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eBooks on Demand service remains self-sustaining and seeks for further fields of activity

The EOD network of 37 European libraries held a meeting from 28-29 April 2016 at the Swiss National Library, discussing ideas and experiences to widen the array of EOD services. During the last years the EOD service proofed to be a stable running service at the EOD partner libraries.

Altogether the EOD libraries have received 3000-4000 digitization orders for public domain books annually during the last three years. The network receives requests from up to 48 countries. 1200 items are additionally available as reprints via Amazon. Some libraries with smaller old book collections collaborate by offering their holdings through an EOD library. Also the EOD network is expected to expand within the current year.

“The intensive professional and technical exchange lays the foundation for innovation and development,” says Marie-Christine Doffey, the Head of the Swiss National Library. She highlights the global access to documents offered by the EOD search engine, which “presents a great added value not only for us but also for an interested public around the world”.

The ideas and experiences of the EOD partners go beyond the digitization of public domain books on request. The National Library of Sweden for example is preparing one of a kind pilot in the world between Sweden and Finland to include out of commerce copyrighted materials. The Library at Guisanplatz was sharing its experience in regards to the integration of the  EOD service with Alma and Primo. The Bavarian State Library on the other hand reported on inter-library loan and e-media, also presenting some evidence on the equal use of the inter-library loan for printed as well as e-books. The coordinator of the EOD network, the University and Regional Library of Tyrol (University Innsbruck) now enables the EOD libraries to provide reprints not only together with a digital copy, but also from previously digitized materials.

The EOD service was launched by 13 libraries in 8 European countries in 2006. The network remains open to institutions interested in digitizing and making available public domain books on the request of an international community of users.

Photo credit: Clio Turbata