LISNews: Librarian News

A blogger stripped of her anonymity by the US courts has said she plans to sue Google for handing over her real identity.

Rosemary Port, a 29-year-old fashion student from New York, has said she will file a $15m (£9m) lawsuit against the internet giant after it complied with an order from a US court to reveal that she was behind the vitriolic "Skanks in NYC" blog.

The case erupted last week after the Manhattan Supreme Court ruled that Google must hand over the identity of the writer, who had targeted 36-year-old model Liskula Cohen online and called her a "psychotic, lying, whoring... skank".

Cohen had filed a lawsuit demanding that the writer's identity be revealed, an argument that judge Joan Madden agreed with. Guardian UK , Salon, New York Post report.

Want the site? It's now available.

Google is using billboards to promote Google Apps (those online collaboration tools like email, calendars, mobile access, etc.) to business and comparing their products directly with Microsoft.

I hope these aren't those new super-bright lighted billboards that outshine the brake lights of the cars ahead of me on the highway.

The photos look like printed billboards.

Advance registration for the webinar scheduled Wednesday, July 29, 2 pm ET Time – 60 minutes.

The webinar is being promoted for publishers, but hey, why shouldn't librarians attend too...sponsors are Google (of course), AAP and PW.
Here's Google's blurb about it:

"In a webinar first, the leaders involved with the crafting of the Google Library Project Settlement will share with the publishing industry the benefits of the agreement for publishers and authors. If approved by the Court in October, the agreement will create one of the most far-reaching intellectual, cultural, and commercial platforms for access to digital books for the reading public, while granting publishers unprecedented opportunities and protections. Presented in collaboration with Google, The Association of American Publishers, and Publishers Weekly, the web session is a must-attend event for publishers everywhere."

Publishers Weekly would like your input on the Google Book Search Settlement (from PW) and they are conducting a survey designed to gather a broad view of how the Settlement is being viewed. For details on the proposed settlement (from Google), click here.

If you're interested, take a few minutes to answer this brief, targeted questionnaire to help gauge industry opinion on whether the settlement should be approved, modified or rejected. Note that you do not have to have standing in the suit to participate in the survey.

Please click on this link when you are ready to take the survey.