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Our Favorite Community Projects of 2018

We wanted to take a minute to give a shout out to a few of our libraries that created some of our favorite community projects of 2018! From music to cookbooks to local history and beyond, we love seeing how they have utilized BiblioBoard’s community engagement tools to Create, Share, and Discover wonderfully unique local content. Read on to see how their collections have developed!

We Solve Problems Essay Contest

Supported by Geauga County Public Library

This essay collection gathers entries from students in seven different high schools in the area on the topic of solutions to real-world problems. The contest is made possible by a partnership between the local Gertsburg Law Firm and the Chamber of Commerce and has received a ton of local publicity!

Tricentennial Archives

Supported by BiblioTech: Bexar County’s Digital Public Library

BiblioTech is working with member partners, including the 26 suburban cities of San Antonio, to create individual digital anthologies. Together, these collections reflect and preserve the rich, diverse histories found in Bexar County. This project officially launched in 2018 to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio. 

Picture Atlantic

Supported by Atlantic Public Library

Picture Atlantic is a digital photo contest to celebrate Atlantic’s Sesquicentennial Year (2018). The library collected submissions from the community for a month and organized the photos into categories for people, events, landscape/cityscape, animals, and also entries by photographers 17 and under. The photos capture unique perspectives of the town, its residents, and was a beautiful way to celebrate their 150th year.

Pocket City Music Preserve

Supported by Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library

With such a wide variety of original, quality, local music talent, EVPL invited all of their local musicians (past and present) to submit songs, band photos, album art, song lyrics, music videos, video interviews, and other music-related digital content to form this eclectic collection (and we think it’s rockin’!)

Twinsburg Library Loves to Cook

Supported by Twinsburg Public Library

This collection recognizes the timelessness of cooking by featuring recipes that have been passed down through the generations. Each collection contains cookbooks, images, and/or loose-leaf recipes. One of our favorites is from the Twinsburg Library staff and contains a full copy of the staff cookbook, published in 2015, as well as favorite recipes that are occasionally added by the current staff.

Graphic Novel Making Contest

Supported by San Jose Public Library

2018 marks the 10th Annual Graphic Novel Making Contest for San Jose Public Library. Each year, creators of all ages submit their comic/manga-style illustrated short stories to the contest as part of their Summer Learning program. Contest entries and winning submissions are featured on BiblioBoard Library for the entire community to enjoy.

Have ideas for your own community project? Get started by setting up a Custom Submission Page. It only takes a few minutes to take the first step to get unique, local content into your library!

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Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project

2018 STBF finalists L to R  - Edward S. Beidas for Sarah’s Heart, Heather Bentley for Sweetest Heartbreak, LeAnn Morgan for Morwen Cottage

Congratulations to BK Parent, the first YA winner of Minnesota’s state Indie Author Project Awards.  We library people are high fiving in Illinois for you. What a thrill to see talented self-published authors being celebrated in other states via their libraries.

As most people know, libraries have been around thousands of years ensuring that books were available for those who want to read them.   Over the centuries libraries have evolved from providing scarce print books to the few who could read, to a literal onslaught of printed tomes of every genre for slews of readers.

The Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project embraces this legacy and it’s still all about libraries getting great books to patrons.  

We libraries in Illinois are no longer waiting for the big 5 publishers to select all the quality authors we can offer to our readers.  Illinois libraries have cut that ribbon and opened the curated self-published eBook freeway to get excellent books to readers.  From 2014 through 2018, Illinois librarians have worked collaboratively to select quality author finalists and winners.  All along the way, it is all about connecting local authors to local libraries and library staffers connecting across the state.

The announcements have been a stellar event.  Committee members talk about the quality Illinois self-published authors and the authors describe the essential role that libraries have played in their lives.  Here is the 2018 event that we streamed live so that people throughout the state and world could experience the excitement.

The STBF Author winners have been –

2014 - Joanne Zienty - The Things We Save

2015 - Michael Alan Peck - The Commons Book I: The Journeyman

2016 - Geralyn Hesslau Magrady - Lines

2017 - Daniel Rosenberg - The Towers Still Stand

2018 – Heather Bentley – Sweetest Heartbreak

Thank you BiblioLabs for being at the forefront of this movement with technology and energy. Our partnership with BiblioLabs has enabled us to lift the project to the next level - offering a prize, a review, and an important avenue to our readers through their BiblioBoard Library platform through the Reaching Across Illinois Library System.  You might have caught us on webinars or at conference presentations these past few years as we have continually extolled the virtues of this self-published ecosystem.  So we are thrilled that a number of library professionals in other states have joined in this Indie Author Project movement.

The ride just keeps getting more fun as we are now accepting entries to the new 2018 Manuscript Contest which will be curated once again by librarians. The winner will receive line editing and cover art help (thank you BiblioLabs) and an automatic entry into the second round of the 2019 Soon to Be Famous book contest.

