OCLC is launching a new project, “The Big Shift: Advancing Public Library Participation in Our Digital Future.” The purpose of the project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is to more fully understand the challenges that US public libraries face in providing ebook content to borrowers, and to ensure that all Americans continue to have access to commercially produced content through their local public libraries, even as formats change.
OCLC is partnering with the American Library Association and ALA’s Public Library Association to review the ebook landscape and to jointly develop recommendations for managing the ebook environment in order to ensure adequate public access to these emerging resources.
According to the OCLC press release, grant activities will include:
- Investigating the nature and extent of challenges public libraries are facing in this area, and identifying possible solutions
- Convening public library leaders and others to set specific strategies to ensure public access to digital content
- Reporting on strategies that all public libraries can use to advance their own work in local communities.