Canadian Public Libraries Looking For Viable "Canadian Alternative" to OverDrive

From Quill and Quire:

In the past year, library groups such as CULC [Canadian Urban Libraries Council] have met several times with the Association of Canadian Publishers and the Canadian Publishers’ Council, expressing the urgency of finding “easier ways for our patrons to discover and borrow books, and [have] access to more content,” says de Castell
Libraries are also using these meetings to share their expertise on licensing models used by other digital-content providers. “Journals, newspapers, and magazines have been online in libraries for more than 10 years, so we’ve had a fair amount of experience dealing with buying electronic content,” says de Castell. “Scholarly publishers and academic publishers … have been selling electronic content in ebook format for many years. They’re very experienced and comfortable with [a licensing] model, but it is very new for many of the trade publishers.”
Finding effective purchasing models has become a top priority for both camps. Currently, OverDrive works on a model similar to print in which copies of ebooks are circulated to one user at a time for three weeks, without the option of renewing. Users can place holds on ebooks, with the number of holds often dictating the number of ebooks purchased of a particular title. It’s not a popular model with libraries, which are now struggling with huge holds lists and a lack of varied trade e-content.
In addition to content and purchasing models, Canadian public libraries are looking to publishers for a “Canadian solution” to ebook warehousing and distribution as a viable alternative to OverDrive, de Castell says.

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See Also: CLUC White Paper: White Paper on eBooks in Canadian Public Libraries: Expanding the eBook Market 2011
See Also: Additional CULC eBook Materials (Including List of Organizations They’ve Been Meeting With)

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Journal Articles, Libraries, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries, Publishing