The Zombie Stack Exchanges That Just Won't Die
I have some various files (music, eBooks, pdf) that we either own the rights to or are out-of-copyright. I'd like to make them available to patrons for downloading via our catalog. Is there an accepted way to host those files, and then link to them in the Catalog?
We're using Innovative Interfaces if that makes any difference.
JakeParis
Well, you have two challenges here: where to store, serve, and preserve the files, and how to make them available in your catalog.
The former problem is the domain of your digital library or institutional repository, if you have these platforms available to you. (You didn't mention whether you're from a public or academic library; academic libraries are more likely to host digital content. Innovative offers an IR platform called ContentPro, which you may or may not have bought.) Check also with any consortia you belong to; they may be able to help you find a good home for the files.
If you don't have a digital-collections platform, you may wish to investigate contributing the public-domain materials to the Internet Archive. It may also be possible to send IA the materials you own rights to, assuming IA is satisfied with your ownership claim and you are content with the license IA will ask you for.
As for catalog availability, you can original-catalog these materials, though if you haven't cataloged digital multimedia before, you'll have to think through some issues (ones I am sadly not competent to comment on). Alternately, if your materials wind up in digital-library or IR platform, and your ILS is what III calls "Encore," III claims that the system will do OAI-PMH harvesting, which will more-or-less automagically dump your digital-collections metadata into your catalog.
Hope this helps!