18-OCT-2024 - Coming soon: Format changes in the OverDrive APIs

Dear OverDrive API partner,

Following last year’s sunset of the OverDrive app, we continue to streamline the borrowing process for users and align the API experience with Libby. Specifically, we’re removing the EPUB, PDF, and MP3 formats from API responses.

What changes are we making?

We're removing the MP3, EPUB, and PDF formats from API responses, including the Search API, Metadata API, and the formats array on the Library Account API response. This follows up on our change earlier this year to remove these formats from the API fulfillment screen.

To avoid confusion for users, please reference our branding guidelines for more information about how to refer to OverDrive formats.

We’re also making the following improvements:

• We’re adding improved handling for Kindle early returns to let end users know they have to initiate early returns via Amazon now.
• We’re removing the deprecated autocheckout flag on our Holds API. Be aware that this may break implementations that rely on the flag.

Why are we making these changes?

We’re bringing the APIs more in line with the features and functionality in Libby. These changes go along with other recent changes, including removing formats from the loan fulfillment screen, adding Libby share links to Metadata API responses, and our new branding guidelines for API integrations.

When will these changes be implemented?

These changes are already available in our partner integration environment for your review. We expect to deploy these changes to our production environment on November 18, 2024. We recommend testing the changes in the integration environment now to ensure they won’t adversely impact your existing implementation.

As always, thanks for being an OverDrive API partner,

The OverDrive API team