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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 >