The way we offer great books to readers continues to shift as platforms are added, gain or diminish.  The Soon to Be Famous Illinois author project is all about libraries not staying in their traditional lane.  It’s about librarians carving out a new road together that connects authors to libraries and books to readers. 

By Denise Raleigh, Gail Borden Public Library District

For the Soon to Be Famous committee that also includes– Julie Stam, Eisenhower Public Library District; Sue Wilsey, Helen Plum Public Library; Nikki Zimmermann, Reaching Across Illinois Library System; Eva Baggili, Chicago Ridge Public Library; Jeffrey Fisher, Fountaindale Public Library; Carol Kania Morency, ret. Mount Prospect Public Library; Kate Buckson, La Grange Park Public Library; Lucy Tarabour, Clarendon Hills Public Library

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How Librarians are Changing the Future of Books

The Indie Author Project is helping thousands of librarians and authors create their own future and control their own destiny

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the award ceremony for the first state Indie Author Project Awards at the Minnesota Library Association conference. The indie / self-published book award is run by local librarians as part of the statewide MN Writes | MN Reads program. MN Writes | MN Reads is one of many new library community engagement program models that are ensuring a strong role for librarians in the digital future.

Read More

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Reflecting on ALA Annual

Wow. Just, wow.

It’s been 6+ years of really hard work to get to this point, and this is just the beginning. For those that were with us in New Orleans for this year’s American Library Association Conference, I hope you felt as many good vibes as we did. Not only was New Orleans filled with a ton of culture (and LOTS of great food!), but the support from the library community was overwhelming. We got to meet so many of you in person, whether you’re current customers or (hopefully) future ones, the conversations were flowing and so much inspiration and positivity were shared.

Anyway, enough about my own excitement :) I wanted to share a recap of some of the great things we had going on during ALA (and still do!) so you can share in the Community Engagement movement with us.

We partnered with OverDrive earlier this year to bring even more exposure to the best-of-the-best indie eBooks in our system. As always, all of our locally-published titles are available on BiblioBoard Library for unlimited use with no checkouts, waitlists, or holds, but now they’re also available to libraries that have OverDrive as well! The deadline to enroll in this program is July 31, so visit the OverDrive marketplace to add this collection for free before time runs out! You’ll have access to these 50 curated titles until July 31, 2019 (and we’re currently working on an extended plan, so please bear with us!).

Just to show you how successful other libraries have already been with this collection, here’s what Catherine Royalty, Los Angeles Public Library Acquisitions Manager, had to say about it:

"The LA Public Library's OverDrive users have eagerly embraced the curated SELF-e collection. In addition to providing our users with new titles to discover, we are thrilled that some of our local authors are gaining a new audience on this platform."

In a span of just 28 days, June 7 - July 5, LAPL has already seen over 550 circulations on these titles. Clearly, they’re loving this curated collection!

To learn more about our indie author services, go here. And be sure to visit your OverDrive marketplace to add this collection to your library for free before July 31, 2018!

This contest, which has been extended to accept submissions through July 27, has seen tremendous engagement so far. We decided to extend the deadline by three weeks to give even more authors the opportunity to submit their books for inclusion. If you’re an author in California, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, or Wisconsin, submit your eBook for a chance to win an amazing package of prizes!

Or, if you’re a library in a state that’s not currently participating, let us know and we’d love to have you join in for next year’s contests!

Another huge hit at ALA this year was our new tote bags. Well, guess what? If you weren’t able to snag one from us, they’re now available for purchase online! Just visit our BiblioMarket for totes, tees, and so much more of your faves.

With so many great things in the works right now, I could continue on and on but I think I’ve given you enough reading material for one day :) Someone has to create all those pretty graphics and marketing materials around here, so until next time – #createsharediscover

Alissa Bankowski Brand Manager + Resident Poster Maker

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Statewide Indie Author Projects: The Basics

This past April saw the kickoff of seven statewide contests that are seeking Young Adult and Adult Fiction by indie authors. Winners in each category will be recognized as the top self-published books in each respective state, as judged by librarians.

Here are the states that are currently participating:

California

Kentucky

Minnesota

Missouri

Ohio

Virginia

Wisconsin

Illinois - Soon To Be Famous (submissions are closed for this state but will reopen for the 2019 contest).

Submissions for this contest will close on June 30th, 2018.

Why are authors participating?

For indie authors, these contests are a fantastic way to elevate their careers and business. Along with the accolade of the award and its perks, being recognized by librarians creates credibility and visibility in the growing marketplace of digital content and self-published books. Winning authors will reach hundreds, if not thousands, of new readers via the library, and can also leverage being an award-winning author for additional marketing opportunities.

The winners of this contest will receive*:

$500 each in Young Adult and Adult Fiction categories

A write-up in the December 2018 print issue of Library Journal

Honors at ALA Midwinter 2019 THRIVE Reception in Seattle

Opportunities to promote your book(s) at public libraries in his/her home state

A Library Journal Digital Review (Winners and Honorable Mentions)

*Some states have additional awards for their contest. Visit your state’s individual submission page for more info.

