The Cleveland Public Library (CPL) and 29 other libraries in the CLEVNET system are the first in the country to offer e-book downloads in industry-standard “epub” format. CLEVNET is a “library cooperation” system across nine counties in Northeast Ohio that provides library patrons with shared access to online subscription resources and downloadable media. Patrons at participating branches have been downloading e-books online since 2003 through a partnership with OverDrive. Since OverDrive is also based in Cleveland, the libraries in that area are the first to test the system.

Via The Plain Dealer in Cleveland:

The new epub format endorsed by the International Digital Publishing Forum expands the types of devices patrons can use to read e-books, as well as play audiobooks, music and video. It can resize type to fit any screen, and it’s compatible with PC and Mac computers, as well as the hand-held Sony Reader, said David Burleigh of OverDrive[…] However, it won’t work with the Kindle, a hand-held device similar to the Sony Reader, designed to work with Amazon.com.

“As more libraries begin to offer electronic books, epub is the format that they’re putting out into the market,” said Michael Smith, executive director of the International Digital Publishing Forum.

In the past, publishers have offered the files in different formats, but most have now agreed to use the epub standard. Other library systems such as New York and Chicago will receive e-books in the epub format in upcoming months according to Burleigh.

SOURCE: “Cleveland Public Library first in nation to offer e-book downloads in industry-standard epub format,” 01/08/09
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