LISNews: Librarian News

In New Orleans I got to attend a great symposium by OCLC entitled "Preserving Library Core Values and Envisioning the Future." It featured Derek Woodgate, Founder and President of The Futures Lab; Wendy L. Schultz, Ph.D., Director of Infinite Futures: Foresight Research, Training and Facilitation; and Stacey Aldrich, Assistant Director of the Omaha (Nebraska) Public Library System. Pretty interesting stuff. It's now available online for your viewing on OCLC's site.

Anonymous Patron writes "Reuters.co.uk: Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc said on Thursday it was confident of meeting its expectations for full-year results, helped by sales of books by existing authors and new signings. The company did not say what its expectations were. Bloomsbury's list for 2006 includes authors from its existing portfolio, like Joanna Trollope, Susanna Clarke and Ben Schott, as well as new authors, including William Boyd, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and William Dalrymple, the firm said in a statement ahead of an annual shareholder meeting."

Castle Harlan, the New York-based private equity investment firm, announced today that a fund it manages has agreed to buy privately held Baker & Taylor, a leading domestic and international distributor of books and entertainment products to libraries and retailers, in a transaction valued at $455 million.

Baker & Taylor, founded in 1828, is the world's leading distributor of books, video, and music products to public and academic libraries. It is also a global leader in the distribution of books and entertainment products to many of the country's leading retailers. More here and here.

Monsters and Critics.com Reports The organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair admitted defeat Friday in a competition to host a book expo next April in London, but said they would seek ways to sue the Earls Court exhibition ground.

On May 5, the Germans shocked the book publishing world by announcing they planned to hold a 2007 spring book fair in central London, in a direct challenge to the London Book Fair set to take place in spring in a remote part of London, the Docklands.