[LISNews] The LISNews For March 8th 2011
The LISNews Librarian News By Email
lisnews at lishost.net
Tue Mar 8 11:50:31 CST 2011
On Tuesdays we take a look at the stories that got the most comments in the last week.
-[1] - Well done, HarperCollins: librarians must change old thinking
http://lisnews.org/node/38752/
-[2] - Andy Rooney ponders e-books
http://lisnews.org/node/38757/
-[3] - 26-Year-Old Is Making Millions selling on Kindle
http://lisnews.org/node/38715/
-[4] - Librarian Unhappiness Over New Harper e-Book Lending Policy Grows
http://lisnews.org/node/38741/
-[5] - Unlocking the Future of Public Libraries: Digital Licensing that Preserves Access
http://lisnews.org/node/38760/
And here's the latest from LISNews:
--What Makes a Professional.
- http://lisnews.org/node/38762/
I just had an epiphany while resetting an old man's default browser to IE. He said the tech guy installed Google Earth for him but also installed Chrome and told it to be the default browser. The old guy
was lost because Chrome didn't look the same and he couldn't find his favorites. So I reset everything and explained that techies prefer Chrome. And then I had to explain what Chrome is. And then I
explained again that techies hate Microsoft and prefer Google, but I didn't get into why because this old man seemed confused by the fact that there's more than one browser on his computer. And since old
people get angry when they get confused, I left him to check his email and look at old lady porn. But what I realized is that librarians are not professionals. Librarians get along with everyone. We try
to play nice. We make rules to accommodate everyone. We include everyone in the discussion. We call anyone who works in a library a librarian. We think all librarians are great and that they offer
worthwhile contributions to the profession. We would never fill a sock with D batteries and beat a patron over the head for talking too loudly on his phone. But real professionals argue with each other.
When I watch those one-hour dramatic presentations on television, all the lawyers and doctors and computer guys and detectives all hate each other. The criticize other lawyers or doctors or computer guys
or detectives and say how they suck at their jobs and how they're alcoholics or criminals or whores. And that's what makes a profession. Infighting. So long as librarians continue to play fair with each
other, we will never be recognized as a profession. We need to argue. We need to prove that we have something in our profession that we will so strongly about that we could actually kill someone over it.
And if one of you idiots disagrees with me, we can take this outside. Right after I remove my sock and fill it with Rayovacs.
--Actress Vivica A. Fox Reads to Children at Brooklyn Public Library
- http://lisnews.org/node/38761/
On Friday, March 4th, actress Vivica A. Fox participated in a Read Across America program that was held at the Marcy Branch (Bed-Stuy) of Brooklyn Public Library. The event was intended to promote
literacy to children, who also received free books to take home. Read the full story here.
--Unlocking the Future of Public Libraries: Digital Licensing that Preserves Access
- http://lisnews.org/node/38760/
Article in The University of Baltimore Intellectual Property Law Journal Article title: UNLOCKING THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES: DIGITAL LICENSING THAT PRESERVES ACCESS Cite: 16 U. Balt. Intell. Prop.
L.J. 29 Author: Kristen M. Cichocki Abstract: The traditional role of the public library as a content intermediary is being altered by recent changes in contract practice between publishers and
libraries, alterations to copyright law, and new applications of technology to digital content. This article will examine how licensing contracts for digital content, the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act, and the application of digital rights management are all calling into question the role of the public library in the digital future. The article will then discuss possible approaches to reframing
publisher-public library licensing agreements in order to mitigate the negative impact of certain contractual terms and promote uses of content expected by libraries, keeping in mind the difference in
scale and distribution between real and digital space.
