TumbleReadables Review Complete

About a month ago we posted an entry asking for children's and YA librarians to take part in our review of TumbleReadables, a somewhat new product from Tumblebooks. The review is complete, and can be viewed on our website, in the Clearinghouse area. Go to http://califa.org and then Clearinghouse --> Product Reviews --> Tumblebooks. You may have to scroll to page two of the product reviews as only 10 items are listed at once. Alternatively, you can try going to this link, which should take you directly to the review.

Many thanks to the participating libraries:

The Buckley School
Glendora Public Library
San Diego Public Library
Santa Cruz Public Library

AWE Early Literacy Stations - another successful order!

We concluded another successful order of the AWE Early Literacy Stations in December and are happy to report that our combined member savings was over $25,000. Thanks to two large libraries who placed very large orders, all the participating libraries, most of whom ordered 1 or 2 units, were able to get the 50+ unit price.

For those who were not able to take advantage of this aggregated bulk order, we'll be doing another one in May or June. Stay tuned for more information, or email us if you want details.

Califa: save on more than databases!

A lot of people think "Califa: I get my databases through them..." BUT if that's the only thing you think of when you think Califa, you may be missing out on some big savings on supplies, books, furniture, and more!

Kudos to the following libraries who saved a good chunk of money this fall by purchasing equipment and supplies from Highsmith, using the Califa discount.

Azusa City Library
Bentley School
City of Escondido
El Molino High School
Imperial County Free Library
Lick Wilmerding High School
Long Beach Public Library
Marin County Free Library
Montclair Branch Library
Monterey Public Library
Murrieta Valley Unified School District
Naval Postgraduate School
Nevada County Library
Newport Beach Public Library
Oakland Public Library
Oxnard Public Library
Palm Springs Public Library
Palos Verdes Library District
Paso Robles Public Library
Pleasanton Public Library
Redondo Beach Public Library
Redwood High School
San Jose State University
San Leandro Public Library
Sir Francis Drake High school
Sonoma County Library
South Pasadena Public Library
Thousand Oaks Public Library

Make sure you view all our vendors before purchasing - we're always adding more, and there's a quicklist now that doesn't require a password. You might just be surprised at all the ways you can save money and time through Califa!

OCLC and Recorded Books Reach a Settlement

Many libraries have been concerned about their subscription to Recorded Books content on the NetLibrary platform. We are happy to post this link to the OCLC website where information about the out-of-court settlement is posted.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Most of our member subscriptions for Recorded Books renew in June, so we will be contacting you in the new year with renewal information.

New Member Polls: We Need You!

We have introduced a new polling feature, on the right hand sidebar just under the picture of our logo. We need your help to decide what products and vendors to represent, and we are hoping that a regular monthly poll with the vendors we are looking at will help us prioritize our contracts.

Take a second now to exercise your right as a Califa member and vote on your favorite product that you'd like to see represented by Califa!

Thanks for your input, and watch for the next poll in January.

December 2007 Offers

Editorial Oceano: Substantial discounts are available on these Spanish-language databases that cover areas such as health and businesses as well as general reference. Orders must be placed by December 15.

LibraryThing: Califa members receive a discount on this popular social tagging product for the library catalog. Orders must be placed by December 27.

OCLC Language Sets: Califa members will receive discounts on an aggregated order of books and cataloging in various languages until January 23.

Booklist Online: We will be aggregating orders for the online book review service from Booklist until December 15.

For more information on these, and other Califa Member Offers, please log in to the Products and Vendors section of Califa.org, or email califa@califa.org

Further discount on e-Vanced

For those libraries who are interested in the e-Vanced Summer Reader program, there is an additional 10% discount on the Summer Reader Program to existing customers. With the Summer Reader program kids and teens can log their progress, keep track of prizes, register at home or at the library, and safely share comments and reviews with other teens.

Please note that this discount applies only to current customers, and to those customers who are not having their software hosted on the Califa server. Only those customers who host their own software or have e-Vanced host it may take advantage of this further discount (though it will be on top of the existing Califa discount for these subscriptions as well).

This offer is available until February 29, 2008.

Email the staff if you have questions or would like more information.

eBooks: Stacks of Options for All Types of Libraries!

Introducing new technologies to staff and patrons can be daunting, especially with the pace of change in the digital world. If your library has been curious about eBooks, Califa has many programs with vendors that can help you whether you've been downloading for years, or you're just opening a pdf for the first time.

A good option, especially for those who are just starting out, would be participating in a Califa-managed shared collection. These collections are put together by Califa and the participating libraries. Current shared collections include a NetLibrary General Collection (an eBook collection covering many topics, but with an emphasis on business), a NetLibrary Legal Collection (including Nolo Press) and a soon-to-be forming NetLibrary General Audio Collection (with titles from Blackstone and Books on Tape). We also manage the Missions Series collection from Follett/BWI and a shared subscription to ProQuest Safari. Finally, we have a shared OverDrive eBook and eAudio shared collection for smaller libraries to join. For all of these shared collections, the libraries handle collection development as a group, and the libraries are invoiced by Califa.

We also have discounts on individual collections including the Recorded Books subscription through NetLibrary.

We are always looking at new vendors - currently we are considering adding Chinese eBooks to our list of choices, as well as content on the MyiLibrary platform. We are also going to be piloting a program from Bolinda in the new year which includes audio content that is compatible with iPods.

Pricing for all of our options are on our website in the Products and Vendors area under each specific vendor. If you are interested in learning more about any of our eBook programs, please email califa@califa.org.