Viewpoint from the Chair - January 2016

It’s showtime!

The curtain has risen on our newest and most ambitious project, the Amigos eShelf℠ Service e-book distribution platform, and I am really encouraged by its initial reception and the feedback we have received. The project, two years in development and testing, recently caught the eye of the Library Journal, which ran a much-appreciated article on the eShelf℠ Service's launch in its December issue. If you haven't seen this informative article, it offers a nice overview of the service, and I encourage you to read it at your earliest opportunity.

Much time and effort on the part of innumerable dedicated librarians has gone into the development of this service, and I personally would like to thank the project's manager, Christine Peterson, and her team, as well as all those Amigos member libraries who helped out with the development and testing, for their invaluable contributions to this project.

As the LJ article points out, the service currently boasts a selection of 25,000 titles from 60 imprints of nine publishers, including Rowman and Littlefield, Crossroad Press, O’Reilly Media, and ABDO. It is our intent that under Christine's capable guidance and direction, these numbers will continue to increase as the project grows and matures.

What is really encouraging is that libraries around the country are taking notice of our new service, and we have been contacted by a number of them that have expressed keen interest. Of course I can’t divulge details at this point, but Amigos hopes to be able to announce some major partnerships in the coming months.

If your library is considering a distribution platform for e-books – and every library these days should be – I invite you to visit the service’s website. Christine would love to hear from you as well. She’s been on the road, touring the country, speaking at numerous conferences, and telling librarians about the Amigos eShelf℠ Service and how they can make it happen for their patrons. Also, she has just wrapped up a month-long series of informational webinars about the service that were well attended by lots of interested folks.

As an e-book distribution platform designed by librarians for librarians, the Amigos eShelf℠ Service currently stands alone as a unique, affordable, flexible option for e-book distribution. It’s off to a fantastic start!