Penguin Group has suspended the availability of download audiobook titles for library purchase across all vendors, according to a message that OverDrive sent to its library partners today.
The OverDrive message says: “This change does not affect any Penguin audiobook titles currently in your library’s catalog. Your library will be able to purchase additional copies of titles released before 11/14/2011. However, titles released after this date and new releases will not be available, per instruction from the publisher.”
“What we’ve shared with our partners is all we know at this time,” said David Burleigh, a spokesperson for OverDrive. OverDrive offers about 40,000 audiobook titles in its US catalog, Burleigh said.
This latest decision comes on top of the policy shift that Penguin announced in November that ended public libraries’ access to new ebook titles from the publisher.
For more, go to
http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/01/ebooks/penguin-further-narrows-library-access-suspending-availability-of-audiobook-titles/