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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 11e - Purchase of Electronic Materials for the Arcadia Library DATE: August 4, 2020 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Darlene Bradley, Director of Library and Museum Services By: Roger Hiles, Library Services Manager SUBJECT: PURCHASE ORDER WITH OVERDRIVE, INC. FOR ELECTRONIC MATERIALS IN THE AMOUNT OF $60,000 Recommendation: Approve SUMMARY It is recommended that the City Council approve a purchase order for electronic books, electronic magazines, digital audiobooks, and digital videos from OverDrive, Inc. in the amount of $60,000. Sufficient funds are available in the City’s Fiscal Year 2020-21 Operating Budget. BACKGROUND Since 2011, the Library has utilized the services of OverDrive, Inc. to provide library patrons with access to electronic books, digital audiobooks, and digital videos. OverDrive, Inc. is the leading distributer of these materials to libraries. Titles purchased through them are available to library patrons either through the OverDrive app or on the Amazon Kindle platform on computers, tablets, eReaders, or smartphones. This year, the app has added support for Chinese and Spanish languages. DISCUSSION The Arcadia Public Library accesses OverDrive through membership in the company’s group of local customer libraries, the Southern California Digital Library Consortium, which combines the digital collections of 25 member libraries to provide added selection for our patrons. The annual fee for membership in the consortium is $6,000. The Library also adds to its collection in the Consortium by purchasing individual electronic books, digital audiobooks, and digital videos from OverDrive, Inc. These titles include current best-sellers, older titles, and titles for adults, teens, and children. The Library’s spending for these items has been increasing with the growing popularity of the Purchase Order with OverDrive, Inc. for Electronic Materials August 4, 2020 Page 2 of 2 format, and spending for these added items is projected to reach $39,000 for Fiscal Year 2020-21. This year, OverDrive, Inc. has acquired rbDigital, the City’s supplier of electronic magazine content, and the regular electronic magazine subscription costs of $15,000 have been added to this purchase order. Including both the $6,000 Consortium membership and an anticipated $39,000 for additional titles, as well as $15,000 for electronic magazine subscriptions, spending for OverDrive, Inc. will be $60,000 for the Fiscal Year 2020-21, and the Purchase Order will require City Council approval. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA. FISCAL IMPACT Sufficient funds for the proposed purchases have been approved in the Library’s Fiscal Year 2020-21 Operating Budget. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council determine that this action does not constitute a project and is therefore, exempt under, the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and approve a purchase order with OverDrive, Inc. for Electronic Materials in the amount of $60,000.