--Library Consortia Begin To Vote Against HarperCollins Ebook Checkout Policy
- http://lisnews.org/node/38759/
Some library consortia have decided to forgo the purchase of HarperCollins ebook titles effective today in the wake of the publisher's decision to set a license limit of 26 checkouts per title and also
amid concerns about what may be next. In addition, an American Library Association task force is convening this week in Washington to begin addressing the question of equitable access to electronic
content. Joan Kuklinski, the executive director of the Central/Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing consortium (C/W Mars) which serves 155 libraries, decided last week to suspend, effective
today, the purchase of any new HarperCollins titles for the digital catalog, calling the publisher's policy "counter-intuitive" to the consortium's "strong policy of resource sharing." Full article at
Library Journal.com
--Say Yes to Measure L on March 8
- http://lisnews.org/node/38758/
Additional information on Measure L here.
--Andy Rooney ponders e-books
- http://lisnews.org/node/38757/
Transcript is here.
--Sanctuary amid the stacks
- http://lisnews.org/node/38756/
In the long term, does it really matter if books are a thing of the past? So long as the book-length texts that used to appear within printed covers are still available in some form, so long as we can
still summon the attention to follow many-chambered sentences and access the privacy and reflectiveness of a Thoreau, the intricate feelings and psychological acuity of a Proust, it hardly matters what
kind of medium is bringing us our words.
--Elton John has his own librarian for his CD collection
- http://lisnews.org/node/38755/
Elton John has his own librarian for his CD collection. I'm not exactly sure on this source for this one, but I think we can all agree, if it's on the internet it's gotta be true. London, Mar 7 – Sir
Elton John has revealed that his CD collection is so humongous that he has a librarian take care of it.
--Great video from Library Association in Ireland for Library Ireland Week
- http://lisnews.org/node/38754/
The Irish Library Association has created a cool video to promote Library Ireland Week, which kicks off on 7th March. See it on http://www.library.ie/2011/03/02/library-ireland-week-is-nearly-here/
--LISTen: An LISNews.org Podcast -- Episode #145
- http://lisnews.org/node/38753/
This week's episode brings a press review. Related links: Sydney Morning Herald: We need to broadcast to the world, not whisper Media Network: Libya offline again CBC News: Libya offline again Renesys:
What Libya learned from Egypt CBC News: Industry Minister Tony Clement Against Usage-Based Billing Ars Technica: Inaccurate DSL Claims in UK David Carnoy of CNET on 99 cent ebooks The Register: Ebooks Get
Time Limit Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals: Looking at remarks by Ed Vaizey CNN: Postal Service Hearing The Register: The Strange Case of the Naughty Ebook The Naughty Ebook
in Print as per National Library of Australia The Naughty Ebook in Print as per Worldcat.org Excluding United States Government content incorporated herein, LISTen: An LISNews.org Podcast -- Episode
#145 by The Air Staff of Erie Looking Productions is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
--Well done, HarperCollins: librarians must change old thinking
- http://lisnews.org/node/38752/
In spite of the heat HarperCollins can expect to receive from its library customers, I hope they stand their ground. Librarians need to shift their thinking as digitisation transforms the reading
landscape. They are doing authors, publishers and ultimately themselves and their patrons no favours by this stance. The fact is that rightsholders do have serious concerns and librarians have not
managed to address them. They won’t do it with anger, or with soothing but unfounded assurances that ebooks will be no different from print in their economic impact. In the face of rightsholders’
concerns, librarians must listen not bully, and they should be willing to experiment with new models that will ensure libraries and other channels can co-exist in the emerging, all-pervasive digital
world. No-one has all the answers yet but we won’t solve this issue by denying the existence of the problem and closing off avenues for fresh thinking. Full piece
--Shelf Stable: Collected Observations of 21st Century Librarianship
- http://lisnews.org/node/38751/
A new e-book rounds up years of articles on "Library 2.0", dealing with topics from MySpace & Facebook, to Search Wikia & Wolfram|Alpha.
http://www.amazon.com/Shelf-Stable-Observations-Librarianship-ebook/dp/B004QS933C/ These articles tackle Web search, RFID, social networks, & how they impact patrons. Many of these controversial pieces
are still fostering argument and debate in LIS graduate seminars. This Kindle edition is DRM-free, has no limit on simultaneous device storage, and is lendable.
