Abstract

With the launch in September 2014 of the project eBiblio to lend ebooks, promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport in collaboration with the autonomous communities, began a new phase in the Spanish public libraries. The digital loan was incorporated into the rest of the services offered by the libraries and represented a number of management challenges. The changes have affected librarians who have had to be technologically trained to use a new service and users who also need to acquire a range of technological skills to access readings. In this article all aspects that converge in the digital loan will be described and the evolution and future prospects of the service will be analysed, focusing some of these aspects on the specific case of eBiblio Madrid.

Abstract

Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport has promoted an ebooks project through which Spanish public libraries acquire the licenses for the use of e-books and a computer system that manages the loans. The eBiblio platform allows users of public libraries with internet access to download and read ebooks and audiobooks. The service has been available since September of 2014 through the library networks of various cities and regions.