Why the Amigos eShelf℠ Service?

-Amigos eShelf℠ Service Manager Christine Peterson

I get this question a lot.

Why should my library consider signing up for the Amigos eShelf℠ Service? What makes it different from OverDrive, Baker and Taylor’s Axis 360, or ebrary? Isn’t this just another e-book platform like those from the commercial vendors?
No, it is definitely not the same. We’ve built it from the ground up to address the concerns expressed to us by libraries. With input from our advisory groups, made up of librarians, we’ve incorporated these key features into the Amigos eShelf℠ Service:

• Perpetual access – Although we can support licensing options other than the purchase/perpetual access model, so far all of our publishers have preferred this one. That means you only pay once for these titles, and if you decide to leave us we will help you move them to another e-book platform.
• Title by title – Identify the titles you need to create your collection. If you already subscribe to content from another e-book aggregator, use this service to add those titles you want to purchase.
• Interlibrary loan rights – We are asking for, and have received from most publishers, the right for libraries to loan these e-book titles to other libraries.
• Options for patron side – You decide where your patrons will find these titles: integrated within your ILS, integrated within your discovery service, and/or separate from your collection using an Amigos-supplied interface.
• Low fees – We have been very attentive to the cost of the service. At the urging of our advisory group, we kept the fees low: getting into the service is only $300. Annual fees are based on the number of titles we host for you. There are no pre-determined annual fees.
• Member-directed – At its heart, this is a member-based and member-directed service. We listen to our advisory group and to those using the service when we consider priorities for development. This service gives libraries more control over their e-book collections and provides more flexibility in how the collections are created and provided to patrons.

Here are other common questions I get from libraries.

Do these e-books work on all devices?
They are readable on all devices and e-reader software that recognize Adobe’s DRM (Digital Rights Management). Examples include Adobe Digital Editions, Bluefire Reader, Aldiko Reader, as well as e-book devices from Sony, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Amazon’s Kindle devices are not supported, but Kindle tablets can be used if apps like the ones just identified are installed.

Will libraries receive MARC records for titles purchased?
Yes. We create RDA-compliant MARC records based on the publisher’s metadata.

What type of licensing models do you support?
We can support the most popular models: single-user, multi-user, unlimited, as well as purchase and subscription.

How do you authenticate patrons?
Currently, we support IP ranges (including proxy servers) and barcode numbers. If you have another authentication scheme, we would like to work with you.

Can patrons read e-books online?
Not yet. Right now, patrons must download e-books to a device or software/app. Online reading is on our development list.

Can we move our e-book titles to your platform?
Not yet, but it should be possible. As long as we can support the license being used, we should technically be able to host titles from another platform. The larger issue, however, deals with the publishers themselves. Each platform must have an agreement with the publishers whose titles they host, so we would need to do the same. If a library is interested in moving their titles to our platform, we would need a list of their publishers so we could be sure we had the proper agreements in place.

Can you host e-books created by our local authors?
When we are able to host e-books from other sources, yes.

Do you have a list of publishers or titles that you currently host?
Yes. We’ve posted a list of publishers on our website. At the bottom of this page is also a file of the titles we host. As we add publishers, we will update both. Watch for news on new publishers in AmigosNow and on our Facebook page.

Amigos eShelf℠ website: http://eshelf.amigos.org/
Features: http://eshelf.amigos.org/pages/features.php
Pricing: http://eshelf.amigos.org/pages/pricing.php
Order Form: http://eshelf.amigos.org/pages/order.php

I know there are a lot more questions out there. Send them to eshelf@amigos.org.