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Cleveland Public Library to Open Circulating eBook Collection
Library Website to be First in Nation Enabling Borrowing of Best-Sellers for PC and PDA Reading
Cleveland Public Library (www.cpl.org) announced that it has entered into an agreement with digital media company OverDrive, Inc. to open a circulating eBook and digital media collection. Patrons will be able to access and download for offline reading digital books and periodicals through either the library's online catalog or from a new kiosk style website. The Cleveland Public Library eBook Collection will be the first of its kind to offer best-selling titles for reading on nearly every type of PC, notebook, Tablet PC, Palm, Sony and Pocket PC PDA devices."The new Cleveland Public Library digital book collection will be another example of our dedication to utilizing technology for "Access-Anytime-Anywhere", stated Andrew Venable, Jr., Director of Cleveland Public Library. "In addition to academic, research and business titles, our digital media collection will permit patrons from the comfort of their home or office to borrow eBook versions of the latest titles from best-selling authors such as Michael Crichton, Neil Gaiman, Tony Hillerman, Clive Barker, or Joyce Carol Oates. Our Digital Library Reserve will also be a first that enables our patrons to access digital magazines, periodicals, newspapers, as well as audio books and educational materials," Mr. Venable added.
Scheduled to publicly launch during March of 2003, the Cleveland Public Library Digital Book service will be displayed by OverDrive in Booth #1735 with Adobe Systems at the upcoming 2003 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting from January 24-27 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
"Cleveland Public Library has an extraordinary history of being the national leader in providing people access to books and information," stated Ray Leach, Senior Vice President of OverDrive. "Since 1890 as the first library to provide open shelves for the public to its collections through today by utilizing the Internet to provide lending of digital media, Cleveland Public Library has consistently been at the forefront of providing access to information," Mr. Leach added.
First time services that will distinguish the Cleveland Public Library digital collection from earlier library eBook efforts include support for reading on Palm and Pocket PC PDA devices in addition to PCs, the ability for the library to add its own digitized titles to the collection such as local newspapers or archived documents, and support for circulating copyrighted digital audio books and other multimedia. Cleveland Public Library personnel will be able to develop their digital book collection from a variety of sources and a growing list of media file formats.
Founded in 1869, the Cleveland Public Library has one of the largest and most extensive collections in the country -- boasting close to ten million items. The Cleveland Public Library was the first major public library in the country to offer 24-hour dial-up access to its online catalog and Internet databases available to the public. OverDrive (www.overdrive.com) was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.