Colorado’s Statewide Ebook Project Continues Moving Forward
Colorado’s statewide library ebook project, eVoke Colorado, being led by former Douglas County, CO Libraries Director, Jamie LaRue, shared some recent milestones today as the team continues to work towards launch.
Recent Milestones Include:
- Purchased the initial collection
- Implemented new design elements
- Integrated functionality with OverDrive and library catalogs.
The eVoke Colorado Update also points out:
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.
The eVoke advisory committee, including representatives from Douglas County Libraries (DCL), Colorado State Library, Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC), Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries and Marmot Library Network, was awarded a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant for the project in October, 2013.
Helping to stretch the value of the grant, project partner OdiloTID has waived more than $60,000 in customization costs. The completed OdiloTID platform will integrate with existing library systems and other e-content delivery solutions.
By the time the grant cycle closes in October, 2014, this additional integration, plus development and testing, will be complete. The platform will be the first independent, statewide, open e-book platform in the U.S., and will break through restrictions imposed on library e-books by major publishers.
“This project provides libraries with access to more content for patrons,” said Jamie LaRue, eVoke project leader and former DCL director. “It helps ensure the future vitality and community relevance of all Colorado’s libraries.”
By the time the grant cycle closes in October, 2014, this additional integration, plus development and testing, will be complete. The platform will be the first independent, statewide, open e-book platform in the U.S., and will break through restrictions imposed on library e-books by major publishers.
“This project provides libraries with access to more content for patrons,” said Jamie LaRue, eVoke project leader and former DCL director. “It helps ensure the future vitality and community relevance of all Colorado’s libraries.”
See Also: Direct to eVoke Colorado Search Interface
See Also: Direct to Project Timeline
See Also: Colorado’s Statewide Ebook Pilot Project Moving Into Testing and Demo Phase (April 28, 2014)
See Also: Technology from OdiloTID Will Power Colorado’s Statewide Ebook Pilot Project (January 21, 2014)
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Funding, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users

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. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.