Califa seeks early adopters for new ipod-compatible eaudio product from Ingram

Yes, that's right - we finally have an IPOD product ready to launch that has current titles, with DRM built in!

Califa will be the first group in the nation to put together a collection with Ingram Digital for their eAudio collection. Their product will officially be launching at ALA in January, but those of you who stopped by the Califa booth at CLA to see their sneak-preview demo saw that the service is already up and working. They are preparing the audio files, and expect to launch with between 3000 and 4000 titles by mid-January for ALA, with more being made available throughout the year.

Our shared collection will launch, around January or February, and will be run on a calendar-year cycle with invoices sent out that are payable any time throughout the year This will give some flexibility to libraries that may want to participate, but need to wait til next year's budget to buy into the service.

To get in on the ground level (which, in addition to the rewarding feeling of being an early-adopter, you'll get to shape the development of the product, and have the additional incentive of a big, initial discount. If potentially interested (no commitment yet), here's what you need to do:

1. Call or email me telling me of your interest.
2. If you haven't seen the product at CLA, or want more detailed information than I can answer, we will set up a webinar with the Ingram folks.
3. You will then need to decide how much money you can put towards the shared collection that we are building. We can then put together a tiered list based on the contributions that people are able to make during 2009.

Once we have a total of the contributions that everyone is able to pledge, then we meet with Ingram & will work with the committed libraries to begin selecting titles for our shared collection based on the title lists that we will receive from Ingram.

Our next eBook/e-resources meeting is in early January, and we can have the IPOD collection & participants defined by then. This offer is ongoing, but the early-adopter pricing will probably not continue past ALA, so make sure you let us know of your interest in participating, and the contribution you can consider this calendar year as soon as possible. We would like to hear from any interested libraries before the E- Resources meeting on Jan. 7

We are so excited to be able to offer this product to our members, and can't wait to get this new collection off the ground!