Ohio Digital Book Distributor Advances US-China Mutual Understanding

“There are more than 500 million English readers or learners in China,” states Steve Potash, Cleveland native and founder of OverDrive, an Ohio-based digital content distributor for libraries and schools worldwide. “If you are a publisher that wants to sell to English-speaking readers, there are more in China than in North America.”

Distributing English-language books in China is not only good business; it is also a critical avenue for facilitating deeper mutual understanding between the United States and China. Through OverDrive, Potash has been promoting such educational exchange between the two global powers for over 15 years.

“The quality and content of American books are one of the greatest soft powers of the United States.”

Potash was an entrepreneur and went to law school at night at Cleveland State University in the late 1970s. After he graduated from law school, he decided to digitize law books and automate custom documents and forms, founding OverDrive in 1986. The company digitized law books first and then turned to tax and accounting books.

Over the last 37 years, OverDrive has evolved into the single largest supplier of digital books (including e-books, audiobooks, digital magazines, and videos) to public libraries, K-12 school libraries, military libraries, corporations, and other institutions around the world. Serving 88,000 institutions, they provide e-books and audiobooks in 100 languages. “Every second of every day we are delivering 50 books,” explained Potash. Readers might be familiar with OverDrive’s app known as Libby, the library reading app.

“The quality and content of American books are one of the greatest soft powers of the United States. Exporting them abroad helps promote American culture and brings into the United States hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue per year that goes to domestic production houses, audio production studios, authors, and elsewhere,” Potash said.

Currently, OverDrive has 550 employees at its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, and the company also has international staff in countries such as China, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Importing leads to exporting

As OverDrive expanded their English language collection, Potash quickly saw the pressing need and unmet demand of Chinese Americans, Chinese individuals, and Americans studying Chinese, for access to a diverse range of Chinese books for all ages. The United States is one of the top destinations for Chinese immigrants worldwide and tens of thousands of native English-speaking Americans study Chinese as well. Around fifteen years ago, Potash started engaging with leading Chinese book publishers and media companies in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen and establishing digital distribution agreements with Chinese distributors for OverDrive to distribute Chinese language books in the United States and around the world.

During the first five years of developing their business in China, OverDrive focused on building relationships and presenting itself as a trusted distributor for Chinese partners, publishers, and government agencies. Before the pandemic, Potash was going to China several times per year. During interactions with his Chinese business partners and government officials, Potash realized his Chinese counterparts appreciated the business relationship as well, as it helps share Chinese literature with other parts of the world. For example, the working relationship between Potash and his partners in China has resulted in about 120,000 Chinese titles being stocked in the San Francisco Public Library alone. “OverDrive has developed good relations with Chinese publishers and agencies because we sell their titles worldwide,” mentioned Potash.

“If you invest with the long-term objective of establishing a relationship with Chinese interests in mind, you have access to one of the largest markets in the world. While there may be significant geopolitical and other issues at play, let’s not create barriers for US companies to grow their businesses in China.”

After five years of distributing Chinese content outside of China, Chinese government officials permitted Potash to bring foreign content into China. OverDrive now works with over 100 libraries in China. They’ve successfully curated materials that they want to promote in the Chinese market while taking into account various Chinese government restrictions. OverDrive’s presence in China has encountered challenges due to the country’s online firewall, particularly during sensitive periods. Over the last decade, they have learned what will be approved and have streamlined that process.

Read on

Although travel restrictions in China have been lifted, Potash is still cautious about the state of the economy. Many of OverDrive’s partners in China are government agencies and finances are increasingly tight. Uncertainties in China have pushed Potash to manage expectations going into 2024

“We are monitoring the economic conditions in China,” said Potash. “Our quality content can support young people working to improve their skills and careers. OverDrive’s focus for China in 2024 is to grow our catalog of quality Chinese content for selling into the global market. We will continue to support our Chinese library customers and promote our premium content to more readers. The growing readership helps to lay a solid foundation for further growth in China.”

Overall, Potash is still optimistic about the company’s long-term outlook in China. “If you invest with the long-term objective of establishing a relationship with Chinese interests in mind, you have access to one of the largest markets in the world. While there may be significant geopolitical and other issues at play, let’s not create barriers for US companies to grow their businesses in China.”

The hard work of Potash and his team helped OverDrive win the 2021 President’s “E” Award issued by the US Department of Commerce for outstanding performance in exporting. Although China has not become one of OverDrive’s top five overseas markets yet, the company’s presence in the market continues to grow each year. Potash views China as an emerging market and his company as a valuable force for advancing mutual understanding between the United States and China.

Let’s hope readers on both sides of the Pacific continue to read on.