Library

anamardoll · 03-02-2012, 09:20 AM

Does anyone know of a way to get indie e-books into public libraries?

I contacted Overdrive and was told that I "didn't have enough titles" to join their publisher groups. Fine, that was to be expected. How many titles would I need? 5? 10? 50? They wouldn't tell me.

Overdrive routed me to Constellation and IPG as ways to get into their library. Constellation told me they don't work with indie authors, and IPG has not answered my emails, but given that they apparently also insist on having control of the pricing (and they favor $10 points where I favor $2.99 points) and they apparently insist on being your distributer everywhere, and they have been banned from the Amazon store... I'm not too keen to sign up with them even if they were returning my emails.

And, of course, there's the Amazon Lending Library which (a) isn't what I'm talking about -- I'm asking about public libraries -- and (b) is only available to Amazon exclusive titles, which I don't want to do.

Anyone know a way to get into public libraries? I'd like to know if there's a grass-roots Indie Consortium that has gotten into Overdrive or something.

EileenG · 03-02-2012, 01:03 PM

I would go to all the libraries where you are a member, and put in a request for your own book. Chances are that they will buy it and add it to their virtual shelf.

CWatkinsNash · 03-02-2012, 01:10 PM

Last I heard, there was a 5 title minimum to apply for Overdrive inclusion. But that was last year, so the number may have changed.

A grassroots publishing consortium *should* work to meet that requirement. It would have to be set up as a business entity, but that's just a matter of paperwork. For research, you'd almost have to take a stroll through the OD catalog and see what stands out as maybe-indie. (I hate to even say that, some covers speak volumes.) Then track the publisher info for clues to see if others are doing this.

Once accepted and in the catalog, the next hurdle would be getting people to request the titles at their libraries. That's when you need some serious grassroots effort. Set your license price lower than anyone else. Email the libraries and let them know about the books, your license terms and prices. Blog the crap out of it to get people to not only request the book at their local libraries, but also to support what you and many other indies are trying to do.

Just my two cents. I've found stuff online about people *talking* about doing this, but no real follow-up as to whether they were successful or even got started.

anamardoll · 03-02-2012, 01:17 PM

@Eileen, without the infrastructure of Overdrive, I don't know how the libraries could.

@CWatkinsNash, Overdrive is really coy about the 5 titles thing. When they said I didn't have enough to join, I asked "I should have 6 titles by the end of next year, can I then?" and they said that wasn't enough to join at that time. That's when I said, well how many is it please? and they never responded.

Another indie and I are trying to do this under a publishing label I set up, but even between the two of us we could only poll maybe 10 titles in 2 years. If that's not enough for Overdrive, that will be a bummer.

Honestly, once in Overdrive, I'd just as soon price the book for free to libraries and see if any of them take the bait. For me it's one part advertising, one part charity.

CWatkinsNash · 03-02-2012, 01:26 PM

Ana, have you seen this? http://www.overdrive.com/Resources/P...tyReserve.aspx

If you give a free license to the library directly, they can upload the content and make it available. It states that it is for non-commercial content, so if you donate the license with the appropriate terms to meet this requirement, it just might work. Apparently this is a free service available to libraries that use Overdrive.

anamardoll · 03-02-2012, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Ana, have you seen this? http://www.overdrive.com/Resources/P...tyReserve.aspx

If you give a free license to the library directly, they can upload the content and make it available. It states that it is for non-commercial content, so if you donate the license with the appropriate terms to meet this requirement, it just might work. Apparently this is a free service available to libraries that use Overdrive.

NO I HAVE NOT.

CWatkinsNash, you are an angel.

I wonder. My book is licensed under Creative Commons, free to share, so I would *think* that would work. I wonder how this works in practice. To the Investigatemobile!

CWatkinsNash · 03-02-2012, 02:13 PM

Aw, shucks!

'Tweren't nuthin'...

Good luck, and keep me posted on what you find out. You know, if the CC licensing isn't enough to qualify, you could always release a special non-commercial "Indies for Libraries" edition.

anamardoll · 03-02-2012, 02:17 PM

I've sent an email off to FLP (who seems to be pretty swank about open/free ebooks) and will wait on pins and needles for their response. If this works, I'll have to compile a big ol' mailing list -- there are only about 8 zillion Overdrive libraries.

avantman42 · 03-02-2012, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Ana, have you seen this? http://www.overdrive.com/Resources/P...tyReserve.aspx

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

NO I HAVE NOT.

CWatkinsNash, you are an angel.

