April 26, 2024

Library Vendors Make Business Case to Publishers | BEA 2014

By on June 10, 2014
"The Untapped Retail Channel: Public Libraries” panel on Friday, May 30 at the 2014 BookExpo America (BEA) conference in New York

When ebooks or other digital materials are not readily available in libraries, publishers “are missing a key conduit to a market that [they] can’t tap any other way,” Rebecca T. Miller, editorial director for Library Journal and School Library Journal, stated in her opening remarks for the “The Untapped Retail Channel: Public Libraries” panel on Friday, May 30 at the 2014 BookExpo America (BEA) conference in New York. Leaders from top library ebook and streaming media companies weighed in on this issue during an hour-long discussion.

Filed Under: Acquisition and Fulfillment, Digital Libraries, Ebooks, Featured, Publishing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

More Vendors Help Libraries Stream Video

By on July 12, 2013
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Since the beginning of 2013, four major library vendors have announced the launch of new or expanded streaming services that will enable patrons to view movies and television shows at their library or at home using computers, tablets, smart TVs, or any device equipped with a web browser.

Filed Under: Acquisition and Fulfillment, Featured, Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Freading Working on Enhancing Discoverability, Bigger Publisher List

By on March 28, 2013
Freading Logo Thumbnail

On April 12, Library Ideas will launch Freading 2.0, an upgrade of its existing pay-per-circ ebook platform. This will include several new features, such as MARC records supplied by OCLC for all of the 30,000 titles now offered by the service, along with an updated website with enhanced search functions, and new navigation tools that will help users find books grouped by category. This summer, Freading will also begin offering foreign language ebooks, beginning with 2,000 titles in Spanish.

Filed Under: Acquisition and Fulfillment, Discovery, Ebooks, Featured Tagged With: , ,

Freegal Simplifies MP3 Downloading with New Android, Apple Apps

By on June 11, 2012

Freegal has made it easier for library patrons to download their weekly allotment of MP3 files with the launch of new apps for Apple and Android devices, available for free at Apple’s iTunes store and at the the Google Play store. Similar to many ebook platforms, the app allows users to search for their library via zip code, and then enter their library card and PIN number to download music.

Filed Under: Digital Libraries, Mobile, User Experience Tagged With: , , , , ,

Freading, the Ebook Sibling of Freegal, Shows Signs of Rapid Growth

By on April 2, 2012

The Freading ebook platform has only been live for about three months, but it is already showing a fairly rapid rate of growth, thanks in part to its low fees and the immediate access it gives libraries to a collection of about 20,000 ebooks on a multi-user, simultaneous basis.

Filed Under: Ebooks Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Link: New Ebook Service Launched, Takes Its Inspiration from Freegal

By on June 24, 2011

Library Ideas, LLC, has launched a new ebook service for libraries that’s similar to the company’s Freegal Music product. Freading will offer 20,000 copyrighted titles from 16 publishers with a mix of frontlist and backlist titles, the company said today at the American Library Association’s annual conference in New Orleans. The publishers that have signed on […]

Filed Under: Ebooks Tagged With: , ,