A recently released email from Steve Jobs to James Murdoch of News Corporation, which owns HarperCollins, shows just how involved the late Apple executive was in developing the agency model and increasing ebook prices. Interpretation of the email varies widely, however.
The May ebook price report from Douglas County (Colo) Libraries draws upon the USA Today 25 bestsellers list, which includes a nice mix of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s titles. Overall, 12 of the 25 titles are available to libraries as ebooks; eight are from OverDrive and 12 are from 3M.
After a two-year pilot phase, Hachette Book Group is expanding its ebook offerings to include it full catalog and a variety of ebook services including OverDrive, 3M, and Baker & Taylor.
The American Library Association (ALA) welcomed today’s announcement from Hachette Book Group that it will begin offering its full catalog of ebooks immediately for lending in US public and school libraries. ALA President Maureen Sullivan today released the following statement:
Today is happening very differently than I had anticipated. On behalf of the American Library Association (ALA), Alan Inouye and I had planned to trek to the Boston Public Library to celebrate the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launch. The nearly daily announcements of new DPLA partners underscored our excitement and anticipation for the launch.
Last week I led an ALA delegation to New York to meet with a number of key players in the publishing ecosystem. Overall, I left town feeling a bit more optimistic, although I recognize that libraries are in the midst of a digital revolution that we will be navigating for years to come.
“We are pleased Simon & Schuster has recognized the vital roles of libraries in supporting reading in all its formats by announcing a library e-lending pilot in New York City,” ALA President Maureen Sullivan said today in response to the publishing house’s announcement.
The last holdout from the major trade publishers, Simon & Schuster, this morning announced the start of an ebook pilot (PDF file) with New York City public libraries.
