There is a wave of library-related press releases with the ALA’s annual conference and exhibition starting today in Chicago (and running through July 2). One announcement of broad interest is the launch of LibraryReads this fall, a recommendation program that aims to serve as a national “library staff picks list.” The initiative will highlight ten adult titles every month “that library staff have read, have loved, and cannot wait to share with their patrons.” LibraryReads is managed by a steering committee of public librarians and library advocates, and they have allied with the ALA, the AAP, and even the ABA, […]
Libraries
Tech: Ingram’s New Tool for Independent Publishers; Libre Rolls Out Digital Distribution; BookScout Adds Mobile; 3M Provides Daily Data;
Ingram will launch a new self-service “publish-on-demand” platform for independent publishers, IngramSpark, this summer. It combines their Lighting Source (print-in-demand) and Core Source (digital asset distribution) services in a single toolset, to manage print and ebook distribution under one umbrella. General Manager of Ingram Publisher Services Mark Ouimet says “independent publishers will now have access to Ingram’s reach, enabling them to affordably print copies, distribute books to global retailers, make titles available to all major e-readers and connect with more customers worldwide.” After the initial launch, Ingram plans to add versions of some of their other services to the platform, including MyiLibrary […]
Sourcebooks and OverDrive In Free eBook Library Pilot
In a new type of library discovery case study, Sourcebooks and OverDrive are working together to offer Michael Malone’s novel FOUR CORNERS OF THE SKY available for free to library patrons in hundreds of countries for 18 days, beginning May 15. They are calling it the “Big Library Read.” The objective is to accumulate data to quantify the effects of library support on sales and discovery in a variety of ways. In particular, Sourcebooks is looking to see if the special promotion drives strong and sustainable checkouts; if that carries over to the author’s other books; and if it results […]
Hachette Book Group to Resume Sale of New eBooks to Libraries
Hachette Book Group announced Wednesday that it will make its entire catalog of ebooks available to libraries, beginning May 8, including new and recent releases. HBG had stopped the sale of new ebooks to libraries as of April 2010, so the policy change will open up both brand-new releases as well as titles from the past 3 years to library ebook lending. HBG has formalized new terms of sale that expand on the backlist ebook price increases they introduced in February 2012 as “part of an experimental pilot to find out more about the digital library marketplace.” eBook versions of newly-released titles […]
S&S Finally Initiates eBook Library Lending in NYC Pilot Program
The last of the big six trade publishers to at least try lending ebooks to libraries, Simon & Schuster announced on Monday their first experiment: A one-year pilot program with the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Public Library that will make available S&S’s complete catalog of ebooks, with new titles available immediately upon publication. Manhattan and Brooklyn’s program will start lending April 30, with Queens to follow suit in mid-May. Under the pilot program, the three library systems can acquire any S&S ebook title at any time, with each title available for use for […]
Penguin to Allow Libraries to Lend New eBook Releases
Penguin will lift their six-month windowing on new hardcover releases for libraries, allowing libraries to purchase/license and lend those titles immediately upon publication. Director of online sales and marketing Tim McCall tells the AP it’s an evolution of their lending experiments (under which they have been working with 3M and Baker & Taylor). “We feel that we’re ready to take the next step and offer what consumers and libraries have been asking for.” Penguin sells ebooks to libraries at the consumer ebook price, for one-at-a-time lending for one year only. Their soon-to-be partners at Random House offer ebooks to a […]