Library Ideas to launch innovative ebook distribution platform no comments
Library Ideas, LLC is another company with plans to enter the library ebook distribution market. The company today announced a new service, Freading, which will distribute ebooks to public and university libraries.
Freading is innovative in that libraries subscribing to the service only need pay a per use fee when a title is actually checked out rather than a yearly subscription fee. This enables libraries to rapidly build their ebook collections and to offer simultaneous access to titles without the large upfront expenditures that are typically required to buy multiple copies from competing distribution systems. Library Ideas also does not charge libraries fees for access or use of the Freading platform.
"So many libraries have only a collection of 1,000 to 5,000 e-book titles, "said Brian Downing, the co-founder of Library Ideas, LLC. "And often, those titles are not available to the end user. Our launch collection would cost libraries over $400,000 if they bought the titles like they are being asked to do now. With Freading, they can access it for no upfront cost."
Freading will launch this summer with 20,000 titles from 16 publishers and negotiations are ongoing with other publishing houses to bring their ebook collections on board. Ten libraries have signed up so far, including Orange County Public Library System (FL), The Free Library of Philadelphia, Maricopa County Library District, Los Gatos Public Library (CA) and the Westport Public Library (CT).
Library Ideas provides digital media to over 500 library systems worldwide. The company’s current offerings include music, movies, web-based language learning programs and computer games.
