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US orgs partner on ‘library-controlled’ ebook lending platform

In the US, a new collaboration aims to provide all public libraries with a free and open, library-controlled platform to manage ebooks and audiobooks, reports Publishers Weekly.

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), New York Public Library (NYPL) and service-provider Lyrasis will build on the work of the DPLA Exchange pilot program, which launched in 2017 and now provides access to 300,000 digital titles. The new platform will be based on the NYPL’s free, open-source ebook reader app, SimplyE.

NYPL chief digital officer Tony Ageh said the libraries were forced to intervene to ‘recalibrate the kind of clumsy relationships’ in the library ebook market, with multiple vendors, platforms and publisher policies dictating how libraries manage access to digital collections.

 

Category: Library news International