For immediate release:
EDMONTON, AB, Thursday, Dec. 31 – Edmonton Public Library (EPL), alongside more than 500 other Canadian public libraries, is excited to announce they will hold the first national, bilingual (English and French) digital book club. This is the second year of One eRead Canada, a month-long initiative coordinated by Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC), that will run from Friday, Jan. 1 – Sunday, Jan. 31.
More than 80% of Canadian public libraries will be offering free, unlimited access to Vi by Kim Thúy, in eBook and eAudiobook formats across different platforms. This book will be available in English and French – without holds or waitlists – to all EPL cardholders.
“We are thrilled to once again be part of CULC’s One eRead Canada,” said Sharon Day, EPL’s Director of Branch Services and Collections. “This initiative not only facilitates a connection between Canadians across the country, encouraging dialogue around a wonderful Canadian book, but it also raises awareness around the need for improved access to eContent for public Libraries.” Demand for eContent at the Edmonton Public Library is increasing over 20% every year (over 2 million digital books were borrowed in 2020), but major multinational publishers charge excessively high prices and use restrictive purchasing models, which limits public library access to a number of best-selling and prominent titles.
One eRead Canada is an initiative undertaken by CULC, which is striving to raise awareness of the prohibitive costs and purchasing restrictions public libraries face related to eContent. CULC’s recent eContent for Libraries campaign, in which EPL actively participated, drew attention to major multinational publishers’ excessively high prices and restrictive purchasing models for eBooks and eAudiobooks. Public libraries introduce readers and listeners to new titles and authors, positively impacting sales of digital content – to the benefit of publishers, authors, and readers with programs such as One eRead Canada.
The selection for the first bilingual book club is Vi by Kim Thúy, published by Libre Expression in French and Penguin Random House Canada in English. This masterful book about the lives and experiences of Vietnamese refugees in Canada was a finalist for the 2019 Governor General’s Literary Award in translation and longlisted for the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
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About the Edmonton Public Library
The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) is proud to be 2014 Library of the Year! We’ve come a long way since 1913 when books were all you could find on our shelves… and we’re just getting started! Today, EPL carries everything you care about. We are Edmonton’s largest lender of all manner of information and entertainment. Our professionally trained staff take you beyond Google with the knowledge, discernment and desire to help you navigate a universe of information. The second most visited place in Edmonton, every year EPL hosts over 15.4 million in branch and online visits across our 21 branches and website. We deliver our incredible content to you everywhere – in the library, at home or on your handheld device. Unmatched access and unrivalled value – that is today’s EPL. EPL is a registered charity and relies on donations to enhance services. Spread the words. www.epl.ca/give