Each book that is submitted to the contest must be:

Self-published

In the genre of Adult Fiction or Young Adult Fiction

Written by a resident of the respective state

Available in either ePub or PDF file

Indie authors in participating states that are interested in this contest can submit at indieauthorproject.librariescreate.com/[YourStateHere]. There is no fee to submit.

Writers may also be interested in submitting their eBook(s) to SELF-e, which places local writers into all SELF-e participating libraries in their state. Writers who submit to SELF-e can also easily submit to a respective state’s contest during the submission process.

Libraries interested in getting involved with their state’s contest, or starting their own, can email info@biblioboard.com for more information.

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Announced: 2018 BCALA EBook Literary Awards Winners

The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) recently announced the winners of their 2018 Self-Publishing Literary Awards. The awards, powered by SELF-e, honor the best self-published ebooks by an African American author in the U.S. in the genres of fiction and poetry.  

FICTION: Sunshine in the Delta by Erica Marisa Sandifer  

Neeyla is a young girl from a family of sharecroppers, and has only known poverty and dysfunction. Determined to break the cycle, she decides to take a job "in town" as the help to make her own money. Sandifer currently works at Turnrow Book Company and hopes to inspire other writers and citizens for generations to come.

POETRY: The New Lynchings by Adisa Ajamu 

From 2015 to now, Ajamu has published 7 books of poetry varying in content from love, heartbreak, the uplifting of the black community, depression and many others. This collection of poems speaks to the constant struggle for equality and liberation in the African American community.

This is the third time BCALA has held this innovative contest. The recipients will receive their awards during the 2018 American Library Association Annual Conference on June 24 in New Orleans, LA.

The BCALA Self-Publishing Literary Awards have already proven to be a powerful player in the publishing world: one of the award’s inaugural winners, L. Penelope, has since signed with St. Martin’s Press, a subsitorary of Macmillan. The publisher released her award-winning novel Song of Blood and Stone earlier this month.

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Customer FAQ: SELF-e Select On OverDrive

On June 1st, the indie author + public library revolution expands as OverDrive announces a pilot program called SELF-e Select on OverDrive. SELF-e Select on OverDrive includes a handpicked sampler collection of ~50 titles from the various SELF-e Select modules. 

If you currently use OverDrive as an eBook platform, your library will receive a message from them about adding the collection, which will be available as part of the one-year pilot between June 1, 2018 – July 31, 2019. All titles are available to patrons under OverDrive’s Simultaneous Use model, with no waitlists or holds.

Will I still be able to offer my SELF-e collection on BiblioBoard Library?

Yes, nothing changes in regard to delivering local content on BiblioBoard. You can still use geolocation to reach every member of your community and send people to BiblioBoard from MARC and discovery layer integrations. Nothing changes.

Will my other BiblioBoard Library collections be available on OverDrive?

No, this pilot is limited specifically to the ~50 books in the SELF-e Select on OverDrive collection.

Is it required that I sign up for the pilot?

No, you are not required to sign up for the pilot.

How were these titles selected?

The SELF-e Select on OverDrive eBooks were selected based on awards, popularity and ratings.

What happens at the end of the pilot?

We are not sure yet. The pilot is being put together to see what kind of interest patrons have in these curated indie author titles on OverDrive. As the program begins to integrate into libraries, we will share news and updates.

Will libraries and authors get usage data for the books read on OverDrive?

Yes.

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Just Announced: Illinois Author Project Unpublished Manuscript Contest

The “Soon To Be Famous” Illinois Author Project—which has awarded the best self-published book in Illinois for five years—has announced a new contest to find the best, unpublished manuscript in Illinois. The statewide self-published contest was the first of its kind, and the Illinois Author Project is now once again leading the way with this new contest. 

Open to any unpublished manuscript from an Illinois resident, the winner will receive professional line editing and professional cover art design services, valued at $10,000.

Submissions open in October 2018, with the winner being announced in April 2019.

Know a writer or writers groups in Illinois? Be sure to check out the Soon To Be Famous website for updates come October. This is a great opportunity for a local writer to have a professional-level manuscript to pitch to publishers or self-publish through a program like SELF-e.

Submissions for both the new manuscript contest and the existing “Soon To Be Famous” self-published contest are made possible by BiblioBoard. Libraries can learn more about Custom Submission Pages and library-driven contests by visiting the BiblioBoard website or contacting libraryrelations@biblioboard.com.

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A Better Submission Process For Library-Driven Contests

Forward-thinking libraries know that programming through the library is essential to be a viable resource to the community. Through these community engagement efforts, libraries have the ability to bring together all kinds of groups and interests, engage new patrons and go beyond the typical assumptions of what a library can do.

