Have you heard of Oyster? It is an online service which touts “unlimited eBooks for just $9.95 a month.”  Oyster, has a colorful,  appealing interface, but I am not sold on the collection at this point. At this time, it includes 800 publishers and includes 100,000 books, some of which are already in the free public domain from other sites. It also currently runs only on iOS 7 devices (iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch).

Sounds and feels a bit like a Netflix experience, like streaming, although in fact the files are downloadable EPUBs, with DRM. Does Oyster pose a threat to libraries? Oyster’s biggest current drawback (IMHO) is the lack of very current materials; they don’t focus on new or “front list” titles (they shoot for a 90-day embargo). It is also unclear to me about the richness of the rest of the collection, but take a look, they are offering a free 30 day trial. Share your experience in the comments field. Read a blog post  from ALA at Are there pearls in this Oyster?
AL: E-Content, Jan. 20