May 23, 2014

Biblioboard®Library Offers More Publishers And Genres To Growing Patronsfirst™ Mobile Library

Staff Reports  /  Charleston Digital News

In advance of the 2014 Book Expo America (BEA), BiblioBoard(r) announced additional publishers added to their PatronsFirst™ mobile platform. BiblioBoard is constantly adding content to their platform, and it now has over 5 million pages of curated content and over 125,000 eBooks.

Launched in March of 2013, BiblioBoard has made an impression on libraries because of the high-quality content on their state-of-the-art platform. BiblioBoard Library, the display layer, is integrated in over 2,000 public, academic and K-12 libraries worldwide. The platform offers affordable pricing for their content, which is presented without checkouts or user limits.

Mitchell Davis, founder and Chief Business Officer of BiblioLabs, thinks this multi-user access model has been key to BiblioBoard's success. "Librarians are exhausted from being penalized for success," Davis says. "If they spread the word about a great book, but only one patron can read it at a time, it creates a traffic jam. We don't want that. We want libraries to be on par with the other consumer experiences people interact with every day, where everyone can ingest the same content at once without a problem. We want these books to be able to go viral."

Patrons can access content on the web or through award-winning native apps on tablet devices. Either way, the technology is future-proofed: any new iOS or Android releases are updated automatically. "This frees librarians up to focus on their jobs–-connecting patrons with valuable content–-instead of worrying about the functionality of their technology," says Davis. "It makes it simple for the patron and the librarian."

This ease of use has been integral in getting esteemed publishers on board, says Davis. "Although simultaneous access is a new model for publishers, they're wrapping their heads around this and seeing it as the future. Everyone from agents to authors to distributors are getting excited about BiblioBoard, because it gets their work into libraries in a visually pleasing and even fun manner."

Some of the publishers recently signed on to distribute on BiblioBoard:

  • LGBTQ: In addition to Riptide Publishing, BiblioBoard now offers Dreamspinner, a publisher of gay romantic fiction, and MLR Press who has been recognized by Rolling Stone Magazine and has published many Lambda Literary Award-winning books.
  • Christian Books: The Christian Fiction catalog has grown from such publishers as David C. Cook and Pelican Ventures Book Group to include Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and Morgan James. Now, readers can find anything from Christian fiction to writing advice to business how-to volumes, all from award-winning presses and authors they love.
  • University Presses: Over 600 academic texts from such prestigious presses as Manchester University Press, UNC Press and Purdue University Press have signed on to display selections from their catalogs on BiblioBoard. These products will provide easy access to information on subjects such as veterinary studies, African American history, engineering, chemistry, political science and philosophy. The books have been heralded for their high quality by academics far and wide and even by Good Morning America.
  • Military: Books on topics like military history, military strategy and first-hand accounts, spanning ancient warfare to modern battles, are available on BiblioBoard from The Casemate Group. Casemate offers books from over 50 publishers, such as Casemate UK, Oxbow Books, Casemate Academic and Casemate Athena.
  • Business: Berrett-Koehler is signed on to offer over 400 business-focused books, including over 160 bestsellers and many other award winners.
  • **Children's: **Laugh and learn with Arbordale Publishing's fun, educational books. Formerly Sylvan Dell Publishing, this press is known for smart books that kids love. The books are available in both Spanish and English and come with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) guides.
  • Science Fiction: HiLoBooks takes science fiction books that were lost in the past and presents them to a modern audience. Previously out-of-print books from prominent authors like Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling are gathered here. Mixing the high brow with the low brow (without compromising for a middle brow), these sci-fi books make the old into the new.
  • **Comic Books: **The most recent addition to BiblioBoard's robust collection of over 3,000 comics, graphic novels, and manga is Milk Shadow Comics. Milk Shadow publishes comix best suited for mature readers, because these books go where traditional comics don't. With a penchant for dark humor, Milk Shadow presents entertainment that will make you cringe, jump, laugh and shake your head.
  • Canadian Publishers: Noted Canadian publisher **Dundurn **offers over 2,000 nonfiction, biographical and fictional books, including many award-winners. From Canadian history to fiction set in Canada, Dundurn offers a range of highly demanded content.
  • Self-Help: Learn how to get more out of life by reading up on how to improve your business with books from Atlantic Publishing, how to live a healthier lifestyle with cookbooks from Callisto Media and how to thrive in the digital age with volumes from Emereo Publishing. These new publishers comprise over 2,000 personal development eBooks for patrons.
  • Spirituality: Get in touch with your spiritual side with hundreds of books from Red Wheel/Weiser pertaining to metaphysics, health, astrology, meditation and more.
  • Hi-Lo: Publishing high-interest books for low-level readers, Orca Book Publishers "reaches more readers" by appealing to the older reader who struggles to keep up with challenging books. This award-winning press has middle grade, young adult and adult books on a range of topics that will appeal to a variety of new readers.
  • Spanish Language: Over 10,000 Spanish language books from various publishers are coming to BiblioBoard in partnership with e-Libro, one of the largest distributors of Spanish Language eBooks. The books come from over 300 Spanish language publishers, such as EL Cid, Scielo Cuba, Grupo Destiempos, Bubok, Granica, and Nobuko, Encuentro, with countless authors contributing–-including Pope Francis! Additionally, Spain-based publisher Red Ediciones will contribute hundreds of literary and historic books from the 18th to the 20th century.