One such way that libraries are engaging with their communities through programming is with library-driven contests. For example, the Soon To Be Famous contest in Illinois is open to any self-published author in the state, and offers a cash prize, print book sales in Illinois libraries, and marketing support—including a statewide library tour for the winning novelist.

These contests are a great way to accomplish library goals: they engage local writers, bring attention of their work to local readers and create credibility for the winners. Contests can also call for artwork, music, video and short form content such as short stories and poetry.

However, the submission process for both libraries and those who submit can have inefficiencies. This is particularly true for libraries who often collect submissions through e-mail, which results in having to compile the metadata, organize the entry files, then pass along to judges.

BiblioBoard has made it easier to accomplish community engagement goals by making library-driven contests more fluid from start to finish with Customized Submission Pages.

These pages help make the submission process easy, efficient and require very little effort to set up. When your contest comes to an end, anyone can be granted access to submissions to begin judging or vetting with a shared username and password.

Additionally, Customized Submission Pages can accept all different forms of media, from written work to music and video. These submission pages have been adopted over the past year for use in various library-driven contests. Check out the success stories below.

BiblioTech / Poetry On The Move

BiblioTech, San Antonio and Bexar County’s all-digital library, has used Geolocation and a Customized Submission Page to create a partnership with local public transit and a local poetry competition. Geolocation allows VIA bus riders to ‘drop in’ to a digital library via a custom URL. With BiblioTech’s Poetry On The Move contest, winning poems were not only added to the digital library but also physically featured inside the VIA buses themselves. This project started as a great community partnership between BiblioTech and VIA, but the submissions, which were initially taken via email, proved to be time consuming and inefficient. With a Customized Submission Page, BiblioTech was able to easily set up their contest, share a customized link to the form, and let the submissions roll in. Having this one page for everyone to use made it easy to submit which resulted in the contest getting more submissions than ever before. Read more.

GonzoFest / Literary Journalism Contest

GonzoFest celebrates the life of Hunter S. Thompson. For years, it was namely a day of music, but has since expanded by collaborating with The Louisville Free Public Library. The partnership includes a literary journalism contest, open to nationwide submissions for “gonzo”-style journalism, pioneered by Thompson. In the past, submissions were namely collected by e-mail in a very manual way. However, this year GonzoFest solely used a Customized Submission Page for entries and submissions nearly quadrupled. Read more.

The Black Caucus of The ALA / BCALA Self-Publishing Award

The Black Caucus of The American Library Association first introduced the BCALA Literary Awards in 1994 at The Second National Conference of African American Librarians. In 2015, an opportunity was realized for a new award: one that would expand the BCALA’s dedication to African American authors by way of growing interest in digital content and self-publishing: The BCALA Self-Publishing Award. The contest uses a Customized Submission Page and is seeing growing success: last year with 58 submissions and nearly doubling this year to 115. Read more.

Want to learn more about how Customized Submission Pages are helping libraries increase community engagement? E-mail libraryrelations@bibliolabs.com.

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BiblioBoard To Bring Digital Library To TLA Conference

Library professionals and authors from around the country are set to converge in Dallas for the Texas Library Association Conference, April 3–6.

This year, BiblioBoard is working in partnership with the Texas Library Association and the conference’s Executive Director, Dana Braccia, to launch a geolocated Digital Library at the conference. Using the same geolocation technology that removes barriers to library content, attendees will be able to access this Digital Library on any device by visiting library.biblioboard.com, or through the TLA Conference app.

This Digital Library will be comprised of selected local Texas authors, Texas history and works from author panelists at this year’s TLA Conference—including David Lankes, winner of the American Library Association’s 2016 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship.

Here’s a sneak peek at a few pieces to be featured in the geolocated Digital Library:

The Digital Library is setup up solely for easy access to local, multimedia content during the conference. Afterwards, not unlike flipping a light switch, it will be turned off—making the Geo-library unique only to those who attend the conference.

Libraries interested in Geolocation can e-mail libraryrelations@bibliolabs.com

Conferences interested in hosting their own geolocated Digital Library can reach us at info@bibliolabs.com.

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BiblioBoard Integrates With Top ILS & Discovery Services

BiblioBoard Library offers patrons unlimited, multi-user access to library content and is now integrated with the following ILS/Discovery Services:

SimplyE

SirsiERC & Symphony

Apollo

Summon

EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)

OCLC Knowledge Base

“In 2016, we launched BiblioBoard Open Access and open web discovery to increase global traffic and usage of OA materials on our platform and saw a huge uptick in engagement,” said Mitchell Davis, CEO of BiblioLabs. “In 2017, we have reached across the industry to ensure that our licensed resources are findable through the library’s own discovery layers. With unlimited multi-user access to eBooks, we have seen massive growth in materials usage as these partnerships have taken root. We look forward to the other integrations coming online more fully as we move into next year.”

Several libraries that have incorporated BiblioBoard with their ILS or Discovery Service have also opted to activate Geolocation technology to increase Community Engagement, reaching new and current readers throughout their library’s service area. This combination is already yielding measurable results for libraries within its first year.