--Bill Gates: How state budgets are breaking US schools
- http://lisnews.org/node/38750/
--Farewell to our Retiring Librarian
- http://lisnews.org/node/38749/
>From the Fredericksburg News: Spelling is a critical matter to almost every librarian. So when Margaret Williams saw her name misspelled on her retirement cake, she and those around her had to chuckle.
"This is the woman who has proofread 'The Culpeper Minutes' [the Board of Supervisors' newsletter] and we've never had a complaint," said Culpeper County (VA) executive assistant Debbie Hoffman. The red
lettering on her cake read "Congratulations Margret," with an "a" edited in above. At Culpeper County Library, Williams' departure after 32 years marks the end of an era. The Culpeper native is the lone
connection between the present and Miss Crimora Waite, who operated the library during its early days in the 1950s, '60s and early '70s. Williams, who graduated from Culpeper High in 1967 and Westhampton
College in 1971, had worked one year at Second National Bank when Waite approached her about possibly changing professions. "She came to my house one Sunday after church to recruit me," Williams recalls.
"Her come-on was, 'This job won't put you in another tax bracket'" That was in 1972.
--Know Your 'Tiger' Books: A Primer With Stripes On
- http://lisnews.org/node/38747/
As of this week, three major books with "Tiger" in the title are buzzing in bookstores and zooming to Kindles, and we have found ourselves around these parts confusing them more than just a bit...here is
a short guide to tiger books, present and past. More from NPR's Morning Edition.
--West Of Here': What Happened To The Frontier?
- http://lisnews.org/node/38746/
>From NPR's Morning Edition: In his new book, "West of Here", novelist Jonathan Evison takes readers back to one of the last unexplored territories of the American West: Washington state's Olympic
Peninsula ... In essence, the book is a conversation between past and present, between hopeful settlers and modern-day strugglers. Evison began his research by poking around in the local libraries of
towns up and down the Olympic Peninsula: "I found that at all these little libraries in Port Angeles and Sequim and Shelton and all these peninsula towns, you can find all these wonderful little
tape-bound manuscripts. Some of them are 15 pages long, some of them are 100 pages long, but they're personalized, first-person accounts of frontier living."
--Plenty of Bs to go around...
- http://lisnews.org/node/38745/
I have noticed the past few days how many LIS postings are by usernames which start with B (mine included :). And some of these are very good friends of mine :). An interesting pattern which I'm probably
not the only one to notice. :) Bearkat Bibliofuture Bibliophile Adventure Birdie Blake ("LIS News: since 1999 and still doing fine" :)) Not sure if this qualifies as a "Friday Funnies" category or
not, but it is worth a shot...
--It's World Book Day. Destroy Your Books!
- http://lisnews.org/node/38744/
It's World Book Day! Who knew? And in honor of books everywhere we'd like to celebrate their creative destruction at the hand of Atlanta-based artist Brian Dettmer. Dettmer takes vintage books — anything
from dictionaries and medical texts to art and architecture books — and carves them into beautifully intricate sculptures. Full piece on NPR
--In Paris, A Display From Hockney's Pixelated Period
- http://lisnews.org/node/38743/
David Hockney thinks his current exhibition may be the first one that's ever been 100 percent e-mailed to a gallery. The 73-year-old artist is standing in the space in question — the Pierre Berge-Yves
St. Laurent Foundation in Paris — trying to talk about the works, when his iPhone rings. More from NPR's Morning Edition.
--5 Reasons Libraries Should Not Use Ebooks Yet
- http://lisnews.org/node/38742/
5 Reasons Libraries Should Not Use Ebooks... Yet. 1. Most libraries will not have the tech support to handle every device. 2. Most libraries will not have the tech to support the service. 3. The
ebook industry is constantly changing.
