Category Archives: Public Libraries

ALA panel summary: Leading with Ebooks

A few weeks ago at the ALA Annual Conference, Mirela Roncevic, an NSR contributing writer, organized a panel discussion about leading with ebooks.  Panelists included:

  • Jamie LaRue – founder of the Douglas County Libraries Model, a library platform for the management of ebooks.
  • Stuart Smith -  Open Road; featured speaker on Huffington Post Live and is a contributor to multiple literacy blogs.
  • Terry Kirchner – Westchester Library System, Terry has taken the digital leap and fully embraces the potential offered by ebooks.
  • Michael Rockliff set out to become a librarian, and is now Director, School and Library Sales & Marketing at Workman Publishing Company, where he remains happily ensconsed.
  • Yoav Lorch is a writer turned entrepreneur and founder of Total BooX, his third startup.

I enjoyed the initial presentations from both Roncevic and Lorch,  They both agreed to share their slides which are available here:

Mirela led with a discussion on the difference between a manager and a leader. She provided several examples with regard to ebooks.  For instance, managing ebooks might include words like build, limit, copy, accept, control, or take.  But, leading with ebooks would look more like these words:  create, expand, originate, challenge, inspire, and give. This, of course, relates to both publishers and libraries. Continue reading

Odilio partners with eVoke Colorado for customization of local ebook interface

The statewide e-book project, also known as eVoke Colorado, continues to reach significant milestones. The project team has purchased the initial collection, implemented new design elements and integrated functionality with OverDrive and library catalogs.

By project end, eVoke Colorado endeavors to create an alpha-stage, end-to-end cloud e-content infrastructure that can provide digital content purchasing and lending capabilities to all Colorado libraries. Earlier this year, the project achieved milestones allowing library users to search and access e-content alongside physical content, see real-time availability, and download titles from within library catalogs. Continue reading

Axis 360 API integration now available for Innovative’s Polaris ILS

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 14, 2014 – Baker & Taylor, the premier worldwide distributor of digital and print books and entertainment products, announced today that API integration between its Axis 360 digital media platform and Innovative’s Polaris ILS has been completed, achieving a new milestone in simplified patron experience and digital library administration benefits. Continue reading

ALA Panel Alert: Leading with Ebooks — New Strategies for Librarians and Publishers

Join a panel of librarians, publishers, and thought leaders in a dynamic exchange of ideas for advancing ebook services in libraries.

LEADING WITH EBOOKS: NEW STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARIANS AND PUBLISHERS
Sunday, June 29th, Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N252, 3:30 p.m.

Sponsored by Total BooX, an ebook service based on the premise that public libraries need not settle for less than instant, simultaneous access to ebooks or pay for the content not read by their patrons, this panel seeks to challenge existing patterns in ebook management and engage industry leaders to identify the trends moving publishing and librarianship into new territories.

Topics explored include: thinking like digital natives (even if we are not); tracking reading (after the checkout); rethinking marketing (as everyone’s task); valuing content (while embracing technology); and acting now (and walking the talk).

The panel is moderated by Mirela Roncevic, co-editor of ALA’s journal eContent Quarterly and contributing writer to No Shelf Required.

Continue reading

Britannica’s ImageQuest releases upgraded version, provides 3 million rights-cleared images

Britannica Digital Learning announced a new and significantly upgraded version of its popular ImageQuest™ resource for schools and libraries.

ImageQuest provides nearly three million rights-cleared photos and other images for homework, classroom activities and lesson plans. Images come from more than 50 of the best collections in the world, including the Bridgeman Art Gallery, Dorling Kindersley Images, Getty Images, the National Geographic Society and Encyclopaedia Britannica. Continue reading

Total BooX Announces Service Expansion in the United States

Total Boox

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Allegany County (MD), Brazoria County (TX), and The Ferguson Library, Stamford (CT) Join Westchester Library System (NY) To Offer Total BooX Service

May 28, 2014 (New York, Tel Aviv)—Total BooX is pleased to announce the expansion of its service in U.S. libraries, which officially launched in late 2013 with Westchester Library System in New York. Three more libraries will now provide the revolutionary ebook service to their patrons, including Allegany County Library System (ACLS), MD, Brazoria County Library System (BCLS), TX, and The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT.

“Ours is the only platform that allows libraries to pay for the value received, while giving patrons instant and perpetual access. This is a major shift,” said Total BooX Founder Yoav Lorch when the service debuted at ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia in January 2014. Since then, the Israeli company has expanded its operations in the United States to include representatives on the East and West coasts. Continue reading

Gale redesigns Kids InfoBits database

 Below is a press release from Gale discussing the recent changes to the Kids InfoBits database.  New interface features include:
  • Social media sharing
  • EasyBib integration and improved citation tools
  • Text translation to 12 different languages
  • ReadSpeaker text-to-speech functionality (which plays translated text)

Continue reading

DPLA partners with the University of Florida, nearly 400,000 items accessible

BOSTON — The George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida (UF) have partnered with DPLA by contributing more than 390,000 items, including antique maps, rare books, manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, newspapers, and research publications. All will become accessible to DPLA’s global audience of students, teachers, scholars, developers, and the public. Continue reading

OverDrive ebooks now available with Kindle FreeTime

OverDrive announced today that eBooks from more than 20,000 schools and libraries in its U.S. network are available to be used with Amazon’s Kindle FreeTime. OverDrive is the only supplier of eBooks to schools and libraries with support for Kindle devices. This enables kids and parents to access thousands of Kindle format eBooks from the library and read them within the FreeTime feature using the same parental controls and educational goal-setting that FreeTime offers for other activities. Continue reading

Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 expands to Canadian libraries through partnership with Whitehots

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 12, 2014 – Baker & Taylor, the premier worldwide distributor of digital and print books and entertainment products, today announced an expansion of its widely-adopted Axis 360 digital media services into Canadian libraries, in partnership with well-known library service provider Whitehots Inc. Continue reading
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