Library to Join E-book Consortium

(Gainesville) – The Hall County Library System is pleased to announce that our Overdrive/LIBBY downloadable e-book service will become part of the GADD (Georgia Downloadable Destination) consortium on July 1, 2021. Hall County Library cardholders will still have the first crack at all items owned by Hall County, including our current LIBBY e-book collection, but they will also have access to over 20,000 titles owned by other GADD member libraries. This service is very similar to the PINES statewide lending library model for books, but will serve users in need of downloadable audiobooks, magazines, and e-books.

Current Hall County Library patrons using the Overdrive/LIBBY app will not need to set up a new account or download a new app to their device.  Existing information should transfer seamlessly, although there may be a brief downtime for new checkouts on July 1 as the transition takes place.  Anyone who needs to download materials during that brief time may use HOOPLA, the other downloadable service available from the Hall County Library.

Library Director Lisa MacKinney stated, “By joining the GADD consortium, we will be able to offer our community the same high-quality service that has been available through the Libby app while expanding the number of e-books and audiobooks available.  We fully believe our patrons will enjoy GADD just as much as they enjoy PINES for printed books.”

Georgia Download Destination (GADD) offers e-books and downloadable audiobooks to 50 library systems in Georgia, serving over 280 physical branches. Since launching in 2008, GADD has:

◦Built a collection of over 20,000 items

◦Checked out those items to patrons over 2,000,000 times

◦Served over 70,000 patrons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                  MEDIA CONTACT:

June 21, 2021                                                                                      Lisa MacKinney

                                                                                                            770-532-3311 ext. 134