Jasper County Public Library is expanding our digital collection in 2022 by joining the new statewide e-book consortium, the Indiana Digital Library, launching on March 1.
Nearly 200 public libraries in the state will all share the new platform on OverDrive to create a vast statewide collection of e-books and magazines for Hoosiers.
This new consortium, formed under the management of the Indiana State Library, is made up of libraries that serve populations under 150,000. It represents the merger of two of the state’s largest multi-library consortiums, the Indiana Digital Download Center and the eIndiana Digital Consortium.
“We know eBooks are important to our patrons by the fact that over 140,000 eBooks have been downloaded from our digital collection in the past five years,” said Patty Stringfellow, Director of the Jasper County Public Library.
This merger will benefit libraries, taxpayers, and library users. As with the previous consortiums, patrons of member libraries will have the ability to borrow materials from both their own library’s collections and the member library collections. With Indiana Digital Library, the State Library is paying the platform fees for the consortium, allowing 100 percent of the member libraries’ costs to be spent on materials.
Additionally, a volunteer team of librarians from throughout the consortium will also assist with collection development and help ensure the efficient usage of the consortium’s funds. In addition to making purchasing easier for libraries across the state, this new consortium and its centralized management should ultimately reduce hold times and improve title selection for users.
“We work hard to provide a robust collection, but it isn’t easy as eBooks are very expensive,” said Stringfellow.
“Indiana Digital Library is a huge win/win for the library and our patrons. It means more eBooks and at a reduced cost. We are very excited about this new opportunity and expect that our patrons will be pleased as well.”
Jake Speer, State Librarian, said he was excited the State Library could be part of the new partnership.
“The new Indiana Digital Library consortium will be a great service and benefit to Indiana libraries and the customers of Indiana libraries,” said Speer.
“This collaboration is a great example of Indiana libraries working together to provide high-quality services to library users.”
Find more information about the consortium on the consortium’s website [1].
If you are currently a Libby or OverDrive user at JCPL, know that some features of your account will transfer automatically to the new consortium, including your holds, checkouts, wishlist items, and star ratings.
Your personal reading history and tags will not transfer but can be exported for safe-keeping. To save these items, visit one of these links:
- How to export your history of downloaded titles from the OverDrive app [2].
- Exporting and sharing your timeline – Libby help [3].
- Exporting and sharing tags – Libby help [4].
You can also contact your library with questions or help with these steps.