Tag Archives: 3m

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Metro Libraries Embrace E-Book Sharing

Image by flickingerbrad. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by flickingerbrad. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Recently, Minnesota made the news around a consortial lending model for  eBooks. Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) is the state organization created to support cooperation and collaboration among the seven-county Twin Cities area libraries. And, 3M is right in MELSA’s backyard! What is exciting is that a  conversation happened between the two, and after a year of working together, 3M has developed CloudLink, a new feature for its eBook lending system for consortia!

Many consortial  arrangements involve member libraries contributing eBooks to a common pool that patrons from all libraries can use. In addition to this functionality, CloudLink also enables any patron from any MELSA library to check out eBooks from the private collections of any other MELSA library, provided there are no holds for the title. Unless a publisher has a policy that prohibits consortial lending, the CloudLink system will allow eBooks to be checked out by patrons from any library.

CMLE staff continue to work with others to monitor possibilities for regional or statewide sharing of eBooks. As you can imagine, the needs of academic, public, K-12 and special libraries can be quite different (yet overlapping in some areas). Existing consortial models are often not a “one size fits all”  and at this moment in time, I remain skeptical that a statewide model exists to serve all needs with one solution. But that is today, the wild west of eBooks is changing every day! Stay tuned……

Read the full Digital Shift article (Nov.5)

Also, read an infoDOCKET article on this subject (Sept.18)

School Media Specialist

Teach With Tablets

A partnership between 3M and the education nonprofit Digital Wish offers parents, teachers and administrators the opportunity to win new tablets for their schools. Called 3M Screens for Schools, this new grant program will award one school up to $25,000 in funding to be used toward the purchase of tablets and 3M Screen Protectors. To apply for the grant, visit 3M Screen Protector’s Facebook page. 3M will donate $1 to Digital Wish for every eligible person who “likes” the page and another $1 for every person who shares 3M Screens for School’s message on his or her Facebook page. Interested parties can also submit a 200- to 500-word essay explaining (1) why the school needs the award for new tablets and how the new tablets would change the school for the better; (2) if the school is awarded the new tablets, how learning would be enhanced for students and teaching enhanced for educators; and (3) what other creative fundraising, if any, the school has undertaken in an effort to bring new technologies into the classroom. Only one entry is permitted per person, but multiple entries—including submissions from teachers and school administrators—can be made on behalf of one school.
Deadline: September 12, 2012
Click Here for More Information