3M to Launch Library Ebook Lending Service at ALA Conference

In a surprising move, library equipment manufacturer 3M Library Systems recently announced that it would be unveiling a new ebook lending service for libraries—including an in-library "Discovery Terminal," 3M eReaders, and 3M apps—at the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, to be held in New Orleans in June. When launched, it would be a competitor to OverDrive, which currently dominates the library ebook market.

The service will make hosted, lendable ebooks available to libraries, with a selection of ebooks from publishers including Random House and Independent Publishers Group. Matt Tempelis, 3M Library Systems' global business manager, said that a "very large" publisher had also already signed on but had yet to be announced, and that talks are ongoing with other publishers.

The ebooks available under the 3M system would follow the one book/one user model, and use the EPUB format as well as Adobe digital rights management (DRM), as OverDrive's ebooks do. They would be readable on the iPad, iPhone, Barnes and Noble's Nook, laptop and desktop computers, and Android devices, among other equipment. Notably, the list does not currently include the bestselling ereader, Amazon's Kindle; OverDrive and Amazon recently announced that OverDrive titles will be readable on Kindles later this year.

The ebooks would also be compatible with 3M's own eReader device, a number of which would be included as a part of the service for patrons to check out. The 3M Discovery Terminal, featuring a touch-based interface, would also be a part of the subscription plan; in-library patrons could use it to browse and check out ebook titles, but the content would also be able to be browsed and downloaded online, and via 3M apps.

Market test in July
After the launch at ALA, Tempelis said, a market test will be conducted starting in July, with a further rollout expected in early fall. During the market test, various subscription plans for libraries, with potentially different amounts of equipment or ebooks to start off with, would be tested and determined.

One as-yet-unknown element of the new system is its ease of use for patrons, which has been a sticking point for librarians using OverDrive's system in the past. For example, at an LJ-led panel at the Tools of Change conference earlier this year, librarian Katie Dunneback (@younglibrarian on Twitter) of East Central Library Services, IA, pointed out that it took nearly two dozen steps to download an OverDrive ebook and transfer it to a device.

The 3M service is the latest of several recent moves by the company to court the library tech market. Last month, 3M announced a new Library Commitment Program, in which it will match equipment prices that libraries have agreed upon with previous vendors. Earlier this year, the company unveiled its Technology Subscription Program, which lets libraries lease radio frequency identification (RFID) and patron self-check equipment.