Canada: University Libraries in Nova Scotia Test eBook Sharing

A group of Nova Scotia university libraries is testing a new approach to ebook lending that offers unprecedented levels of access to students and faculty. Novanet – a consortium of 10 academic libraries founded in 1988 – has negotiated a new deal with publishers to allow the sharing of electronic books among libraries as freely as the sharing of print books. In a pilot project that began in November 2012, the member libraries deposited a total of $100,000 to access a shared collection of about 16,000 ebooks through vendor EBL.