Case Study: The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress Publishing Office (LOC) needed an online bookstore to help achieve their mission of both selling and giving away their content for free. OBS assisted by preparing seven of their titles for online distribution and making them available through a social reading platform.

Content Imperative

The mission of the Library of Congress Publishing Office is to disseminate their rare historical and educational content as widely as possible. In these challenging economic times, the Library has found that pursuing traditional print channels proves too costly and limits readership: printing, warehousing, and distribution costs necessitate high list prices, which in turn limits the circulation and sales of titles. OBS collaborated with the LOC to develop and implement an e-publishing program that both fit the LOC’s tight budget and reached out to their readership in new, interactive ways.

Overseeing scanning, uploading, and distribution, OBS worked closely with the LOC to ensure that the books look their best and are easily accessible to their readers. By identifying and contracting with an e-distribution vendor, OBS was able to help the Library fulfill its educational imperative as well: readers can annotate, highlight, and bookmark the e-books, and communicate with each other about the Library’s titles, all online.

OBS’s Role

  • Scanning Jefferson’s Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress
  • Identifying and recommending an e-distribution vendor
  • File preparation and uploading seven books to e-distribution platform
  • Contract negotiation
  • Ongoing management of sales and user activity at the Library’s online bookstore

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