The Digital Reader

Back in late November I announced that I was going to start a series on digital libraries. I was planning to look at the various ways that an organization could distribute content to paying or non-paying users.

Unfortunately, that series went awry because I had trouble getting Baker & Taylor, B&N, and Freading to talk to me. That frustration led me to table the idea (CES was coming up, too), but today another option appeared unannounced. I don’t really have the time but this idea is sufficiently fascinating that I cannot let it pass.

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As the next part of my series on library ebook alternatives, I’d like to discuss a program that ebrary just launched today.

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If you’ve been paying attention to ebook news this past week then you’ve probably read about Penguin curtailing their library ebook distribution. Their actions and the debate among librarians inspired me to push ahead with a series of posts I’ve planning.

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I’ve posted in the past about an e-reader petting zoo in an airport, and I’ve even posted the occasional image showing how you could buy an e-reader from a vending machine. But late last week i came across something new. It’s a clever little program being run in Florida by Broward County Library, and it’s one that a lot of libraries can probably duplicate.

The BCL have set up 12 signs at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport promoting their free ebook downloads. You can find the signs near the baggage carousels. Assuming you have a camera equipped smartphone or tablet, you can use the QR code on the signs to visit the BCL website and download an ebook.

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Today was the first day of the National Book Festival, which is held every year on the National Mall. It’s usually incredibly crowded so I generally don’t spend much time at the event. But I still go because it’s good chance to touch bases with OverDrive. I usually pick up an interesting detail or 2.

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Earlier this week Sony officially launched their latest ebook reader, the PRS-T1, and I’m sure you’ve read about it. (It’s that boring looking Sony clone that leaked on Saturday.)

One of the features that everyone talked up as being new and great was that the T1 would have full integration with OverDrive’s digital library platform. There’s going to be a specific icon on the T1 for OverDrive and it’s going to support direct downloads over Wifi from participating libraries (library card required.)

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Swets Information Services, library subscription services company, recently announced that they had expanded their ebook collection to include more that 1,000,000 titles from aggregators and publishers all over the world. Swets processes more than 1.8 million subscriptions each year for more than 60,000 customers in over 160 countries, and that’s bound to grow with the new larger content offering.

Libraries can now sign up with Swetwise and get ebooks from Bibliotechnia, Canadian Electronic Library, ciando eBooks, ebrary, Safari Books Online, World eBook Library Consortia (WEL), Sesame Street eBookstore, Elsevier, and many more.

image by ionntag