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22nd October 2010
BLOOMSBURY’S PUBLIC LIBRARY ONLINE COULD SOLVE ‘WAR’ BETWEEN PUBLISHERS AND LIBRARIES
In an article featured on The Bookseller website yesterday Librarians have warned that publishers have “declared war on libraries” with the new position on library lending, announced at the CILIP Public Library Authorities conference in Leeds. They expressed their unhappiness at the Publishers Association’s position on library e-lending that suggested placing restrictions on library e-lending, including a ban on remote downloading.
However, The Publishers Association’s announcement on digital lending to Public Libraries includes an alternative to the download model. This alternative is illustrated by Bloomsbury’s Public Library Online, launched in 2009 and serving many libraries across the country. Bloomsbury launched the service in response to the growing need for public libraries to embrace digital technology cost effectively thereby remaining relevant to their community. This initiative works as an online access model allowing full access to themed digital bookshelves both within libraries and remotely using a library card for authentication.
Katie Pekacar, Research and Development Advisor at the MLA said: “It’s very positive to see some publishers going beyond the Publishers Association’s baseline and offering a remote digital library lending service. The Public Library Online is a step in the right direction.”
Charged on the basis of as little as £100 per 100,000 people served, the Public Library Online is made available to subscribing libraries on a 24/7 basis for their users to read the books both within the library and remotely from home. Access is controlled by the IP address of the library for browsing within the library building and by using a library card number for remote login.
There are now 16 UK library authorities subscribing to the Public Library Online serving 7.5 million people and a number of UK publishers participating including A&C Black, Bloomsbury, Canongate, Faber and Quercus with more to join soon. Shelves are added regularly featuring new titles including the Man Booker Winner The Finkler Question.
