Yet another library eBook research project

OCLC is launching a new project titled "The Big Shift: Advancing Public Library Participation in Our Digital Future," in partnership with the American Library Association and the ALA's Public Library Association. The project is being funded by the U.S. Government's Institute of Museum and Library Services, and it builds on a discussion last November hosted by the Los Angeles Public Library.

Activities of the project will include:

• Investigating the nature and extent of challenges public libraries are facing in this area, and identifying possible solutions.
• A convening of public library leaders and others to set specific strategies to ensure public access to digital content.
• Reporting on strategies that all public libraries can use to advance their own work in local communities. 

This is the latest in what seems like an endless list of studies of eBooks in libraries. For every library that's actually trying something new, like the Douglas County Libraries in Colorado, there's several groups studying the problem and hoping to come up with a set of recommendations at some point in the future.

Bibliotheca to export Douglas County, Colorado library eBook model worldwide

No Shelf Required reports that Bibliotheca, a Switzerland-based vendor of self-service print book circulation kiosks and security equipment for libraries, is turning the in-house eBook system developed by the Douglas County, CO public library and its partners into a commercial product. Bibliotheca will provide services for aggregating eBook purchases from participating libraries in order to maximize discounts from publishers, and provide a secure DRM environment for publishers. (It's not clear whether they're simply going to resell Adobe's Content Server, find a comparable DRM platform from another vendor, or develop their own DRM solution.)

Bibliotheca will base its eBook operation near Denver, and it will be run by Monique Sendze, who's currently the Associate Director of Information Technology at Douglas County Libraries. The company plans to introduce its platform in early 2013, and will initially focus on North American libraries before expanding worldwide.