--Librarian Unhappiness Over New Harper e-Book Lending Policy Grows
- http://lisnews.org/node/38741/
The sometimes uneasy relationship between librarians and book publishers reached a new level of tension after HarperCollins—citing the explosive growth of e-book sales—announced a new e-book lending
policy beginning March 7 that will limit the length of its library licenses to a maximum of 26 loans per e-title. The revised policy has outraged librarians, who say the new policy will strain budgets and
is shortsighted, ignoring the role of libraries in encouraging literacy and building an e-book market for publishers. The issue has become so emotional that some librarians have organized a boycott of
HarperCollins new books over the issue. Full article at Publisher's Weekly
--Steven Rosenbaum and the Curation Nation
- http://lisnews.org/node/38740/
What if instead of relying on search engines to get our information, we relied on each other - friends, experts, journalists - to deliver us information by way of carefully curated websites? Steven
Rosenbaum, CEO of Magnify.net and author of Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators tells Bob that our curated content future may have already arrived. If player does not
show above or you want to download MP3 or read transcript that is here.
--Anti-Privitization
- http://lisnews.org/node/38739/
A video made in an effort to prevent privitization of the Santa Clarita CA Library. Sign the petition if you so desire.
--The Shallows -- Chapter 4
- http://lisnews.org/node/38737/
Continuing discussion of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains In Chapter 4 Carr discusses the development of the book from the media of Sumerian cuneiform tablets, Egyptian scrolls,
and most similar to the design of the book - the wax tablet. Alongside the technology Carr details the development of syntax, most importantly the transition from "scriptura continua" (61) to word
separation. Carr quotes John Saenger from his book Space between Words : word separation "freed the intellectual faculties of the reader ... even readers of modest intellectual capacity could read more
swiftly, and they could understand an increasing number of inherently more difficult texts ... (63). The following isn't in chapter 4, but I believe basically sums up Carr's thesis: "The Internet doesn't
change our intellectual habits against our will. But change them it does" (92). ( the second sentence is kind of Yoda-like isn't it?) * According to Saenger word separation helped free the intellectual
faculties of the reader. Can any corollaries by made about the Internet? e.g., does its quick reference nature allows for more brain memory availability for deeper information retention?
--Economy and libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/38736/
Interesting piece at NYT.com about the economic situation of cities. Relevance to libraries is that many public libraries operate within the economics of a municipality. Line from article: The city
managers couldn’t make their budget and eliminated financing for the local museum, the symphony and the senior center. (This is the kind of list that often contains "library") Broke Town, U.S.A.
--TED, Known For Big-Idea Conferences, Pushes Into Education
- http://lisnews.org/node/38735/
This will be interesting to watch develop. I love TED talks. From the Chronicle of Higher Ed March 2, 2011, 12:36 pm By Jeff Young Long Beach, Calif.—The leaders of the annual TED conference, known
for featuring short, carefully prepared talks on big ideas about technology and society, hope to apply their approach to education.....Read more here.
--Speed Dating @ The Library
- http://lisnews.org/node/38734/
Today's NY Times describes an evening of speed dating at the San Francisco Library. “The library wants to be a gathering place that is relevant to younger people,” said Donya Drummond, the reference
librarian who promoted the San Francisco event, mostly through Facebook. “We had more people than we knew what to do with.” Literary speed dating seems to have its roots in Europe. Danny Theuwis, a
librarian from Leuven, Belgium, believes he and his colleagues introduced the concept in 2005 with the goal to enliven somber libraries, and make them “more alive, more direct, more emotional,” he said in
an e-mail. He trained hundreds of librarians across Europe to host literary speed dating, or “bibdating” in Flemish. Among the first of similar events in the United States took place at the Omaha Public
Library Benson Branch, where Amy Mather, a librarian, and her colleague at the time, Manya Shorr, organized a “Hardbound to Heartbound” night in 2009, on Valentine’s Day. Some 65 people showed up.
--Blade Runner moment
- http://lisnews.org/node/38733/
I downloaded the Microsoft Tags Reader for my phone and scanned one of the USA Today tags. It wasn’t in the best light and the app didn’t recognize the tag at first but in a "Blade Runner Deckard" type
moment the app triangulated, centered, and focused on the tag image and then pulled up the newspaper's business headlines - wow! It makes me wonder what publishers in general and libraries could already
or potentially be using these tags for. Maybe some libraries are already using MS Tags or other tags?
