February 11, 2016

3M Cloud Library Introduces “Buy and Donate” Program Supported by Kobo

From 3M’s Announcement:

The new program gives libraries the option to add a Buy and Donate button to their 3M Cloud Library website. When patrons click the button, they will be taken to the Kobo Bookstore to finalize their digital book purchases. 3M will donate a portion of sales to the library for use in purchasing additional eBooks from the 3M Cloud Library. With library budgets under constant pressure, this additional revenue stream can be a valuable way to enhance collections.

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In addition to helping bolster the relationship between patrons and libraries, the program also hopes to drive eBook traffic for publishers who are not yet participating in the library market.

“This effort will help us engage with more publishers, and through added exposure in the Kobo eBook store, publishers will gain another avenue for readers to discover their eBook content,” said [Matt] Tempelis [Global Business Manager for 3M Library Systems].

The Buy and Donate feature will roll out in November to participating libraries.

Note: We’ve asked 3M for more details including what percentage of  a books sale price will be donated back to the local library. We will update this post if/when we learn more.

OverDrive formally announced their WIN platform (library partners  earn affiliate fees for all sales referred through a link from their public library website) two years ago tomorrow. 

Related Stories

See Also: Toronto Public Library’s “Buy a Book” Program Adds Kobo as a Retail Partner (July 9, 2013)

See Also: Two Librarians From Vancouver on Why Libraries Should Sell Books (July 9, 2013)

See Also: Wall St. Journal Reports on Libraries Who are Selling Print and Ebooks (June 15, 2013)

From the Article:

Book sales through libraries so far have been low. More than 35,000 e-book titles supplied by OverDrive are available in the catalog of the New York Public Library. Since February 2012, the library has made less than $1,000 from sales, earning 6% to 8% of each transaction as credit toward purchases from the e-book distributor.

In New Jersey, the Mount Laurel Library launched book sales in late March. Since then, patrons have made 54 purchases totaling $1,702.68, resulting in $48.84 for the library, the library said.

Gary Price About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.

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