LISNews: Librarian News

Long-standing and fiercely independent bookstore Book Passage, in Corte Madera, CA, is facing the ultimate enemy...the potential opening of a huge Barnes & Noble only a block from where they are located.

Bill Petrocelli, co-owner of Book Passage, said he doesn't know whether the Barnes & Noble move is actually happening. But if true, he said, "It's distressing because Barnes & Noble has a history nationwide of targeting independent stores and putting them out of business. I have no illusions about what they are trying to do here."

News story here, and an 'emergency website', created by concerned locals here .

From Associated Press The Hershey Co. has settled a trademark-violation lawsuit against Simon & Schuster Inc. over a new book with a dust jacket that includes the familiar image of a Hershey chocolate bar.

Under the settlement, the New York-based publisher agreed to add an image in the upper left corner of the dust jacket's front cover stating that the book — "Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire and Utopian Dreams" — is "neither authorized nor sponsored by The Hershey Company."

Embracing new technologies have a implied warning label, especially when dealing with specialty software markets, like library software. Take as in my case, a Dynix library catalogue on Microsoft SQL 2000, Windows XP Professional x64, Then add to that one fat windows based library software client, SirsiDynix's Horizon client version 7. Will they work together?

Short answer: No, not "Out of the Box".

Long answer: Yes, but only if you know about the "workaround". And it comes with cavaents. -- Read More

One From Forbes small indy book sellers and their battle with big chains, the Internet, and now with all the Internet powerhouses working to digitize books and make the contents searchable via the Web, another threat has emerged. Chuck Richard, vice president and lead analyst with Outsell, a research and advisory firm focused on the information industry, says in this kind of search-driven environment, low-cost providers will win. "Search-driven online book purchases will push independent booksellers to specialize, to go deep in subject areas," he says, adding that, overall, all booksellers stand to gain more than they stand to lose by the digitization of content.