Great news for libraries, the last of the big 6 (big 5 now I guess) has begun a pilot project to license content to several libraries in New York.  Below are links to several articles and blog posts.  Thanks to Molly Raphael for posting these links on the ALA Council listserv. The Digital Reader: http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/04/15/simon-schuster-announces-ebook-pilot-program-in-nyc  [...]

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Picked this up from the ALA Council listserv: IFLA is pleased to launch a new set of resources relating to eBooks and libraries. Providing access to eBooks is one of the most pressing issues facing libraries right now. Public libraries, in particular, are dealing with implications of rapidly changing business and access models. IFLA has [...]

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American Library Association video, with a special message from ALA President, Maureen Sullivan – E-books and Digital Content  

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From an ALA Press Release on November 27, 2012  As several large book publishers continue to deny libraries access to their e-books, and others make e-books available under difficult terms, libraries find themselves unable to provide the reading and educational materials demanded by their patrons. As a result, many librarians are asking, “What can I [...]

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The e-content blog at American Libraries has a nice summary about the ALA/publisher meetings in New York. Not only does it summarize the meetings, but provides links to many other valuable resources concerning eBooks, public libraries, and pricing. http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content/focus-future-two-days-publisher-meetings-new-york-city

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An open letter to America’s publishers from ALA President Maureen Sullivan September 24, 2012, CHICAGO — The following open letter was released by American Library Association (ALA) President Maureen Sullivan regarding Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin refusal to provide access to their e-books in U.S. libraries. The open letter states: It’s a rare thing [...]

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Andrew Richard Albanese from Publisher’s Weekly wrote a very nice article about life with eBooks in public libraries.  I have clipped a couple of paragraphs below.  The fulltext is available on the Publisher’s Weekly site. Begin clip: Discussions between libraries and the big six publishers over e-book lending have grabbed headlines in 2012, but despite [...]

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From an OCLC press release: DUBLIN, Ohio, July 10, 2012—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded a $99,957 grant to OCLC for a new initiative, “The Big Shift: Advancing Public Library Participation in Our Digital Future.” The purpose of the grant is to more fully understand the challenges that U.S. public libraries [...]

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Libraries Thriving is a Collaborative Space for e-Resource Innovation and Information Literacy Promotion. Thinking and doing.  I had the chance to speak with Laura Warren, Solutions Associate for Credo Reference (a supporter of Libraries Thriving) about the program.  Our interview is now available on the NSR interviews page. Here is more information about Libraries Thriving: [...]

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Congrats to everyone at Unglue.it for the first successful campaign.  Here is the official press release: Two hundred and fifty-nine supporters pledged a total of $7,578 to a campaign to “unglue” Ruth Finnegan’s 1970 classic, “Oral Literature in Africa”. The campaign, which lasted 33 days, topped the campaign’s target at 12:30AM EDT on June 20 [...]

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