--HCOD, EBOOK USER BILL OF RIGHTS AND MATH
- http://lisnews.org/node/38732/
There was a moment today when I looked at the facts in front of me and became genuinely concerned – for the first time ever – for the continued existence of libraries. Sarah Glassmeyer runs some numbers
in regards to the HarperCollins ebook issue.
--Do It Online
- http://lisnews.org/node/38731/
You can order holds online, read books online, review and discuss them online and now, in Seattle, you can pay your overdue fees and printing & copying charges online as well. Seattlest reports: Are
you a teensy bit ashamed of the overdue library book fines that have incrementally accrued over the months and thus managed to worm their way into your guilty conscience? If you’re too embarrassed to go
into your local branch of the Seattle Public Library wearing a scarlet “O” to pay your fines, you can now clear your account from the comfort of your own home with the SPL’s new online payment system. (In
fact, you can only pay your overdue fines if they’ve piled up to be worth at least $1.) Starting today, the SPL is accepting payment by credit card, debit card or at PayPal. There is no service charge
for making a payment online — and while the transaction is processed using PayPal, a PayPal account isn’t required. An added bonus for library cardholders who frequently print from SPL computers is the
capability to add money to their accounts to pay for such services. Overdue fines can also still be paid in person by cash, check or money order.
--ARL Balanced Scorecard Webcast recording now available on the ARL YouTube Channel
- http://lisnews.org/node/38730/
The Valentine's Day webcast featured three ARL libraries—Johns Hopkins, McMaster, and the University of Washington—that have engaged the Balanced Scorecard framework, created by Harvard business
professors Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, in their strategy development through an ARL collaborative community based project. Ascendant Strategy Management, a consulting firm specializing in the
application of the Balanced Scorecard framework in mission-driven non-profit organizations, will present the Balanced Scorecard theory with in-depth insights from organizations they have worked with in
the not-for-profit sector. Ascendant is the consulting firm working with ARL to bring the effective implementation of strategy development with the Balanced Scorecard to libraries. Workshop presenters
include: * Martha Kyrillidou, Association of Research Libraries * Ted Jackson, Ascendant Strategy Management * Winston Tabb and Liz Mengel, Johns Hopkins University * Betsy Wilson and
Steve Hiller, University of Washington * Jeffrey Trzeciak and Vivian Lewis, McMaster University The webcast is useful both for those interested in learning more about the Balanced Scorecard and for
those who are interested in engaging with ARL and Ascendant in 2011 to develop their strategy using a well-established and proven perspective. Watch it here.
--Growing Knowledge: The British Library launches its strategy for 2011-2015
- http://lisnews.org/node/38729/
Always interesting reading.... The British Library has launched its new strategy, setting out how it plans to develop its collections and services over the next four years. Growing Knowledge: The
British Library’s Strategy 2011-2015 outlines the UK national library’s key objectives and strategic priorities to the middle of the decade, and emphasizes the need to deliver more for less in a
challenging economic climate. The new strategy follows the publication last September of the Library’s 2020 Vision, which highlighted the key trends and opportunities for the next decade. The 2020 Vision
was based upon twelve months of extensive research and consultation; it presented five themes that would help deliver the Library’s ten-year vision of becoming “a leading hub in the global information
network, advancing knowledge through its collections, expertise and partnerships, for the benefit of the economy and society and the enrichment of cultural life.” The Library’s strategy for 2011-2015
contains five strategic priorities, based on the 2020 Vision’s themes: 1. Guarantee access for future generations 2. Enable access for everyone who wants to do research 3. Support research
communities in key areas for social and economic benefit 4. Enrich the cultural life of the nation 5. Lead and collaborate in growing the world’s knowledge base Read the details here.
