Are Canadian library users checking out books by Canadians or about Canadian subjects? How easy are such books to find? Our latest research report, Checking Out Canadians, delves into awareness of Canadian titles among both library users and non-library users.Library Pricing for Digital Products
With the growing list of ebooks being made available to libraries for patron loan, we’ve seen a lot of experimentation with different publisher payment models, from loan limitations to different up-front pricing for libraries with unlimited loan licensing. If your publishing house has opted for this second option — or even if you have the same pricing for consumer and library purchase, but you want to be clear about this to the supply chain — how do you indicate this in your ONIX record?
Spotlight: BiblioCommons
The technology behind library ebook distribution can be challenging for librarians and patrons alike.
Beth Jefferson, the co-founder and CEO of library-focused tech startup BiblioCommons, discusses the opportunities and challenges of public library ebook distribution, and suggests ways that libraries can improve user experience, increase discoverability of a wider range of titles, and even—wait for it—sell books to library patrons.
The State of E-Lending in Canada
This year, at Technology Forum we spent some time getting to know our librarian partners better. We shared information and found new ways to collaborate. This is why I brought Susan Renouf and Ken Roberts in to give an information session on March 6th about the state of e-lending in Canada.
Canadian Book Buyers and Their Relationship to Libraries
Voracious readers will often beg or borrow their books from anywhere possible—buy books in person or online, borrow from the library or steal from friends. As part of The Canadian Book Consumer we have the opportunity to drill down into topical questions and we’re interested in understanding more about how book buyers use the library.
Seeking a Made-in-Canada Solution to Library Ebook Lending
Metadata Standards Visualization
The sheer number of metadata standards in the cultural heritage sector is overwhelming, and their inter-relationships further complicate the situation. A new resource, Seeing Standards: A Visualization of the Metadata Universe, is intended to assist planners with the selection and implementation of metadata standards.
Back to the Future
The other night I went to a panel discussion billed as the Future of the Bookstore and I have been trying to collect my thoughts about it ever since but not sure I have yet. Predicting the future is a tough business and maybe not a fruitful one unless you’re Ray Kurzweil or an investment banker.
New Sony Reader Offers Free Library Checkouts
Good for Sony for jumping out with a totally different use case for eReaders: library books. The new Reader Daily Edition is set to be released in December 2009, will retail for around $300 USD and will allow users to get a digital ‘library card’ and borrow books from such stalwart institutions as the New York Public Library.
University Press Says No More Paper (But Still Books)
The University of Michigan Press has announced they are now transitioning to an all eBook list within 24 months.”Within two years, press officials expect well over 50 of the 60-plus monographs that the press publishes each year…”