Karma to both of you. Anamardoll, please let us know how you get on. I'll try to investigate myself. I'm perfectly happy to give my books to libraries for free.

Also, Anamardoll, some news from Smashwords that might interest you:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smashwords Blog

The agreement will also bring Smashwords ebooks to public libraries that subscribe to Baker & Taylor’s new Axis360 digital media platform. Axis360, which was launched last year, has been deployed by several top public library systems in the U.S. Dozens more libraries are converting to the platform.

Not as big as Overdrive, but since you're going to publish with Smashwords, it doesn't require any more effort from you.

Edited to add: The Smashwords blog post is at http://blog.smashwords.com/2012/03/s...-blio-and.html

anamardoll · 03-02-2012, 03:36 PM

Sweet! Though... I don't know any libraries that use this thing.

RobertLCollins · 03-02-2012, 04:07 PM

Interesting timing. I was just talking to the director of the library in my home town this morning. She mentioned a group of Kansas libraries banding together to obtain ebooks for them. She told me they go through Overdrive, but there might be a chance I could contact them directly. I'm going to chase that down over the weekend. In the meantime, I'll look into Overdrive for myself.

SteveEisenberg · 03-02-2012, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Sweet! Though... I don't know any libraries that use this thing.

A quick web search finds Axis 360 public library borrowing to to be up in Seattle, Presque Isle Maine, Sante Fe Springs California, Delaware Ohio, LaGrange Indiana, Greencastle Indiana, and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Maybe I missed a couple places, but I can safely say that their library market penetration is currently tiny in the US and zero elsewhere.

You could say that they've only been live for a couple months, so this is good. Or you could say that, given how fast things happen in the internet age, adoption is going slowly.

Stroudsburg would be a pleasant springtime day trip for us, so maybe my wife I should go up in a bit to see if they would give us (as Pennsylvania residents) a library card coded to this system. We don't own a handheld that works with it, but maybe this will change:

Quote:

Axis 360 will soon be available for Nook, Kobo, Sony, Mac desktops, WebOS, and the vendor is negotiating with Amazon for Kindle compatibility.

VydorScope · 03-03-2012, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

A quick web search finds Axis 360 public library borrowing to to be up in Seattle, Presque Isle Maine, Sante Fe Springs California, Delaware Ohio, LaGrange Indiana, Greencastle Indiana, and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Maybe I missed a couple places, but I can safely say that their library market penetration is currently tiny in the US and zero elsewhere.

I think the emailed announcement said "a dozen" but thats still better then zero!

anamardoll · 03-08-2012, 09:26 PM

Well, I wanted to wait until I had more to report, but here is the email traffic so far.

Quote:

Dear Free Library of Philadelphia,

I am an indie author who would love to donate my novel (released under a free-to-share Creative Commons license) to your library through the Overdrive Community Reserve option.

http://www.overdrive.com/Resources/P...tyReserve.aspx

My novel can be viewed in full here:
[link]

I would be excited and honored to be able to donate an unlimited license Open ePUB to your collection, if you feel that my novel might interest your patrons. (I can also provide mobi and pdf versions if you're interested.)

Thank you very much for allowing me to make this request. Yours,

Ana Mardoll

Quote:

Hi,

Thank you for your email and for thinking of us for your book. I was able to see the book in GoodReads, but I could not find it in the search in the Overdrive Community Reserve. We have not had too many authors come to us who are using this service. Do you know if you book appears as soon as you submit it or if there could be a lag before it comes up in a search? You may want to check with Overdrive.

Ultimately, though we can look at the book, we rarely add new titles to our collection unless they have received reviews in the literature (this criterion simply helps us deal with the large number of requests we receive from authors). Also, it would help if you told us more about yourself, specifically your connection to Philadelphia. Thank you,

Free Library of Philadelphia

Quote:

Thank you so much for your email!

Unfortunately, Overdrive is not willing to deal with indie authors directly.
I have spoken with them over several emails, but that is their policy. I cannot place my book into the Overdrive Community Reserve, but it is my understanding that a librarian *can*.

I'm afraid I don't have a connection to your library, other than being an out-of-state patron. Your excellent library is used by many indie authors on a writing forum that I visit, and several of us were hoping to donate our books to you for inclusion into your community reserve.

I absolutely understand your policy about adding new titles to the collection. I think a very great hurdle that a number of us indie authors are facing is that we do not want to be associated with some of the attitudes and tactics that larger publishers are pushing on libraries with regards to e-book titles, but if Overdrive refuses to allow our books into their catalog for review and purchase, then we were hoping to offer our services to the libraries directly.

