Don’t forget – Cloud Library participants are allowed to use 75% of their member fee to add titles to the shared collection using their Cloud Library shopping cart. Believe it or not, we’re almost half way through the year and our libraries still have over $19,000 left to spend – that’s a lot of eBooks! Many libraries have opted to add their 75% to our “no cart” list. If you don’t have time to shop and would like to do the same, please let me know. Your funds will still go toward collection development, and I’m happy to take purchase recommendations whenever you have them.
Both our school and our public library Zinio participants may be excited to learn that Recorded Books will be launching a new, easier-to-use app in the New Year. We’ll be receiving many more details in the month of December. Public libraries will like that the new app will merge Zinio and One Click Digital titles in one place. School libraries will love that the new interface is easier to use and much more appealing. Stay tuned for more information!
Vendor Offers:
We’re looking into a possible group purchase of Beanstack for public libraries in IHLS/SHARE. Beanstack provides a mobile-first solution for local families to participate in your library's programs, including summer reading, early literacy initiatives like 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, and book clubs for teens and adults. Patrons gain tools to discover books, log their reading, and earn incentives. The service is unique in its added focus on readers' advisory, including sending readers personalized recommendations of books at your library. For staff, Beanstack makes it easy to register patrons, create reading and activity challenges, and produce extensive reports. The entire experience is set apart by it’s mobile-first design, simply customized to match your library’s brand and link directly to your collection.
Beanstack will be providing two informational webinars for members on Tuesday, December 6
(10:00 am | 2:00 pm). Register in L2 to attend the session that works best for you and let me know what you think about the product!
Important Dates:
- MyMediaMall Consortium Meeting – November 21, 2:00pm via V-tel @ IHLS Edwardsville & IHLS Champaign
- SHARE Chat: Circ & Resource Sharing – Wednesday, December 21, 1:00 pm via Adobe Connect