Whither e-books? (And will there ever be agreement on the spelling?)
This started as a collection of links, which has suddenly grown.
I was reading Publisher's Weekly, when I came across a column by Cory Doctorow which talked about the recent discussion between Macmillan's CEO and Amazon's CEO over the pricing of ebook. One person commented: "This was the best break down of the Amazon vs. MacMillan slap fight that I have come across."
Tom Peters posted earlier today in ALA TechSource about how some Kindle owners (Kindlistas) are using the Amazon ranking system to show displeasure with some of the pricing schemes (which the publishers want...) It is an interesting read.
The same print issue had an article on booksellers finding the balance between print and electronic. It is also worth a read.
EBSCO announced that they are buying NetLibrary from OCLC. There is a good piece and reaction from Eric Hellman. In it he notes: "NetLibrary was a bubble-era dot-com that was the first company to try to make a business of creating, aggregating and selling ebooks." [I swear that somewhere I still have the NetLibrary bag from an ALA conference, Chicago 2000, maybe?] It is a long post, and like most of Eric's, very thoughtfully presented.
Stephen Abram posts the key concepts from a Michael Mace article "Why E-Books Failed in 2000 and What It Means for 2010."
And before I slide over to print, Eric Hellman posted just a couple days ago about the new Overdrive offer in a post called: "Overdrive to Offer Honor System eBook Lending for Libraries." He starts off talking about Newark (NJ) light rail, and segues into the DRM-free books being offered. [Of course, the announcement is timed with the PLA Conference. Oh, how I wish I could be in Portland (OR) for that!]
Finally, on the print side of life, The New York Times has an interesting article called "Text without Context."
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
#450 - March Links
Here is post #450! Wow, who would have believed that I could be that prolific. This blog started in July 2005, inspired by then-Council colleagues Rochelle Hartman (Tinfoil and Raccoon -- now somewhat dormant) and Jessamyn West (librarian.net).
Here are the links I have stumbled on recently:
Here are the links I have stumbled on recently:
- Eric Hellman (one of my new favorites) had a chance to chat with John Sargent of Macmillian about e-book publishing and libraries. He does a great write up, and the comments are also interesting.
- Eric Hellman (again) forced by lack of electricity due to the weekend storm in the Northeast, went to Starbucks, and had some interesting, further thoughts on e-books and their distribution.
- Jason Giffey writes about copyright and the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" in an interesting discussion of copyright and the DCMA on his blog Pattern Recognition.
- A college classmate, Dan Woog, wrote about the Westport [CT] Public Library and the additional services they provided during the recent power outages in the area caused by storms. My friend Maxine Bleiweis (the library director) is featured.
ALA Candidates - President, Treasurer, Council
ALA election ballots are about to go out. I have had a couple of requests to list the folks I would endorse for office.
I know and respect both of the ALA Presidential candidates. I have had the opportunity to work, and socialize with both of them over the years. I will be voting for Sara Kelly Johns. Sara's web site is here. Sara is a school librarian from upstate New York. She has been president of AASL, and is a very dynamic speaker. (I was also flattered that Sara called me very early on for advice.) Sara has been reaching out to other parts of the profession, and has served as a trustee for a public library in New York. Here is her response to the questions from the Public Library Association about the biggest challenges facing public libraries today.
For Treasurer, I am endorsing Jim Neal. Jim has been very involved with ALA finances over the years. I think he has vision and can articulate the important financial issues which ALA inevitably faces. He has a very simple web page which states his credentials.
The Council list is longer. Here are the folks I will be supporting:
I know and respect both of the ALA Presidential candidates. I have had the opportunity to work, and socialize with both of them over the years. I will be voting for Sara Kelly Johns. Sara's web site is here. Sara is a school librarian from upstate New York. She has been president of AASL, and is a very dynamic speaker. (I was also flattered that Sara called me very early on for advice.) Sara has been reaching out to other parts of the profession, and has served as a trustee for a public library in New York. Here is her response to the questions from the Public Library Association about the biggest challenges facing public libraries today.
For Treasurer, I am endorsing Jim Neal. Jim has been very involved with ALA finances over the years. I think he has vision and can articulate the important financial issues which ALA inevitably faces. He has a very simple web page which states his credentials.
