share this page’ button available at the top of most pages.

Each section of OverDrive Help is designed to help you and your users find what you’re looking for, no matter what method is preferred:

§ Search – Type in what you’re looking for to view articles that match your search terms.

§ Get Started With… – Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, Sony Reader or whatever you have.

§ Most Popular Articles – This section shows the articles that are being read the most. Three are displayed on the homepage; click ‘view more…’ to see additional articles.

§ Recent Searches – This tag cloud shows you what other users are searching for.

§ Recently Added Articles – When new articles are added to OverDrive Help, they’ll show up here.

OverDrive Help replaces the FAQ that was formerly linked from your OverDrive-powered site at ‘Help.htm’. Going forward your ‘Help.htm’ page now contains links to OverDrive Help, the Device Resource Center, Digital Books Tour, Library Lending Policies and Support.

Early feedback on OverDrive Help

Before releasing OverDrive Help, we asked the experts (OverDrive Library Advisory Council) for feedback and here’s what they had to say:

§ 93% of library staff surveyed agree that OverDrive Help is an improvement over the existing FAQs.

§ 93% of library staff surveyed agree that the OverDrive Help website is clear, well-organized, and attractive.
These same users think that the articles are clearly written and easy to understand.

§ “I love the new look and feel of OverDrive Help over the current help pages. I think the screenshots will be very helpful in illustrating what could take a thousand words.” – Ruth Ann Copley, Director of Davidson County Library System

We’re writing more articles all the time, so let us know what information you’d like to see next. For more information about the OverDrive Help website, please visit http://help.overdrive.com/about-overdrive-help.

(OverDrive Digital Library Blog, February 16, 2012)