--The art of giving instructions: 7 practices for facilitators
- http://lisnews.org/node/38728/
Librarians frequently find themselves in the role of facilitator. This blog post by Chris Corrigan has some tips about giving instructions, an often overlooked art. "I think one of the hardest things
to do as a facilitator is master the art of giving instructions. Even for facilitators, public speaking can be a stressful experience, and there is nothing worse than trying to give instructions to a
group while your knees are shaking and your mouth is dry. But for all facilitators, and and especially those of us who work with radically new ways of meeting, this is a whole art in itself. Giving
instructions poorly leads to confusion and chaos and can quickly erode the trust of a group. Being too direct can shut people down and create a sterile meeting. The art is finding the space between the
two......" Read the rest here.
--Anonymous author sticks pages of his unpublished novel to lampposts around New York
- http://lisnews.org/node/38727/
Anonymous author sticks pages of his unpublished novel to lampposts around New York It’s certainly a novel way to spread the word about your new book. An anonymous writer is serialising their mysterious
new work on lampposts in Manhattan, New York, under the title 'Holy Crap'. The author, who has stuck pages onto different lampposts around the East Village, will be attracting excitement in literary
circles as readers try to work out the plot.
--In search of Alcuin of York's lost library
- http://lisnews.org/node/38726/
In search of Alcuin of York's 'lost' library A new exhibition in York is shedding light on one of Europe's most important 'lost' libraries. Eighth-century York was one of Europe's leading intellectual
centres owing to the library and school headed by the scholar, Alcuin of York. Whilst plenty of evidence exists about the school, all trace of Alcuin's library has vanished. The exhibition runs in the
Old Palace at the Minster, which now houses the Minster Library, until April.
--Quantitative Analysis of Culture Using Millions of Digitized Books
- http://lisnews.org/node/38725/
Quantitative Analysis of Culture Using Millions of Digitized Books We constructed a corpus of digitized texts containing about 4% of all books ever printed. Analysis of this corpus enables us to
investigate cultural trends quantitatively. We survey the vast terrain of ‘culturomics,’ focusing on linguistic and cultural phenomena that were reflected in the English language between 1800 and 2000. We
show how this approach can provide insights about fields as diverse as lexicography, the evolution of grammar, collective memory, the adoption of technology, the pursuit of fame, censorship, and
historical epidemiology. Culturomics extends the boundaries of rigorous quantitative inquiry to a wide array of new phenomena spanning the social sciences and the humanities.
--Harper Collins To Libraries: Tough Shit
- http://lisnews.org/node/38724/
Open Letter to Librarians Josh Marwell, President of Sales, Harper Collins Publishers has a blog post up over on TypePad for some reason. After reading it I realized what an idiot I am, this is a GREAT
idea and we should all stop complaining.
--AOTUS at NFAIS
- http://lisnews.org/node/38723/
I had the pleasure of hearing David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States (and the first librarian to hold the position) speak this morning at the NFAIS conference in Philadelphia. I'll sleep better
tonight knowing our national records are in good hands. In addition to all the serious things he talked about (the twitter feed was #nfais11 and it was probably blogged somewhere) he told about a
challenge put to the readers of the Prologue: Pieces of History blog: If our Founding Fathers had Twitter. Not quite The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation but still amusing.
--Collaboration Seeks to Provide Easier Access to E-Books
- http://lisnews.org/node/38722/
>From the Chronicle of Higher Education February 28, 2011, 6:41 pm By Tushar Rae The steady growth of e-books has forced libraries to contend with how to curate and distribute materials in a way that
makes them easy for increasingly technology-oriented patronage to access. Some 150 public and academic libraries are trying to respond to that challenge through a new collaboration with the Internet
Archive and Open Library. The arrangement will allow library patrons at participating institutions to access e-books owned and stored at libraries other than their home libraries. Brewster Kahle, founder
and digital librarian at the Internet Archive, says the group has come up with a solution in which “the tech doesn’t suck” and “everyone will get paid.”......Read the rest here.
--PDF Annotations on Android
- http://lisnews.org/node/38721/
After over a year of wishing and several hours of searching (spread out over that year) I have finally found an app for my Android powered smartphone which will allow me to add annotations and highlights
to Adobe Acrobat .PDF files. The program is called Repligo Reader from Cerience and is available on the Android Market either on your phone or on the web. Full review at:
http://www.ideationizing.com/2011/03/pdf-annotations-on-android.html P.S. I have nothing to do with Cerience. I just found a good product that meets my demands for allowing me to maintain control over my
documents and annotations, and I wanted to tell people about it.
