In accordance with the global trend to adopt ebooks, the Liverpool city library has decided to go for a digital makeover by inducting more ebooks in its collection. The city council has earmarked more than £370k for the service dubbed Read Liverpool which has made available more than 6,000 ebooks for free download.Cllr Wendy Simon, Liverpool council's assistant mayor and … [Read more...] about Read Liverpool Program Introduces 6,000 Free eBooks
Digital Library News
Overdrive Now Allows Penguin Titles to be Sent Right to Kindle e-Readers
Overdrive and Penguin have announced residents of the US or Canada can now checkout eBooks from the library and have them sent directly to a Kindle, without the need of a USB. This move simplifies the entire process and makes Amazon owners not have to jump through a bunch of hoops to borrow and read books.Last September Overdrive came to terms with Penguin to offer over … [Read more...] about Overdrive Now Allows Penguin Titles to be Sent Right to Kindle e-Readers
Libraries, Gale Partner for Online Accredited High School Diploma Program
According to data gathered by Cengage Learning, one US student drops out of high school every 26 seconds. The end result is is more than one million Americans every year leaving school without a diploma. While sociologists have studied the effects on society of having a significant portion of the population unqualified and incapable of securing employment, companies like … [Read more...] about Libraries, Gale Partner for Online Accredited High School Diploma Program
New Treaty Could Mandate Publishers to Allow Organisations to Convert Books into Audiobooks for the Blind
There has been a gradual shift among big name ebook publishers to branch out into developing audiobooks, an industry segment that is worth billions already and is expected to climb further. While this can be an exciting new option to comprehend a book, audiobooks can actually come as a boon to the blind, it being a handy option for them to connect to the literary world. Towards … [Read more...] about New Treaty Could Mandate Publishers to Allow Organisations to Convert Books into Audiobooks for the Blind
6 Libraries Loan Out 1 Million eBooks Each in 2013
One of the big bright spots of digital books this year was the massive role libraries have played. The ALA in conjunction with Overdrive has been relentless in their pursuits to convince major publishers that books were not devalued when loaned out for free. Their efforts have brought on the big 5 publishing companies in either pilot projects or nationwide rollouts. This has … [Read more...] about 6 Libraries Loan Out 1 Million eBooks Each in 2013
15,000 Penguin eBooks Available for Canadian Libraries via Overdrive
Overdrive has just signed off on a deal with publishing giant Penguin, to have 15,000 eBook titles made available to Canadian libraries. This is a big move and thousands of libraries and consortiums will be able to finally offer mainstream titles by some of the worlds best authors.The new Penguin titles will be made available under the one copy/one user lending model. … [Read more...] about 15,000 Penguin eBooks Available for Canadian Libraries via Overdrive
Strong News About Library Use by Pew Internet
One of the really interesting dynamics about public libraries is that, even as patronage appears to be dropping, more and more Americans claim that libraries are vital to the health of a community. Data from a new survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet Project polled over six thousand Americans about their library use, as well as their attitudes about the need for … [Read more...] about Strong News About Library Use by Pew Internet
Quebec’s Book Price Fixing Law Can Ruin the Book Economy
The government of Quebec has gone forward with a law that was months in the making, putting a restriction on book pricing. Retailers can not discount a book more than ten percent now, and that restriction applies to both print and ebooks. However, despite the celebration of the news from booksellers and publishers, there are several problems with the measure.First, there is … [Read more...] about Quebec’s Book Price Fixing Law Can Ruin the Book Economy
Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 is Starting a Pilot with Simon & Schuster to Make eBook Titles Available to Schools
Baker & Taylor, the world’s largest distributor of digital and physical books and entertainment products, announced today that through a pilot program it will now be able to make available more than 450 popular ebook titles from Simon & Schuster imprints to classrooms and school libraries using the Axis 360 digital media circulation platform.The brand new pilot program will … [Read more...] about Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 is Starting a Pilot with Simon & Schuster to Make eBook Titles Available to Schools
McGraw Hill Teams Up with OverDrive to Offer Catalog of Professional Titles
OverDrive, the world's largest provider of digital content to academic and public libraries, announced a new partnership today that will increase its catalog of offered titles, specifically in key areas of business, science, and research. McGraw-Hill Professional, a widely respected provider of content and services for the medical, technical, and business communities, is making … [Read more...] about McGraw Hill Teams Up with OverDrive to Offer Catalog of Professional Titles
National Library of Norway Digitizing All Books Published in Norway
The National Library of Norway has embarked on an ambitious mission, that of digitizing all of its titles with the hope of achieving this by mid-2020. Such an endeavor will cover every book ever published in the country since, as per Norwegian law, all published material in all media should be deposited with the National Library of Norway. This will ensure everyone in Norway … [Read more...] about National Library of Norway Digitizing All Books Published in Norway
OverDrive Offers Digital Kids’ Reading Rooms to Partner Libraries
Throughout the recent controversy over inappropriate and explicit content being listed in ebook retail websites alongside children's and middle grade titles, the same questions kept coming to the surface: how did this happen, and how do we prevent it? Unfortunately for the authors and publishers of much of the questionable content, the immediate solution was to block nearly all … [Read more...] about OverDrive Offers Digital Kids’ Reading Rooms to Partner Libraries
Outlook Grim for Public Libraries
As if public libraries have ever had the problem of having too much money, news from the Speak Up for Libraries conference painted a dark picture of what the coming year may bring, at least for UK libraries. Concerns of budget cuts from public funding sources, worries over offering a full selection of new and updated titles within the libraries' means, and fears about losing … [Read more...] about Outlook Grim for Public Libraries