3M Joins Amazon and Sony In The Cloud Library Stakes

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Coming hot on the heels of news from our own Robert Nelson about how Amazon now sells more ebooks than regular print books, a new player has joined in the cloud-based lending library system: 3M.

The kings of Post-It Notes have brought out a pretty substantial new entrant, with their Cloud Library ebook lending service set to work on a wide variety of devices, including iPad, Nook, and Android tablets, which is to say, a good chunk of the tablets currently out there. And as part of the Cloud Library program, 3M will be providing not only a variety of specialized apps, but even Discovery Terminals–or so 3M’s calling them–to help readers find the books they want.

The exact launch date and contents of the 3M Cloud Library are as yet unclear, but word is that Random House and IPG alike have signed on with their libraries. Details on the terms of their involvement, though, are somewhat sketchy as yet, but we do know that both a Discovery Terminal as well as the iPad app required to get in will both be showing in New Orleans next month when the wildest party on Earth gets into town: the American Library Association’s Annual Conference.

Kidding, of course, about the “wild party” bit, but this all goes to underscore the steadily growing importance and acceptance of the ebook as a format and indeed as a way of life in terms of providing information. When Amazon sells more of them than regular books, and major companies like Amazon and Sony are working to put their libraries online, you know that the ebook is rapidly becoming a much bigger deal than anyone expected. And in a much shorter time frame, too.

So what about you folks? Have you made the big jump yet from print books to ebooks? Will you ever make that jump? Hit the comments section and tell us what you think about moving to a new style of reading.