--Production Calendar Test
- http://lisnews.org/node/38720/
For better or worse an operational calendar is being updated using IceOwl with Google Calendar hosting it on the back-end. To keep up with the production calendar, use this link in your calendaring
package: http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/erielookingproductions@gmail.com/public/basic.ics
--E-Ties That Bind
- http://lisnews.org/node/38719/
The stronger the electronic connections, the greater desire for face-to-face contact, an economist writes. Full article at NYT.com
--HarperCollins, OverDrive Respond as 26 Loan Cap on Ebook Debate Heats Up
- http://lisnews.org/node/38718/
In the wake of sustained criticism following HarperCollins's decision to limit to 26 the number of times an ebook can be lent—as first reported by LJ on Friday—both OverDrive and Harper took steps to
repair the damage. Today OverDrive released a statement on its Digital Library blog indicating that "[u]ntil we have time to review the effect of these new terms with our library partners, HarperCollins
eBooks will not be listed in our Library Marketplace." Instead, librarians "will be able to review and order HarperCollins eBooks from a separated catalog." OverDrive CEO Steve Potash directly tackled
librarians' criticism that the company "failed to stand up for you and your readers," defending his company's role in moving ebooks and e-audio into libraries, in supporting the EPUB standard, and in
developing mobile apps for library ebooks. Full article at LibraryJournal.com
--HarperCollins, OverDrive Respond as 26 Loan Cap on Ebook Debate Heats Up
- http://lisnews.org/node/38717/
In the wake of sustained criticism following HarperCollins's decision to limit to 26 the number of times an ebook can be lent—as first reported by LJ on Friday—both OverDrive and Harper took steps to
repair the damage. Today OverDrive released a statement on its Digital Library blog indicating that "[u]ntil we have time to review the effect of these new terms with our library partners, HarperCollins
eBooks will not be listed in our Library Marketplace." Instead, librarians "will be able to review and order HarperCollins eBooks from a separated catalog." Full article and letter
--Books and Headaches
- http://lisnews.org/node/38716/
A few weeks ago I pulled a number of books for a Commedia dell'arte performance course. The subject range of books I pulled for the session covered a large gamut of topics: art, dance, costume,
literature, theatre, swordplay, wagons, etc. Following my presentation to the class, a student mentioned that seeing too many books gave her a headache. She further qualified that and said that not many
things gave her a headache. In response I provided her the imagery of looking at the bookshelves as looking at a web page and going off in a number of different but related directions. She gave a somewhat
quizzical look, but a few seconds later an approving nod. I felt like maybe, just maybe, I provided a connection that she could relate to.
--26-Year-Old Is Making Millions selling on Kindle
- http://lisnews.org/node/38715/
Welcome to disruption. 26-year old Amanda Hocking is the best-selling "indie" writer on the Kindle store, meaning she doesn't have a publishing deal, Novelr says. And she shouldn't. She gets to keep 70%
of her book sales -- and she sells around 100,000 copies per month. By comparison, it's usually thought that it takes a few tens of thousands of copies sold in the first week to be a New York Times
bestselling writer. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/amanda-hocking-2011-2?utm_source=feedburner#ixzz1FMsklkGD Note: I looked on Worldcat and her books are in some libraries. Paper versions of
her books are available. Assuming the numbers of sales are true anyone care to comment about whether more libraries should have her books?
--Another Ranganathan
- http://lisnews.org/node/38714/
I saw the name and had to share. From the NY Times. Microprocessors are close to reaching the limit on how small they can get and a new approach is needed. Enter Ranganathan: "Parthasarathy
Ranganathan, a Hewlett-Packard electrical engineer, offers a radical alternative to today’s computer designs that would permit new designs for consumer electronics products as well as the next generation
of supercomputers, known as exascale processors."