For example, Ebooks Minnesota is a project targeted at K-12 schools made available throughout the entire state via Geolocation.

"Being able to integrate content from our Ebooks Minnesota program into library catalogs has dramatically improved how patrons and students find our resources,” said Valerie Horton, Director of Minitex. “We're seeing that success in our usage stats."

Libraries interested in learning more about incorporating BiblioBoard with their current ILS or Discovery Service and/or engaging patrons through Geolocation can e-mail libraryrelations@bibliolabs.com for more information.

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BiblioBoard Reflection on 2017 + What’s Next

Moving into the New Year, we are grateful for the accomplishments our team has achieved in 2017. Over the last year, we made some of our biggest pushes for supporting libraries in the digital age, making BiblioBoard better than ever for libraries and patrons.

We Made It Easier To Create

One of our top priorities is for libraries and patrons to be able to create their own digital experience. Likewise, it should be easy for the community to create via their local library. Here’s how we amplified those tools:

Created a better customizable experience that makes it easier for libraries to organize content on their homepage.

In the case of overlapping services areas, libraries can now add multiple libraries/programs to their BiblioBoard Library to create county or statewide access.

We created a SELF-e plugin for Pressbooks so writers can now submit directly from Pressbooks into SELF-e.

Read about how Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library used PressBooks to create a community lit mag.

We Made It Easier To Share

Thanks to customer feedback, our software development team has been working swiftly in the background to make it easier for libraries and patrons to share using BiblioBoard tools:

Custom Submission Pages can now accept multimedia content, including audio, video and images.

2017 also marked the third year of the SELF-e program, a partnership with Library Journal. SELF-e makes it easy for self-published authors to share their work to a statewide collection with the potential for national exposure.

This year, SELF-e received over 1,300 submissions from around the world, including 47 states, Washington, D.C. and seven Canadian provinces.

We Made It Easier To Discover

BiblioBoard Library is making it easier for patrons to discover their library’s content. We now integrate with the following ILS/Discovery Services:

SimplyE

SirsiERC & Symphony

Apollo

Summon

EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)

OCLC Knowledge Base

...with more on the way!

And now, patrons can instantly engage with their library’s content through geolocation with just one click. As easy as flicking on a light switch, this service is completely free and requires no additional IT work from libraries. Geolocation can also be used in addition to existing, more traditional authentication methods.

There are already success stories about how geolocation increases usage.

Read about how BiblioTech in San Antonio is using geolocation to engage their community on public transit.

Libraries from California to Minnesota to Massachusetts are using geolocation to expand their reach and drive more usage to their libraries. Interested libraries can learn more by contacting libraryrelations@bibliolabs.com.

In 2017, we used geolocation to power up our Community Reads collection, Popup Picks. Popup Picks—already available to all BiblioBoard customers—refreshes seasonally to ensure that any selection from the collection will be a timely and relevant option for your next Community Read. Publishers Weekly recently become an official editorial partner and will be curating high-quality titles for each refresh of Popup Picks.

Libraries can receive a customized insta-trial of Popup Picks with geolocation within 24 hours. No calls, just click here and fill out one simple form.

Continued Commitment To Libraries & Authors

They say actions speak louder than words, so we took action to show how much we love words.

This past year, we welcomed Rachael Bussey to our team as an Account Specialist. Rachael has worked with public libraries for over five years and will be engaging directly with libraries, providing a personal touch to each and every one of our customers.

October saw the second celebration of Indie Author Day. Already one of the largest single-day library events in North America upon launching in 2016, this year, Indie Author Day continued to show that self-publishing is here to stay because of communities who support libraries and local writers.

In November, we hosted library and tech professionals at our fifth installment of BiblioSummit during Charleston Conference. The half-day event featured homegrown Charleston talent and two panels: “How Libraries Are Thriving In The Digital World” and “The Relationship Between Libraries And Learning”.

What’s Next?

2018 may just be kicking off, but there are already exciting developments on the horizon as we continue our mission of equipping libraries with the tools that help communities create, share and discover together.

Using existing technology for content submission, we’re working with libraries to create statewide author contests to find the best self-published authors in their state. Putting librarians at the helm of judging submissions, these contests will put libraries directly in touch with local writers and create the kind of accolades that elevate self-published authors’ careers. To learn more about statewide contests and how your library can participate, email libraryrelations@bibliolabs.com.

In 2018, we will also be looking into ways to expand the SELF-e program, namely with short-form content. Already used for submitting ebooks, SELF-e will soon be able to collect short stories, recipes, articles, memories, poetry and more—creating opportunities for an entirely new pool of writers.

Stayed tuned: We have no plans of slowing down in 2018 and beyond!

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Biblio Spotlight: Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project

Passionate librarians want to support local writers in their area. Likewise, writers know that having librarians advocate for your work can be a huge leg up when it comes to getting your book in front of a larger audience. But if you’re an author—especially a self-published author—how do you get your work into the library? If you’re a librarian, how can you ensure that the self-published books in your collection are held to a high standard?

The Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project has found a way to answer both of these questions, while also advancing the careers of self-published authors.

First bestowed in 2014, the Soon To Be Famous Award was a savvy reaction by library marketing professionals in Illinois to actively position libraries as a resource for local writers in an era of eBooks and increasing interest in self-publishing. To qualify, a self-published author is nominated by a local librarian and his/her eBook is then judged by a statewide committee comprised of librarians.

Each year, the winner of the Soon To Be Famous contest receives a $1,000 prize and recognition as the state’s best self-published book. However, he/she is also outfitted with practical marketing tools and opportunities to expand their audience.

“The award really changed everything for me,” said this past year’s winner Daniel Rosenberg. “Winning the award got me in front of writing groups and into libraries all around the state, and it's so rewarding to know people are out there reading and enjoying the book...I can't think of anything more satisfying for a writer than to know you've given people hours of enjoyment through your work.”

This year, six states—California, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia—will be following the example of Soon To Be Famous by creating their own statewide contests with similar benefits for indie authors.

Illinois writers and librarians can learn more about Soon To Be Famous here. Librarians interested in starting their own statewide indie author contest can learn more by contacting libraryrelations@bibliolabs.com.

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Biblio Spotlight: BiblioTech’s Public Transit Strategy

Earlier this month, BiblioTech, the all-digital library in Bexar County, Texas, joined over a dozen other libraries in a launch of Geolocation authentication technology.

Having beta-tested Geolocation over the past year, BiblioTech is finding new ways to make it even easier for citizens of the Greater San Antonio area to access the library’s digital content. In practical terms, Geolocation authentication allows for libraries to promote a URL to anyone in their service area that he/she can plugin to his or her smartphone, tablet or laptop and immediately start reading.

This simple link sharing creates opportunities to partner up with public entities, like public transit.

Two custom URLs are now being advertised on San Antonio’s public bus service, VIA: one targeted to adult readers, the other to younger readers.

“Our objective was a simple one,” said BiblioTech Executive Director, Laura Cole, “We wanted to meet the library patron in their everyday activities – because we can. A critical element of our mission is to promote reading as recreation and the regular, or even occasional bus ride presents us with an opportunity to enhance your day. VIA’s Wi-Fi service allows us to do that...The patron can enjoy reading immediately.”  

BiblioTech is also teaming up with VIA for their annual Poetry on the Move contest which takes submissions from local writers; the winning poems are “brought to life” inside VIA buses a la companion artwork from local art organizations. This year, a geolocated URL will be created and promoted on VIA buses so passengers can “drop into” a collection of the poems as well as other multimedia components that pair with them, such as video of live poetry readings.

After just one year of beta testing, and now an official launch from libraries across North America, Geolocation authentication is already displaying impressive numbers on how smart technology is increasing community engagement. At the time of this blog post, over two dozen libraries have chosen to opt into Geolocation authentication.

Learn more by watching this quick highlight reel from a recent webinar or contact us directly at libraryrelations@bibliolabs.com

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Biblio Spotlight: Aaron Barnhart

Aaron Barnhart is a true community leader and an advocate for learning, teaching and developing self-publishing. Over the past three years, Barnhart has been building a relationship with Mid-Continent Public Library, which serves three counties near Kansas City, Missouri.

His relationship with MCPL began when the library approached him and his wife—co-founders of the history-based press Quindaro Press—about leading local history courses.

“But in discussions with staff I knew they were starting to develop their curriculum and were looking for someone to teach self-publishing,” said Barnhart.

It was then that he began teaching classes twice a year at Woodneath Library, the home of MCPL’s Story Center.

“For the first year of the class I mostly taught using tools that we had used to produce books over the years—high-end software like InDesign and Photoshop,” cites Barnhart.

However, it was his introduction to PressBooks that sparked a new idea.

“I had actually used the paid version of PressBooks already, and liked it. But it wasn’t until MCPL offered it for free to its patrons that I entertained the idea of what if we did everything through PressBooks?”

He began testing that idea, and was able to produce the exact same products through PressBooks with ease. First came an advance review copy of a book using the Print PDF export feature; next, taking that same PressBooks document and outputting it as an EPUB file for digital use on platforms like Smashwords and Kindle.

“It was a 100% compliant eBook that looked good the very first time. Try doing that on InDesign!”

Barnhart teaches two classes at Story Center: one on production, another on sales. During the latter course Barnhart often points aspiring authors to SELF-e, a platform that makes it easy for writers to submit works through their local libraries. The eBook then becomes available to local patrons and all submissions are considered for becoming a “SELF-e Select” title, which are digitally distributed in libraries across the U.S. and Canada.

Barnhart sees these softwares, offered for free through public libraries, as a public service for self-expression.

