As Kindle’s library-lending initiative went from a Seattle-area beta on Monday to a full rollout yesterday, the expected wave of confusion began. Amazon’s press release said customers “can now borrow Kindle books from more than 11,000 local libraries in the United States” but that declaration was premature. The implementation of the library offerings comes through service provider OverDrive, which did not have all of their library customers activated when the press release landed. The company said on their own blog that they are “quickly updating all US public and school library partner websites to support Kindle compatibility and will complete […]
Libraries
Kindle Library Lending Begins
Kindle’s library lending initiative has gone live in the US libraries served by OverDrive. The program was first announced in April, and spotted in a beta rollout that began Monday at the Seattle Public Library and the King County Library System. (Though a You Tube video from King County describing the download process was taken down at Amazon’s request, according to an LJ story.) Director of the King County Library System Bill Ptacek implied that the Kindle tablet expected later this year may more prominently promote library ebook lending, though his remark is a bit cryptic: “Ptacek is expecting Kindle […]
Librarians Hopeful As HBG Considers Resuming Frontlist eBook Sales
Library Journal updates the state of negotiations on new models for selling ebooks to libraries. While some librarians have apparently convinced themselves that Hachette Book Group has a plan to start selling them frontlist ebooks again, Hachette executives make it clear their internal debate is still underway. SVP for Hachette Digital Maja Thomas has been meeting with the relevant parties, but the HBG team has not made any decisions. “It’s an extremely sensitive issue and there is a lot of passion on both sides, and we’ve been working diligently here for months on it,” she says. “I will present [her […]
eBriefs: DRM-Free for Libraries, and Collins’ eBooks on the Way
As promised, OverDrive is making available to libraries a collection of DRM-free ebooks from those publishers willing to issue their ebooks that way (Carina Press, O’Reilly, Microsoft Press, etc.). The DRM-free titles carry the same one-lend-at-a-time-per-copy as other protected titles. Release With the forthcoming release of his new book this October, business writer Jim Collins has agreed to have HarperCollins publish GOOD TO GREAT in ebook form on July 19, followed by ebook editions over his three other books over the following few months.
Options for Library eBook Lending Expand Rapidly
The library ebook lending market is getting increasingly competitive, and diverse. At this year’s ALA Conference in New Orleans, major new ebook lending schemes, product improvements and new business models have been announced by a variety of players. 3M officially unveiled their comprehensive new ebook lending service offering, and is in the middle of a battle over whether libraries that have been OverDrive customers are contractually allowed to move their already-purchased ebook collections to 3M or other vendors. (Permission is required from the publishers in any event. The Kansas Digital Library Consortium is the system testing this provision, and they […]
Briefs: EBSCO and H.W. Wilson to Merge; Mirasol Reader is Dead; and More
EBSCO and H.W. Wilson have merged in a deal that combines the two publishing companies’ operations with the intended goal of improving services for libraries. Wilson president and ceo Harry Regan said in a statement: “EBSCO and H.W. Wilson have been engaged as business partners for a number of years and are now officially operating as one. The result will be a broader and deeper range of products and services for the library reference community with significantly added value. Both companies have had separate, distinctive histories, but have always shared a common commitment for the highest order of customer satisfaction.” […]