CLEVELAND, June 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As OverDrive enters its 40th year, founder Steve Potash is entering a new chapter of mission‑driven leadership focused on expanding global advocacy for literacy, support for public institutions of learning, and promotion of access to knowledge. In his role as Chairman of the Board for OverDrive, Inc., Potash will remain actively engaged in OverDrive’s long‑term strategy and global growth while dedicating increased attention to advocacy efforts that reflect the company’s founding mission: a world enlightened by reading.
Potash founded OverDrive in 1986 with an early focus on digital content — long before ebooks, streaming, or mobile devices were commonplace. In the company’s early years, that work ranged from digitizing professional materials to distributing content on physical media, laying the technical groundwork for what would later become large-scale digital distribution.
“As a lifelong entrepreneur I know that today’s progress happens incrementally,” reflected Potash. “OverDrive’s story isn’t about overnight breakthroughs. It’s about building durable systems over time through learning, adapting, and staying focused on the work.”
OverDrive has since grown from a small digital content startup into a global partner to over 80,000 libraries and schools, modernizing how communities access digital content across generations and geographies.
“Libraries and schools have never been more important,” said Potash. “They are the connective tissue between information and opportunity. This next chapter gives me the opportunity to focus deeply on advocating for the institutions as well as the educational and library professionals who dedicate themselves to improving all communities via literacy and lifelong learning.”
A central focus of this next chapter is the early development of the OverDrive Foundation, designed to formalize and extend OverDrive's longstanding commitment to literacy in its many forms. The Foundation will support initiatives that strengthen literacy outcomes, advance library services, and promote early and lifelong learning across communities.
“Literacy is not a single challenge — it is many, and every one of them is solvable,” said Potash. “A child discovering their first book, an adult returning to learning, a family making sound financial decisions, a neighbor participating fully in civic life, a patient understanding their own health, a community gaining the digital skills to thrive — each is a door we can open together. When we advance literacy in every form, we advance every life it touches. I invite everyone who believes in the power of reading and learning to join us in this work.”
Through advocacy, partnerships, and philanthropic investment, Potash will continue working to expand OverDrive's impact in key global markets while championing the essential role of libraries and institutions in education, workforce development, and informed communities.
About OverDrive
OverDrive is a mission-based company that supports libraries and schools. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive serves more than 80,000 libraries and schools in 115 countries with the industry’s largest digital catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, video and other content. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading app, the Kanopy video streaming app, and TeachingBooks. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com
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Madison Stoneburner OverDrive 2165736886 mstoneburner@overdrive.com
