November 2011

The future in one word: platforms
“One of the reasons why librarians don’t talk very much about ebook platform chooice is because, by and large, we’ve already decided the matter. Libraries have made their choice, voted with their dollars and their energies, and have overwhelmingly selected Overdrive as our platform.
Yes, we have outsourced ourselves with an ebook platform that betrays many of the values that the public admires us for in exchange for a user-experience that be described in any variations of the word, horrific.”

Some really neat art made of books and other print materials: http://myhumancomputer.blogspot.com/

“My art is inspired by the death of the printed word. Books and newspapers are becoming artifacts of the 21st century. As a society we’re shifting away from print consumption and heading straight towards full digital lives. My sculptures are products of their environment —both literally and figuratively. As often as I can, I use local newspapers to add authenticity, and the form the sculpture takes is a reflection of the personal connection I feel to that particular city. From a day-to-day standpoint, I’m heavily influenced by my surroundings. These days, I draw inspiration from America’s South West, and in particular Tucson, AZ–where I’ve lived and worked for almost two years. Going from NY to the desert is a pretty dramatic shift. Your concept of space expands when it’s not obstructed by buildings. You pay closer attention to nature because you’re always in it—and you do what you can to preserve it.”

40,000!!!

As usual, I forgot LISNews’ birthday a few weeks ago, but LISNews turned 12 (NOT 11 you dummy) years old this month, and just now rolled over 40,000 posts. If you’ve been around for awhile you already know the rest of the story, if not, I’ll spare you the details because you won’t read them anyways.

Every year I try to thank everyone who has helped LISNews over these many years. Steve Glabraith, Steven M Cohen & Nabeal Ahmed, were all instrumental in helping me during the early years (when I needed it most!).

We also had a few authors that posted like bloggers possessed, Ieleene, Aaron, Rochelle, and a few other authors who helped out for awhile and moved on. Behind the scenes Joe Frazee helped me get the original LISNews server up and running. Over the years a few dedicated souls have tirelessly submitted stories; Bob Cox, Martin, Lee Hadden, Charles Davis, and many others. Stephen Kellat, for the podcast, Bibliofuture, Robin, Troy, Andy, Dan and all the LISNews authors deserve a big thank you and a pat on the back for all their hard work. LISNews is a collaborative site, and we all work together to make it great.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has ever chipped in to pay for the server, submitted a story, wrote in their journal, left a comment, or just dropped by for a visit.

Happy Birthday LISNews. Here’s hoping we have a few more good years ahead of us!

Is Tim Hortons a substitute for libraries?
It looks like November 22nd’s meeting of the Toronto Library Board was a doozy. One board member in particular—Stephen Dulmage, the guy who suggested closing more than a third of the City’s branches as a cost-saving measure—got a few choice remarks in, suggesting that people don’t need a warm place to read a book so long as there are Tim Hortons in the world. David Hains was there and gives some more details of the meeting:

Why It’s a Great Time to Be a Reader
“It is hard to imagine that any publisher would not pursue digital initiatives, given the speed with which they are being adopted, but like the booksellers, they also confront distribution and production challenges that are formidable. If the past is a useful guide, there will be continued dynamic change, with winners among them–the iPad, Nook, Kindles, Canadian-based Kobo, POD machines, and such innovators as Mitchell Kaplan–and losers, the most spectacular case being the collapse of Borders in 2011, which sharply reduced the retail shelf space and thus further increased the appeal of e-books. What we can say with certainty is that the transformation of publishing currently under way has demonstrated the viability of books in the digital age. And that is definitely good news. “

Which Republican is Winning the Book Sales Race?
Mitt Romney is the clear front-runner, with over 100,000 copies of his latest book, 2010’s No Apology, sold in this year alone. Ron Paul’s Liberty Defined is a distant second with 38,000 copies sold in 2011. Herman Cain’s This is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House is the surprise that isn’t all that surprising: despite being released less than two months ago, it’s in third place for 2011 sales by any Republican hopeful, closely mirroring the period of his ascendancy in the polls and 9-9-9 becoming part of the national lexicon. (Although at least a few copies were purchased by the Hermanator himself.)

Idaho Libraries to adjust to new Internet filtering law
But the Coeur d’Alene library, like every other library in the state, will have to change its system between now and October, under a new law enacted by the Idaho Legislature this year.

Although the new law is a scaled-back version of the original proposal — which would have required libraries to filter Internet access for everyone — it’s still a concern to some library officials. Currently, every library in Idaho handles the issue its own way, with some choosing to install filters on all their Internet-accessible computers, others choosing to filter just some, and some leaving the choice to parents and adult library patrons. That local control works well, Ammons and others say, noting that Idaho libraries don’t get any state funding. Libraries are supported by local property taxes and governed by local boards.

Under the new law, Internet use by children must be filtered.

More spring cleaning out of season “Overall, our aim is to build a simpler, more intuitive, truly beautiful Google user experience. In terms of the details, here is the latest update:”
Google Bookmarks Lists
Google Friend Connect
Google Gears
Google Search Timeline
Google Wave
Knol
Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal (RE

This was in the comments to a story at Teleread.org

” I can assure you OverDrive is not interested in managing or having any say in your library policies and issues.”

Sounds like just the opposite to me.

My sister is legally blind, (she can read large print on her Kindle but cannot drive), and lives in a rural area where she does not have easy library access. I live in another county, but she frequently uses my library card to access my county library’s e-book collection as well as the library in Philadelphia. The libraries welcome her patronage, but it sure looks like Penguin is telling them that they should block her access since she doesn’t live, work or attend school “in service area, etc.”. If that isn’t having a “say in your library policies and issues”, what would you call it?
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Any issues for your library when people give friends and relatives their library account info so they can check out ebooks?

Prolific science fiction and fantasy author Anne McCaffrey died Monday at her home in Ireland shortly after suffering a stroke. She was 85.

McCaffrey published nearly 100 books in her lifetime and was best known for her popular “Dragonriders of Pern” novels. In her bio on her website, McCaffrey shared the following insights about her approach to writing and her first novel, which was published in 1967:

“Her first novel, ‘Restoree,’ was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in s-f novels in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series ‘The Ship Who Sang’ and the fourteen novels about the ‘Dragonriders of Pern,’ that Ms. McCaffrey’s talents as a story-teller are best displayed.”

Full article