The Council list is longer. Here are the folks I will be supporting:
- Larry Romans (current Executive Board member and articulate member of Council)
- Pam Sieving (Pam has been at-large and the RUSA Division Councilor)
- Nann Blaine Hilyard (friend from PUBLIB, also served on Exec Board with me, been on Council several times)
- Thaddeus Bejnar (former New Mexico Chapter Councilor, and former chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee)
- Gladys Smiley Bell (former president of BCALA)
- Matthew P. Ciszek (a friend on Facebook and Twitter)
- Karen E. Downing (just finished her PhD)
- Loida A. Garcia-Febo (president of REFORMA)
- Sarah Smith (library school student at Simmons, who was persuaded to run at Midwinter in Boston - we need the voice of students in Council)
- Janice Greenberg (Facebook friend)
- Jason Griffey (blogger-extraordinaire)
- Erlene Bishop Killeen (school librarian from Wisconsin, has a good level head)
- Charles Kratz (current Exec Board member who also has a good perspective)
- Mary Mallory (ASCLA colleague and advocate)
- Bernard A. Margolis (New York State Librarian, even though he is not well at the moment, Bernie is an important voice)
- Michael L. Marlin (ASCLA colleague and vocal advocate for people who are blind)
- Melora Norman (public/academic librarian from Maine, former chair of COO)
- M. A. (Peg) Oettinger (retired school librarian, now from Pennsylvania)
- Michael Porter (Libraryman ... need I say more?)
- Susan Roman (Dean at Dominican's library school, and former development staff at ALA)
- Patrick Sweeney (up and coming California librarian)
- Bill Turner (former DC Chapter Councilor, current chair of Resolutions Committee)
- Patricia Wand (academic librarian who I got to know while working on the beginnings of ALA-APA, Pat is also a good thinker)
- Larry Nash White (Library Educator and statistics guy)
- Tom Wilding (at the U of Arizona library school, another good thinker from the origins of ALA-APA, Tom has also chaired committees)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Louisiana Library Association Conference 2010 Wrap up
Here is a summary post with links to all of the now updated posts from the conference.
Note that the two book cart drill team performances are posted on YouTube. That link was added to the first post, and is here as well. The two teams were from Ouachita and East Baton Rouge.
There are also photos on Flickr.
I also worked at the State Library booth for a shift, including helping to pack it up and return it to the State Library. I took advantage of the opportunity to visit the LSU Museum (for free) as one of the programs. There was not a lot to say, and they did not allow photos of the exhibit. You will see some photos from the museum window.
I am not summarizing the business meeting, which is being run very quickly and run very well. It will be followed with awards and a reception.
Note that the two book cart drill team performances are posted on YouTube. That link was added to the first post, and is here as well. The two teams were from Ouachita and East Baton Rouge.
- Opening General Session
- Agile Librarian's Guide to Thriving in Any Organization
- Tweet, Tag, Connect: Using Social Networking in Your Public Library
- State of the State Library
- Your Web Applications on Your Space
- Copyright for Librarians
There are also photos on Flickr.
I also worked at the State Library booth for a shift, including helping to pack it up and return it to the State Library. I took advantage of the opportunity to visit the LSU Museum (for free) as one of the programs. There was not a lot to say, and they did not allow photos of the exhibit. You will see some photos from the museum window.
I am not summarizing the business meeting, which is being run very quickly and run very well. It will be followed with awards and a reception.
Your web applications on your space
Laren Niemla, from ULM posted her presentation and handout on her personal web site. Of note is the fact that her PowerPoint presentation includes her own notes for the presentation.
What I have below are some notes and highlights.
The theme of her presentation was about why libraries should use their own web app, what is available, finding a host site, and how to maintain it.
She noted that not everyone can come to your library, if you site looks like junk people may think your library junk. She noted that the NY Times has blogs which may or may not be by Times staff members and may or may not be edited to the same standards as the printed paper.
She suggested that you need to meet your needs. Do not find application and then find needs which it fills. Find your needs, then find the application.
She noted that librarians are far ahead of other people in their adoption of Web 2.0 – we already regularly use software like php and mysql. Hosting is a big deal, especially if you don’t have control. You need to be sure to find a hosting service that meets your needs. Hosting space is very competitive, and there are many choices. In making your decision you need to know what databases they have, and how many you can have at a time, what programming languages are available. And perhaps the most important is what support do they have?
She talked about WordPress which is blogging software that can be installed on your own host.
She noted that it is almost always true that upgrading is harder than the original installation of the software. “It is just a reality of the Internet.”
She concluded with the important idea: You can do almost anything.
What I have below are some notes and highlights.
The theme of her presentation was about why libraries should use their own web app, what is available, finding a host site, and how to maintain it.
She noted that not everyone can come to your library, if you site looks like junk people may think your library junk. She noted that the NY Times has blogs which may or may not be by Times staff members and may or may not be edited to the same standards as the printed paper.
She suggested that you need to meet your needs. Do not find application and then find needs which it fills. Find your needs, then find the application.
She noted that librarians are far ahead of other people in their adoption of Web 2.0 – we already regularly use software like php and mysql. Hosting is a big deal, especially if you don’t have control. You need to be sure to find a hosting service that meets your needs. Hosting space is very competitive, and there are many choices. In making your decision you need to know what databases they have, and how many you can have at a time, what programming languages are available. And perhaps the most important is what support do they have?
She talked about WordPress which is blogging software that can be installed on your own host.
She noted that it is almost always true that upgrading is harder than the original installation of the software. “It is just a reality of the Internet.”
She concluded with the important idea: You can do almost anything.
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