Expansion Plans: Penguin E-Books Lending Service Expected to Be Available For All 3M Cloud Library Customers by End of 2012
UPDATE: Additional Coverage by Matt Ennis at Library Journal.
The Penguin/NYPL/BPL pilot that was first announced in June will be rolling out to all 3M Cloud Library customers by the end of 2012 according to an announcement today by 3M.
The initial announcement (June 21, 2012) said, “if successful, [the program] could be rolled out across the US.”
The pilot service went live available during September (a bit later than the August date first announced).
From a 3M Announcement:
The 3M Cloud Library eBook Lending Service is helping to bring Penguin eBooks to library patrons at the New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library this month. A recently launched pilot program allows the libraries to purchase and lend Penguin eBooks through the 3M Cloud Library system
During the pilot program, Penguin will make its eBooks available to the libraries for one year with renewable terms, and library patrons will be able to access the collection remotely utilizing their personal devices, including PCs, iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) Nooks and Android devices. [Our emphasis] Penguin content is expected to be available to all 3M Cloud Library customers by the end of the year.
The news release also notes that the 3M Cloud Library now has more than 70 customers.
Read the Complete Announcement
See Also: Penguin, 3M Test Ebook Pilot at NYPL, BPL (June 21, 2012 via LJ)
Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.