Amigos eBook project - Amigos eShelf

I am simply copying this from the Amigos eShelf page on their website.  This is a project that is very similar to ours, so of course I'm biased and think it's awesome.  I believe they are planning to go live with their platform in the fall of 2014, and they were actively meeting with publishers at Book Expo.

For more details, you can like Amigos on Facebook.

Amigos eShelf

In June 2013, Amigos undertook an ambitious and exciting new project: the creation of an e-book platform for Amigos members.

This project is similar to other e-book platforms, such as those from the Califa Library Group or Douglas County Libraries. Our focus is to provide e-books for libraries and their patrons by negotiating directly with the publishers. Once the platform is in place, libraries may access it through an Amigos search interface or a local library catalog. Libraries will be able to supplement their own collections with lists of e-books from the Amigos platform. Amigos will host and maintain the e-books collections and negotiate with publishers on future additions. For libraries that wish to purchase e-books themselves, Amigos can provide the DRM-based infrastructure necessary.

In late Spring 2013, Amigos acquired an e-book platform project from the North Texas Library Partners, providing us a solid foundation from which to move forward. Since then, we have focused on evaluating the project and investigating alternative options. In mid-July, we brought together a group of librarians for a brainstorming session. We received much valuable information from this session that we have used to develop the basic requirements for our system. The work of building the platform began in earnest in August 2013. Our basic service should be available to libraries in the summer of 2014. We will continue development into the next year.

To aid in this effort, in July 2013 Amigos received a Library Cooperation Grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, awarded specifically for creation of this e-book platform. "Having the support of TSLAC provides us not only with the resources needed to complete the project, it buoys our confidence as we move forward," said Project Manager Christine Peterson. "We hope to provide a service that will complement existing services and aid our members in providing e-books to their patrons."

If you would like to stay abreast of our progress on this project, you may do so in any of three ways:

Read Amigos Now, our bi-weekly news digest. As important project milestones are achieved, we will apprise you of them through AmigosNow articles.
Be sure to . Project updates will be posted to our Facebook page as they occur for prompt display on your Facebook News Feed page.