“When people are looking to tell their stories, they go on the Internet, and there are increasingly bombarded with webinars and books to buy from ‘self-publishing experts’,” notes Barnhart. “[People] should not have to pay money to some huckster to learn how to communicate through the medium of the written word. I reject the narrative that the free market is the only source a person can turn to when learning how to make things.”

Barnhart also sees these classes as an opportunity to create community through his local library, and beyond.

“The virtual world is increasingly being monetized,” Barnhart remarked, pointing to platforms like Facebook where “reach” comes at a price.

“That’s why libraries, with their mission to act as a public square, are so vital. They are committed to offering authors and creators a chance to gather with audiences at no cost.”

For Barnhart, combining low-stress, no-cost book production through PressBooks and a means to distribute through SELF-e is an impactful one-two punch. As he put it: “Pairing BiblioLabs’ [products] with public libraries is a natural fit for aspiring storytellers to learn the art of growing an audience.”

To learn more about BiblioLabs and our community engagement products, contact us today.

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BIBLIOSUMMIT 2017: MEET THE PANELISTS

BiblioLabs is thrilled to host the fifth installment of BiblioSummit: Cities + Libraries this year in our hometown of Charleston, SC on Tuesday, November 7. The annual event brings together top minds from libraries, publishing and technology to have a conversation about how libraries are conquering the digital space, and what to expect next.

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HOW LIBRARIES ARE THRIVING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

In this panel discussion, contributors will speak about the future of libraries in the digital landscape: how to adapt in a world dominated by giant media corporations with new models for community engagement, and how these new digital strategies can be inclusive for the entire community.

Laura Cole is the Executive Director of BiblioTech Library in San Antonio, the first all-digital public library in the United States. Cole has directed BiblioTech’s expansion over the past four years through numerous community partnerships including VIA Metropolitan Transit, University Health System, San Antonio Housing Authority and 14 area school districts. Laura has engaged in dialogue with government officials and librarians across the world about the need to challenge the inveterate understanding of the public library while fortifying its core mission and the opportunity afforded by digital libraries to meet this objective.

Veronda J. Pitchford is the Director of Membership and Resource Sharing for the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS). She manages the eRead Illinois Axis 360 shared ebook collection and PopUp Picks on the BiblioBoard platform, which is statewide and geolocated. Pitchford works nationally with library consortia, vendors and publishers to position libraries as the rock stars of e-content in the communities they serve. A “die-hard library chick,” Veronda was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2005.

Patrick “P.C.” Sweeney is co-author of Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding. He is the former Administrative Librarian of the Sunnyvale (CA) Public Library and Executive Director of EveryLibrary California, a statewide initiative to support library propositions. Sweeney currently works as the Political Director for EveryLibrary, the nation’s first and only national political action committee (PAC) for libraries, and is a lecturer on politics at the San Jose State University iSchool. He is a 2015 Library Journal Mover & Shaker recipient for his advocacy work in California and across the country. He can be found online as PC Sweeney.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIBRARIES AND LEARNING

We live in a world that requires lifelong learning. Reflecting on his childhood education, author Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote in his pulitzer prize winning book, Between the World and Me, “I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free.” How can communities leverage existing relationships and resources to provide a new kind of educational and cultural resource that evolves into the future?

Kate Lawrence is the Vice President of User Research at EBSCO Information Services, leading the UX research and design activities that power EBSCO’s evidence-based product development process, across the portfolio of EBSCO products. Since 2011, Kate and her team have observed thousands of users interact with EBSCO products, mobile devices, websites and interface designs, and have discovered insights that drive improvements to products, services and processes. Kate is a member of the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) and an active presenter in the Boston and international UX community.

Carl Pritzkat is the Vice President of Business Development for PWxyz, the company that owns Publishers Weekly and BookLife. Pritzkat oversees all new business, digital strategy and product development for PWxyz and serves as president of BookLife, PWxyz's site dedicated to indie authors. Prior to PWxyz, Pritzkat co-founded the interactive media company Mediapolis, Inc., where he oversaw projects for The New York Times, Viacom, NPR, Sony, Johnson & Johnson, Volvo and others.

Jonathan Sanchez is a writer and the owner of Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston. The author of the short-story collection Bandit, Sanchez is a two-time winner in The S.C. Fiction Project and a former writer-in-residence at the Kerouac House in Orlando. He is the founder of The Write of Summer camp for kids, the Poets in the Schools program at Burke High School and YALLFest, Charleston’s Young Adult Book Festival. Originally from Charlotte, he lives in Charleston with his wife Lauren and two children.

Nancy Kirkpatrick is a recovering attorney who gambled that it would be more interesting to work with bibliophiles than barristers. She won that bet. As the Associate Director of Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS), she gets to work with libraries of all types and wear her lawyer hat negotiating group licensing. Prior to joining MCLS, Nancy was the library director at Marian University in Indianapolis. Every spring, Nancy teaches Academic Library Management for the LIS Department in the SOIC at IUPUI. And, in case it wasn’t clear, she speaks fluent acronym.

FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT: POETRY & MUSIC

In 2016, Marcus Amaker was named Charleston, South Carolina’s first Poet Laureate, as appointed by Mayor John Tecklenburg. Amaker’s poems have been featured on TEDx, PBS Newshour, A&E, The Huffington Post, several journals and poetry collections. His seventh book, Mantra, is also an app featuring audio, video and new poems. In 2017, He was named one of “Charleston’s 50 Most Influential” people by Charleston Business Magazine. As a musician, he’s recorded more than 15 albums, including a poetry and jazz album with Grammy-nominated drummer Quentin E. Baxter. Amaker graduated from The University of South Carolina with a Bachelor's in Journalism. He worked in newspapers for 12 years, during which he was the editor of Charleston Scene of The Post & Courier.

The V-Tones describe themselves as Charleston’s only ukulele hot club jug band vaudeville ragtime neo-retro-postpostmodern beachfront quasi-primitive anachronistic revolutionary anti-inflammatory mass catharsis jazz freakout and philharmonic group therapy session. You’re just going to have to see...and hear for yourself.

COUNT ME IN!

BiblioLabs would like to thank our media sponsors:

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Announcing BiblioSummit: Cities + Libraries 2017

BiblioLabs is excited to announce that BiblioSummit will take place in Charleston, SC on November 7. The half-day event will be the fifth installment of BiblioSummit, expanding this year into the tech incubator Flagship 2 of The Charleston Digital Corridor, the perfect venue for discussing how libraries are conquering the digital space.

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SPECIAL GUEST: MARCUS AMAKER, CHARLESTON’S POET LAUREATE

Before and between panels, attendees will be treated to performances by Marcus Amaker, who was deemed Charleston’s first-ever poet laureate in 2016. Watch Marcus perform at Charleston TEDx with legendary jazz musician Quentin Baxter here.

The event will include both breakfast and lunch, with an opening welcome from Scott Watson, Executive Director of The City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, and closing comments from Ernest Andrade, Executive Director of The Charleston Digital Corridor Foundation.

“I am moderating both sessions at this event and I am not even pretending to be impartial,” said Founder & CEO of BiblioLabs, Mitchell Davis. “This event is about thinking way forward about libraries and the impact they have had and need to continue to have on bridging the digital divide. This is for anyone in the library community, or here in Charleston, who cares about equal access to information and a robust creative and cultural community.”

BiblioLabs will also be launching a citywide geolocated library in Charleston on November 7th alongside dozens of other cities in North America, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Kansas City and more.

Here are this year’s panel sessions:

HOW LIBRARIES ARE THRIVING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

In the digital age, all bets are off as to how the future of libraries unfold. How will the mission of the library change and adapt to the new world dominated by giant media corporations? How are libraries experimenting with new models and working more closely with civic, nonprofit and community leaders to create digital information strategies for their citizens that are simple, highly visible and inclusive of the entire community?

Panelists include:

Laura Cole Executive Director, BiblioTech Library (San Antonio, TX)

Veronda Pitchford Director, Membership Development and Resource Sharing RAILS Consortia (Reaching Across Illinois Library Systems)

Patrick “PC” Sweeney Political Director, EveryLibrary

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIBRARIES AND LEARNING

We live in a world that requires lifelong learning. Reflecting on his childhood education, author Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote in his pulitzer prize winning book, Between the World and Me, “I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free.” How can communities leverage existing relationships and resources to provide a new kind of educational and cultural resource that evolves into the future?

Panelists include:

Kate Lawrence VP of User Research, EBSCO

Carl Pritzkat VP of Business Development & Executive Committee Member Publishers Weekly

Jonathan Sanchez Owner, Founder, Blue Bicycle Books, YALLfest

Nancy Kirkpatrick Associate Director Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS)

AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENT: THE V-TONES

After the closing comments, hang around and cut loose with Charleston’s own V-Tones. Unapologetically off-the-wall, The V-Tones bring a bit of flare to traditional folk, or well, as they put it: “Charleston’s only ukulele hot club jug band vaudeville ragtime neo-retro-post-postmodern beachfront quasi-primitive anachronistic revolutionary anti-inflammatory mass catharsis jazz freakout and philharmonic group therapy session.” Watch their music video for “Dinah” here. 

FULL SCHEDULE:

8:30 AM: Breakfast 9:00 AM: Welcome (Scott Watson, Marcus Amaker) 9:20 AM: “How Libraries Are Thriving In The Digital World” 10:40AM: Break (w/ Marcus Amaker performance) 11:00AM: “The Relationship Between Libraries And Learning” 11:55AM: Closing Comments (Ernest Andrade) 12:00PM: Lunch (w/ V-Tones performance)

BiblioSummit: Cities + Libraries 2017 Nov 7th, 2017 // 8:30 am - 12 pm (Free) Flagship 2 - Charleston Digital Corridor

Register Now