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Simon & Schuster Ends Library Ebook Pilot, Expands Access to All Interested Libraries | Digital Book World.

Categories: Digital Book Wire / June 26, 2014 | DBW | 0

Libraries can now purchase ebooks to lend to patrons on an individual basis for one-year terms. As with physical books, only one patron can borrow a title at a time, but the library can lend every ebook it acquires an unlimited number of times within that one-year period.

The program includes all of Simon & Schuster’s front-list and back-list titles, with new releases being made available to libraries upon their release.

In addition, libraries participating in the program will be functioning as ebook retailers for Simon & Schuster. Patrons can now purchase titles through libraries’ Web portals, with the library receiving a cut of each sale.

Related: Library Ebook Problem Not Solved

[Press Release]

SIMON & SCHUSTER EXPANDS LIBRARY EBOOK LENDING PROGRAM TO UNIVERSAL ACCESS

Complete List of Ebook Titles Now Available to Public Libraries Nationwide

Innovative Business Model Offers Patrons “Buy It Now” Option to Directly Purchase Ebooks and Support Their Local Library

Simon & Schuster announced today that, following a successful pilot program in more than twenty library systems, it was moving to expand access to its catalog of ebooks to libraries nationwide. Effective immediately, public libraries across the United States can acquire for their collections ebook editions of such beloved classic favorites and current bestsellers as The Great Gatsby, Steve Jobs, Doctor Sleep, Hard Choices, The Flamethrowers, The Light Between Oceans, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the Mortal Instruments and Dork Diaries series.

As in the Simon & Schuster pilot program, each title acquired by a library for lending is usable for one year from the date of purchase. The library can offer an unlimited number of checkouts during the one-year term for which it has purchased a copy, although each copy may only be checked out by one user at a time. All of Simon & Schuster’s frontlist and backlist titles that are available as ebooks are eligible for the program, with new titles being made available simultaneous with their publication.

In order to help support libraries, and for the convenience of patrons who might not want to wait until a popular new title is available, Simon & Schuster’s ebook program includes a “Buy It Now” capability, which gives the patron the option to purchase a copy of Simon & Schuster ebooks through a library’s online portal, with a portion of the proceeds from each sale going to the library.

“In the year since we first started our pilot, we have been delighted with the response from the participating libraries, and we believe the time is right to make our ebooks available to all libraries,” said Carolyn Reidy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster. “Although the library market for ebooks is still evolving, we are pleased to now offer ebooks to libraries on a universal basis, providing their patrons the content they desire in increasingly popular digital formats, and helping libraries to continue serving their communities as they have so well for so many years.

“In coming to this decision, we have had invaluable dialogue and feedback from many individual librarians and the leadership of the American Library Association,” Reidy continued. “We offer our thanks, and look forward to many more years of productive discussion on issues of mutual interest.”

Simon & Schuster ebooks are distributed to libraries through 3M, Baker & Taylor and Overdrive.

ABOUT SIMON & SCHUSTER
Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com

Update: An earlier version of this post mistakenly characterized Simon & Schuster as offering ebooks to libraries through one-year “licenses,” as opposed to sales. The article has been amended. We regret the error.