Amazon’s new app for kids ages 7–12 brings them original short stores that unfold in snippets of chat style text on e-readers and cell phones.
New York DOE Green Lights Amazon eBook Deal
That new book smell may soon be a thing of the past for New York City’s schoolchildren. A $30 million contract will reshape the way ebooks are used in the nation’s largest school system.
Amazon Ebook Deal With NYC Schools Not Dead Yet
Terms of the pending three-year, $30 million deal between the retail giant and the New York City Department of Education for e-materials are being revised after the National Federation of the Blind said that the technology would not adequately serve blind students.
Getting to E: The State of the School Ebook Market
School libraries are moving toward ebook adoption; the question is how fast.
DBW 2015: Amazon, Publishers Look to Ebook Subscription Services as Discovery Platform
Officials at Amazon believe subscription-based ebook consumption is an inevitability, and will continue to invest in and build the company’s Kindle Unlimited service as part of an effort to stay ahead of the emerging trend, Russ Grandinetti, senior VP, Kindle, at Amazon explained during a candid general session interview on January 14 at the Digital Book World Conference and Expo 2015. In a separate panel, publishers expressed enthusiasm for Oyster and Scribd as discovery platforms.
Librarians, Media React to Launch of Kindle Unlimited
In a long-expected move, Amazon on July 18 announced the launch of Kindle Unlimited, a new subscription service that will give users unlimited access to a selection of 600,000 ebooks and more than 2,000 audiobooks on Amazon Kindle devices and any device with a Kindle app for $9.99 per month. The online retailer’s financial resources, marketing clout, and massive base of Kindle users alter the competitive landscape for all providers of ebooks, including libraries.
Penguin Drops Side Loading Requirement for Kindle Lending
In a quick reversal of its position on Kindle lending, Penguin on September 26 loosened the terms of its renewed agreement with OverDrive, announced only the day before. The publisher has agreed to allow library patrons to download ebook titles wirelessly via OverDrive’s “Get for Kindle” function instead of, as initially announced, first downloading titles to a computer, and then side-loading those titles to their Kindle classic or Paperwhite using a USB cord.
Penguin Ebooks Return to OverDrive, Go National on Axis 360
“Penguin will resume doing business with OverDrive as of this morning,” Penguin spokesperson Erica Glass told LJ on September 25. According to a blog post by Karen Estrovich, collection development manager for OverDrive, 17,000 Penguin ebooks are already “live and available for purchase in OverDrive Marketplace.” Although Estrovich refers to the transaction as a purchase, the books are being offered for a one year term on a one copy/one user lending model.