Here is an article that explores how such an app could be developed using
existing technology:

http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2013/building-a-community-of-readers-social-reading-and-an-aggregated-ebook-reading-app-for-libraries/

Becky Schneider
Reference Librarian
Fauquier County Public Library

On Tue, Mar 24, 2015 at 7:39 PM, Lauren Magnuson <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I'm curious to know if anyone has explored creating a mobile app for their
> library that would facilitate downloading /reading library ebooks from
> multiple library ebook vendors.  I'm envisioning an app that would allow
> the user to browse ebooks from multiple platforms (e.g., ebrary, EBSCO) and
> enable downloading and DRM management stuff right in the app.
>
> I can think of a million roadblocks to creating something like this
> (publishers, vendors, Adobe, etc.)  But I can also think of a lot of good
> reasons why this would be very useful (the process to download an ebook
> from an academic library is, for the most part, ludicrous).
>
> I know there's Overdrive - and ebrary has it's own app, or whatever, and
> there are apps like Bluefire that can be used with library ebooks - but
> something non-platform specific that could conceivably work for multiple
> library ebook platforms (and be customized by a library to allow the reader
> to browse collections) is what I have in mind.  I also really dig this
> Reader's First (http://readersfirst.org/) initiative, which it looks like
> is wrangling with a lot of the policy /vendor side of things.
>
> Feel free to contact me off list with any information / ideas / advice.
> This feels like a kind of enormous problem, and a lot of libraries could
> benefit from a group working toward a technical solution - but perhaps such
> a group / initiative already exists?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Lauren Magnuson
> Systems & Emerging Technologies Librarian, CSU Northridge
> Development Coordinator, PALNI
>