The following article appears in the June 2012 Issue (2.6) of FDLP Directions (Federal Depository Library Program).
Title
The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) eBook Program
Author
Jeff Turner, Director of Sales & Marketing, Business Products & Services, U.S. Government Printing Office
From the Article
Wherever possible, GPO eBook services are offered to Federal agencies as an ‘and’ solution alongside print, rather than as an ‘or’ solution. Even though eBooks and eMagazines are growing rapidly in popularity, they represent less than 20% of the reading universe. The remaining 80% is primarily print.
Discoverability is a concern. After converting their content to digital formats, many Federal agencies tend to simply upload it to their Web sites without making it easy for the public to find.
To help get eBook and eMagazine content out to places where readers often search for it, GPO uses a number of channels for disseminating Federal digital content on a cost-recovery basis. They include:
- Google eBooks (Recently renamed Google Play).
- Barnes and Noble.com.
- The Apple iBook Store.
- Overdrive – Public Libraries.
- Ingram MyiLibrary – Academic Libraries.
- Ingram Digital Distribution – Small Online Retailers.
- Zinio – eMagazines.
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(Via LJ INFOdocket.)