--Banned Books Returned to Shelves in Egypt and Tunisia
- http://lisnews.org/node/38713/
There is an article in the Monday Guardian, "Banned books return to shelves in Egypt and TunisiaWorks by censored authors available again in wake of revolutions." by Benedicte Page. It talks about how
books banned in Tunisia and Egypt by the repressive government are now appearing in bookstores and other locations. "Alexis Krikorian, director of the Freedom to Publish programme at the IPA, said the
emergence of these and other formerly banned books within Tunisia was "very good news". Whether censorship still existed with regard to new titles was a separate issue, he added, but it was likely that
the legal submission procedure, which under the old regime had been misused to block books at their printers, "no longer applies". Anecdotal reports are also emerging of once suppressed titles appearing
for impromptu sale on street corners and newspaper kiosks across Egypt. Salwa Gaspard of joint English/Arabic language publisher Saqi Books said accounts in the Arabic press told of books that had been
hidden for years in private basements now once more seeing the light of day. Cairo is also to hold a book fair in Tahrir Square – the focus for protests against former president Hosni Mubarak – at the
end of March, according to Trevor Naylor of the American University of Cairo Press bookshop, which is based in the square. Naylor told the Bookseller that the event had been planned in the wake of the
cancelled Cairo Book Fair, which was abandoned in January in the face of growing political unrest. "Everyone around the globe now associates Tahrir Square with freedom and revolution," Naylor said. "We
really wanted to do something that celebrates what happened here, and this seems like a great way to do it." Read more about it at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/28/banned-books-return-egypt-tunisia
--Richard Curtis 1999
- http://lisnews.org/node/38712/
Richard Curtis, veteran literary agent and president of Ereads.com, shared a few publishing predictions for 2011. Here is a talk by Curtis in 1999 called Content Spoken Here
--Random House Adopts New Model for Selling E-Books
- http://lisnews.org/node/38711/
Beginning Tuesday, Random House will join other major book publishers in selling its e-books using the so-called agency model, setting its own prices for e-books while the retailer takes a commission.
Five of the six largest publishers switched to the agency model last spring after Apple introduced its iPad. “The agency model guarantees a higher margin for retailers than did our previous sales terms,”
Random House, publisher of Stieg Larsson, George W. Bush and John Grisham, said in a statement on Monday. “We are making this change both as an investment in the successful digital transition of our
existing partners and in order to give us the opportunity to forge new retail relationships.” Full article
--Do E-Book Users Need a Bill of Rights? (Librarians Think So)
- http://lisnews.org/node/38710/
ReadWriteWeb article at NYT.com The news that the publisher HarperCollins would be capping the number of times a library could lend a digital copy of a book to 26 has raised concerns - yet again - about
the ramifications of our rush to embrace e-books. As one librarian, John Atzberger writes on his blog, the new model from HarperCollins "eliminates almost all the major advantages of the item's being
digital, without restoring the permanence, durability, vendor-independence, technology-neutrality, portability, transferability, and ownership associated with the physical version." Full article
--Want an Awful Library Book?
- http://lisnews.org/node/38709/
Holly and Mary from Awful Library Books are doing some weeding! Some great gift material here for the right person; check it out.
--Publishers Look Beyond Bookstores
- http://lisnews.org/node/38708/
Reminds me that I want to visit BookMarc on Bleecker Street when the weather warms up.... By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD and JULIE BOSMAN Published in the New York Times: February 27, 2011 Kitson, a group of
boutiques based in Los Angeles, is the kind of store that appears regularly in the tabloids for both its stylish clothes and its celebrity clientele like Sean Combs and Joe Jonas. But in a town that is
all about flash, Kitson is finding a surprising source of revenue that is not from its fashionable shoes or accessories. It is from books..... Read the rest here
--copyright?
- http://lisnews.org/node/38707/
http://www.copyright.org.au/news-and-policy/details/id/1892/ Interesting story (well I thought so anyway) about bloggers whose images have been taken off their sites and reused in a fashion line without
their knowledge. Ignorance or Arrogance?
-------------------------
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