Unglue.it and the burgeoning equality of the internet

Call me a wearer of rose-colored glasses, but I'm a big fan of crowdfunding whereby small investments from lots of people allow big dreams to come true.  The one that's relevant to libraries right now is unglue.it, which some of you may have seen in the recent Hotline.  With the tagline Give eBooks to the world (I like that!) Unglue.it allows people everywhere to coordinate and ensure that a book is made available, DRM free, for everyone to be able to read it.  I've already contacted them about putting their content in our eBook platform (I promise I have news on that as soon as I get all my ducks in a row and can make announcements - but I did spend the week at BEA last week and met with loads of publishers!), and they were really interested in talking. We're going to meet at ALA.

The team really wants their first attempt to succeed, so that they can show that this is a viable option for authors and publishers, so if crowdfunding books seems like a good idea to you, I'd urge you to check it out, and perhaps contribute to their leading project at the moment, Oral Literature in Africa.  Check it out, and let us know what you think!  Thoughts?  Opinions?  I'd love to hear ideas and thoughts about it.

ebrary offer for public libraries

Please see this message below about a special offering from ebrary to Califa public library members, and let me know if you'd like more information.

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To help public libraries acquire e-books strategically, ebrary now offers a newPublic Library Pack: Career Development.  Hand selected by ebrary’s on-staff librarians, this collection ensures your library owns a perpetual archive to recent, relevant content for public library patrons.

Priced at just $2,250, including hosting fee, the new pack includes almost 50 titles on career planning, search, training, retraining, and development, as well as vocational guidance, resumes writing, and interview techniques. It also provides information on common career choices.

The vast majority of titles are published within the last 2 years.

Browse the entire collection here:

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/librarytitles/search.action?adv.x=1&fromSearch=fromSearch&f00=collection&p00=col_cust_public_career&search=Search

Highlights include:

·         Almanac of American Employers 2012 : Market Research, Statistics and Trends Pertaining to the Leading Corporate Employers in America, Plunkett Research, Ltd., 2011

·         Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance, Volumes 1-5 (15th Edition), Facts on File, 2010

·         Top 100: The Fastest-Growing Careers for the 21st Century (5th Edition), Ferguson, 2011

·         Ultimate Job Search : The Definitive Guide to Networking, Interviews and Follow-up Strategies (3rd Edition), Kogan Page, 2012

OR… Subscribe to Public Library Complete thru July 31^, 2012 and receive 10% discount for CALIFA members!

Libraries that also subscribe to Public Library Complete ™ or participate in our patron driven access program can affordably offer an even wider selection of career development titles eliminate any hosting fees!  Public Library Complete is most cost effective way to provide multi-user access to a growing collection of more than 28,000 titles across all areas of interest for public libraries.  With patron driven acquisition, libraries can provide access to vast numbers of titles and only pay if titles are used.

For more information about ebrary’s new strategic approach to e-book acquisition please view this short introductory video

http://www.ebrary.com/corp/collateral/flash/QuickStart/

National Geographic trials now available

If you have been waiting to trial before deciding to purchase the National Geographic Archive, available from Gale, trials are now available.  If you'd like a trial, please let me know, and I will forward the request to Gale, who will contact you with login information.  

Also, please note that the deadline to get the special 25% discounted introductory pricing is June 15.  If you'd like a quote, let me know.  

Thanks!

Gaylord Bonus Days

Califa Members: Get Savings Beyond Your Regular Discount
During Gaylord’s June Bonus Days

Bonus Days are coming! Gaylord offers an ongoing discount for Califa members, and this June the savings can be even greater. For the entire month, a bonus discount will be added to the regular member discount on a wide variety of products from Gaylord.  

Regular member discount

·         20% off most traditional library supplies

·         15% off most furniture and archival products

Bonus deal for June

·         An additional 5% off your entire order

·         Plus free shipping on library or archival supply items totaling $150 or more (within the continental U.S.)

To take advantage of this offer, simply use Priority Code 37720 when ordering.

Make Gaylord your one-stop shop for library furniture, equipment, and supplies. We offer customers the benefit of choice in every category—the selection you want, and the brands you love!

To request a free catalog, place an order, or make inquiries, visit Gaylord’s website at www.Gaylord.com, call toll-free 1-800-448-6160, email orders@gaylord.com, or fax 1-800-272-3412.

AWE Early Literacy Station Spring 2012 Order

Our twice-yearly order period for the AWE Early Literacy Stations is happening again, until June 27 this year.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with these products, they are computers with software programs designed for children, and twice a year we aggregate the orders of everyone, combining them so that everyone gets the best price regardless of whether they buy 1 unit or 20.  We are on the 13th order of these units - twice a year for over 6 years now - and we've only missed the 50+ price twice, so we generally reach that.

If you would like to see pricing, or get more info, check out www.califa.org/uploadfiles/AWESpring2012.pdf and let me know if you have any questions.

The Little eBook Platform that Could (an eBook Journey update)

Hey y'all.  I bet you thought we disappeared, huh?  Nope, just had some time off for Easter, and then got swamped catching up.

And I actually don't have much report.  There is a lot going on, but not much that we can say publicly yet.  First, we have a technology partner - one of our member libraries has an amazing tech team, and they are going to help us with the management of the server, and all the technical stuff that is beyond our abilities.  We should have our agreement formalized in the next few weeks, and I will be able to announce who they are then.

We have also been talking with other consortia who would like to partner with us.  Again, nothing finalized; nothing I can announce, but lots of exciting discussions happening.

We have several companies working on quotes for the front-end discovery layer.  We will make an announcement who our development vendor will be by ALA, if not sooner.

And I've been speaking with lots of publishers.  I'm still receiving emails every day from small and independent publishers who are willing to work with us, which is eminently heartening.  I had a great talk with the Independent Publishers Group, who really get it, and are happy to sell us content from their publishers.  I've booked my travel to BEA, where I will meet with many more publishers.  I'm expecting that we will start buying content by late July or August, so it's great to have all these publishers lined up in advance.

And really, that's about all I have to report now.  Lots of stuff going on, and we should be able to make the announcements about the technology vendors and partners soon.  For now, just know that things are moving on apace, and we're so excited about this next phase of the project, where we can really start to make things happen!

CLA Spring in the District Info

From Carol Simmons, Executive Director of the California Library Association:

Spring in the District is here and it’s time to meet with your legislators about restoring state funding to California’s libraries. To make these meetings as easy as possible, CLA is providing:

• Talking points
• Tips for lobbying your legislator
• List of lead contacts and appointment schedule
  

Please refer to the appointment lists for State Assembly and State Senators and contact the lead to join the appointment and receive further information. Check this page often as appointments are being scheduled and added daily!

http://cla-net.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=397

This is the time to get involved! Without $15.2 million in State matching funds, California will lose its Federal Funding ($16 million) for libraries. Prevent a double whammy!

Thanks!

Carol Simmons, Executive Director
California Library Association