Meeting Minutes for 10/08/2019

E-Content Committee Meeting
10/08/2019

• In the first 8 weeks after a Macmillan title is released, every Advantage library in the consortium can purchase one OC/OU copy of that title and the consortium itself can purchase one OC/OU copy of that title.
• However, the copies purchased by the Advantage libraries are not eligible to share. 
• At this point, OverDrive does not know if this means they will never be eligible to share, or if titles will not be eligible to share within the first 8 weeks. 
• 8 weeks after the release date, there is no limit on the number of copies the consortium or individual Advantage libraries can purchase. 
• All copies purchased 8 weeks after publication will be Metered Access.
• Action Item: Abbey Deckard will get back to us about if the Macmillan titles can be shared.
• Liz thinks the group should purchase a shared title for several reasons
  • One, for the libraries who cannot afford to purchase a copy for their patrons, will have a chance to get in line for the one copy
  • Two, it will also give the group an extra OC/OU copy
• Adam suggested that Marmot put some of its operating money into a pool of funds with a balance, so we have more time to figure out a mechanism
• Action Item: Liz, Adam, and Tammy will work with Abbey Deckard to find out about how to set up an account to purchase shared titles again. If we need to, we can have a meeting in November.

Flipster Presentation (Ed Lott and Ariele Pappalimberis from EBSCO)
Flipster Demo Recording

• Easy Access
• Top Circulating Magazines
• Long-Term Title Stability
• Build Your Own Collection
• No Personal Information is Collected/ no account set-up required
• Integrates with CLiC Databases
• Lending period
  • Unlimited titles can be checked out for 5 to 7 days
  • Restricted titles can be checked out for 3 – 4 days
• The titles expire from your device but can be easily checked out again
• Flipster is also available for Kindle Fire
• Searching can be done within the magazine
• Adult coloring books are available 
• Anyone can request a trial 

RBdigital New Pricing Structure (Mark Haley from Recorded Books)

• RBdigital is eliminating choosing titles because they are an unlimited company
• They have a catalog of over 2,900 magazine titles with 100 different languages from many different countries
• Every magazine title is now available for Marmot Library Network at the same pricing structure 
  • Pricing is based on total annual circulation for Public libraries under a tiered model
  • Pricing for schools and academics is based on FTE, and is still being determined
• The unlimited model is for eAudiobooks, Newspapers, and Comics
• The magazines are permanently entitled to the user
  • When someone checks out a magazine, it is theirs to keep forever
  • Magazine titles never time out, it is always yours
•  There is an accessibility icon on the magazine app that is critical for all companies and public libraries
  • RBdigital is the only one that is conforming to the stringent accessibility requirements  
• RBdigital is GDPR compliant to protect personal data and privacy of citizens in the European Union (EU) countries
  • Europe has the most stringent privacy laws on the face of the earth
  • Companies who do not conform to the GDPR standards could be fined millions of dollars
  • RBdigital is in over 3,600 libraries nationwide, they have been GDPR compliant since the beginning of last year
• RBdigital has the auto-checkout feature, so they do not have to check out those titles when they become available 
• Mobile registration is a new enhancement that happened about 6 months ago
  • Download the RBdigital app from any app store
  • Click on it and use your barcode to get access to the magazines
  • However, you still need a username and password 
• They have 14 different services all on the same app
• RBdigital app is available for Kindle Fire 
• RBdigital has over 2000 unlimited comics
  • Comics from Disney, Marvel, Dark Horse, and IDW (No DC comics at this time)
  • These are comic volumes from 300 – 500 pages
  • No added charges for any new comics added later
  • Also available on the RBdigital all-in-one app
• RBdigital partnered with PressReader to offer newspapers
  • Over 2,500 daily newspapers from all around the world with over 100 languages from 160 countries
  • Also available on the RBdigital all-in-one app
• RBdigital eAudiobooks
  • Over 34,000 unlimited audiobooks from Recorded Books, Tantor Media, HighBridge Audio, GildanMedia and ChristianAudio
  • This is over 2 million of unlimited simultaneous access content
  • Also available on the RBdigital all-in-one app
  • The more libraries who join the group purchasing of eAudiobooks, the lower the price
  • Adding $30,00 worth of titles every month at no extra cost

Comparison between EBSCO’s Flipster & RBdigital Magazines

• RBdigital contract runs out on February 1st
• The group would like to compare “apples to apples” with the magazine titles and pricing
• This is going to be an ongoing conversation
  • Flipster has magazines that are not available through RBdigital
  • Flipster allows you to get into the app with just your library card number
  • Flipster integrates with EBSCO databases
  • Flipster has a carousel widget for the website
  • Flipster short loan period is not a good feature
  • RBdigital is crushing Flipster cost wise
  • RBdigital magazines can be made into a Pika browse category and added to a website as a widget
  • RBdigital has accessibility
  • RBdigital has the perpetual downloads
  • RBdigital has auto checkout 
• Bemis switched from Flipster to RBdigital and they are so much with RB! Flipster had pretty terrible customer service experience (especially with renewing their contract).   
• Pine River had ugly customer service experience with RBdigital.
• Flipster pricing is for the public libraries. The academics and schools would have to contact them for pricing
  • They based the consortium pricing on the total population served for the public library members of Marmot. 
  • They would send a single invoice to Marmot for Flipster, or each library would receive a separate invoice.
  • In a single invoice scenario, figuring out what each library pays is something Marmot would need to do. However, they can easily assist us in identifying what each library should contribute to Marmot.
• Adam pointed out that the Discovery Committee through Marmot has just recently clearly indicated a priority for developing the RBdigital API, and Marmot is committed to it for the stable Pika build.
• Adam had heard the Mesa County is interested in the RBdigital comic books. He wondered if other libraries are interested in comic book separate from the eAudiobooks and magazines.
• Action Item: we cannot compare magazine platforms without more information. We have until the end of January to decide. Liz and Tammy will see what they can find out.  

Databases under consideration for CMC (Yuliya) 

• CMC is looking at a couple of new databases
• She wanted to know if there might be enough interest from other libraries to get a consortium deal
• They are looking at the New York Times (NYTimes) and UpToDate databases
• They do have access to some New York Times article from some of their other databases
• With the direct subscription you can use the NYTimes on the website, and have access to articles back to 1851.
• UpToDate is a medical database that CMU is considering for their nursing and EMS programs
• Yuliya thinks the seats for the NYTimes would be unlimited, but this might be just for the academics
• Genevieve mentioned that their subscription is unlimited within the library and 10 licenses outside of the library per day
• The following libraries would be interested in the NYTimes: EVLD, Bemis, Pitkin, Vail, Bud Werner, Pine River & Wilkinson are interested but must wait for a mill levy to pass.
• Action Item: Adam and Tammy will be in touch with Yuliya to see about the next steps

Blackstone Embargo Update

• Haley is on the 5th round of phone tag with Blackstone
• They have been trying to get in touch with Haley, and they did receive her letter

Next meeting is on December 10th at 1 p.m.

We may have a special meeting on November 12th  that will announce through email