Ana Mardoll

That was 3/5 when my last email went out. It's 3/8 now; no response since.

anamardoll · 03-08-2012, 09:27 PM

I also emailed Overdrive directly about being placed into the Community Reserve on their end; no response.

03-02-2012, 09:20 AM	#1
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Library Does anyone know of a way to get indie e-books into public libraries? I contacted Overdrive and was told that I "didn't have enough titles" to join their publisher groups. Fine, that was to be expected. How many titles would I need? 5? 10? 50? They wouldn't tell me. Overdrive routed me to Constellation and IPG as ways to get into their library. Constellation told me they don't work with indie authors, and IPG has not answered my emails, but given that they apparently also insist on having control of the pricing (and they favor $10 points where I favor $2.99 points) and they apparently insist on being your distributer everywhere, and they have been banned from the Amazon store... I'm not too keen to sign up with them even if they were returning my emails. And, of course, there's the Amazon Lending Library which (a) isn't what I'm talking about -- I'm asking about public libraries -- and (b) is only available to Amazon exclusive titles, which I don't want to do. Anyone know a way to get into public libraries? I'd like to know if there's a grass-roots Indie Consortium that has gotten into Overdrive or something.

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03-02-2012, 01:03 PM	#2
EileenG Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 7462052 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Dublin Device: My phone	I would go to all the libraries where you are a member, and put in a request for your own book. Chances are that they will buy it and add it to their virtual shelf.

03-02-2012, 01:10 PM	#3
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	Last I heard, there was a 5 title minimum to apply for Overdrive inclusion. But that was last year, so the number may have changed. A grassroots publishing consortium should work to meet that requirement. It would have to be set up as a business entity, but that's just a matter of paperwork. For research, you'd almost have to take a stroll through the OD catalog and see what stands out as maybe-indie. (I hate to even say that, some covers speak volumes.) Then track the publisher info for clues to see if others are doing this. Once accepted and in the catalog, the next hurdle would be getting people to request the titles at their libraries. That's when you need some serious grassroots effort. Set your license price lower than anyone else. Email the libraries and let them know about the books, your license terms and prices. Blog the crap out of it to get people to not only request the book at their local libraries, but also to support what you and many other indies are trying to do. Just my two cents. I've found stuff online about people talking about doing this, but no real follow-up as to whether they were successful or even got started.

03-02-2012, 01:17 PM	#4
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	@Eileen, without the infrastructure of Overdrive, I don't know how the libraries could. @CWatkinsNash, Overdrive is really coy about the 5 titles thing. When they said I didn't have enough to join, I asked "I should have 6 titles by the end of next year, can I then?" and they said that wasn't enough to join at that time. That's when I said, well how many is it please? and they never responded. Another indie and I are trying to do this under a publishing label I set up, but even between the two of us we could only poll maybe 10 titles in 2 years. If that's not enough for Overdrive, that will be a bummer. Honestly, once in Overdrive, I'd just as soon price the book for free to libraries and see if any of them take the bait. For me it's one part advertising, one part charity.

03-02-2012, 01:26 PM	#5
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	Ana, have you seen this? http://www.overdrive.com/Resources/P...tyReserve.aspx If you give a free license to the library directly, they can upload the content and make it available. It states that it is for non-commercial content, so if you donate the license with the appropriate terms to meet this requirement, it just might work. Apparently this is a free service available to libraries that use Overdrive.

03-02-2012, 02:13 PM	#7
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	Aw, shucks! 'Tweren't nuthin'... Good luck, and keep me posted on what you find out. You know, if the CC licensing isn't enough to qualify, you could always release a special non-commercial "Indies for Libraries" edition.

03-02-2012, 02:17 PM	#8
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	I've sent an email off to FLP (who seems to be pretty swank about open/free ebooks) and will wait on pins and needles for their response. If this works, I'll have to compile a big ol' mailing list -- there are only about 8 zillion Overdrive libraries.

03-02-2012, 03:36 PM	#10
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Sweet! Though... I don't know any libraries that use this thing.

03-02-2012, 04:07 PM	#11
RobertLCollins Groupie Posts: 155 Karma: 1735704 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Kansas Device: iPhone	Interesting timing. I was just talking to the director of the library in my home town this morning. She mentioned a group of Kansas libraries banding together to obtain ebooks for them. She told me they go through Overdrive, but there might be a chance I could contact them directly. I'm going to chase that down over the weekend. In the meantime, I'll look into Overdrive for myself.

03-08-2012, 09:27 PM	#15
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	I also emailed Overdrive directly about being placed into the Community Reserve on their end; no response.

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