Library Stuff

“ARL has published Research Library Issues (RLI) no. 280, which features articles on open educational resources (OERs) as an alternative to traditional textbooks, ARL’s e-book licensing effort, and research library trends as shown by the ARL Statistics. A pre-publication version of the article about OERs was released earlier this year.” (via ARL)

“Lawmakers are calling for a study of the availability of e-books to Connecticut public libraries. The state House of Representatives voted Tuesday 143-0 to pass a bill requiring the commissioner of consumer protection to report to the General Assembly on the issue by Feb 1. The bill, which originally called on publishers to offer e-books to libraries at a reasonable price, was amended to reflect lawmakers’ concerns about the likelihood of lawsuits.” (via AP)

“Finished with that digital copy of “The Help” on your Kindle and hoping to sell it somewhere else? Sorry – e-books being sold used may not be legal just yet. ReDigi, a start-up based in Massachusetts which allows users to resell digital music on their site, was told by a federal judge that Capitol Records’ rights are violated by such a practice. The company is planning to allow consumers to sell used e-books this summer. ReDigi has been in existence since 2011 and was planning an overhaul late this summer to begin emphasizing e-book content.” (via CSMonitor.com)

“WRESTLING with my newspaper on the subway recently, I noticed the woman next to me reading a book on her smartphone. “That has to hurt your eyes,” I commented. Not missing a beat, she replied, in true New York style, “My font is bigger than yours.” She was right.” (via NYTimes.com)

“Hachette Book Group, one of the largest and most successful publishers in the world, will make its entire digital catalog of more than 5,000 eBooks available to libraries and schools via OverDrive. Beginning May 8, loyal readers at OverDrive-powered libraries and schools in the U.S. and Canada will have access to popular and award-winning authors such as David Baldacci, Sara Zarr, Sandra Brown, James Patterson, David Sedaris and Kate Atkinson. OverDrive supplies Next Generation digital library services for more than 22,000 libraries and schools worldwide, with support for all major eReading devices, including iPadR , NookR and KindleR .The addition of the entire Hachette Book Group eBook catalog to OverDrive — which already carries Hachette Book Group audiobooks on the same lending platform — enhances the largest catalog for libraries and schools of more than 1 million eBook, audiobook, music and video titles.” (via WSJ.com)

“In an opinion issued this week, Judge Denise Cote shot down Penguin’s request for a jury trial to hear the remaining state and the consumer class action cases against them. “Penguin’s March 15, 2013 motion for a jury trial on the States’ claims is denied,” Cote ordered, holding that it was “clear that Penguin, along with all other litigating parties, knowingly and intentionally waived a jury determination of liability on the States’ claims.” The decision means that, barring a last minute settlement, Penguin will be joining Apple at the defense table on June 3 as the bench trial gets underway in the long-running e-book price fixing case.” (via Publishers Weekly)

“Last week, The Guardian ran an article about the introduction of “next generation” ebooks at this year’s London Book Fair. Publisher Faber&Faber unveiled an updated, gaming-style edition of John Buchan’s The 39 Steps, created with the help of The Story Mechanics, with enhancements like hand-created digital visuals of turn-of-the-century Great Britain, stop-frame animation, and the ability to unlock achievements throughout the book. But what was actually more interesting than the news of the release of the book was the reader comments on the article itself. It seems as though book lovers are still very devoutly divided on the concept of enhanced ebooks.” (via Good E-Reader)

“Last week Simon & Schuster signed a deal with 3M and the NYPL to distribute eBooks into libraries. Now all of the “Big6? corporate publishers have some type of agreement selling eBooks into public libraries. Libraries are indispensable. Publishers agree on this. Eventually the business models will all align and every publisher will make available their entire list of digital to libraries.” (via Digital Book World)

“Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and technology publisher O’Reilly Media today announced that O’Reilly will distribute many of Elsevier’s academic, research-focused ebooks. This expands the depth of ebooks available from O’Reilly in areas such as computer security and networking, and includes leading imprints such as Morgan Kaufmann, Syngress, Academic Press, Butterworth-Heinemann, Newnes and Elsevier with more than 1,200 individual titles.” (via Elsevier)

“Simon & Schuster, together with The New York Public Library,
Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library, announced today a one-year pilot program under which the publishing company’s complete catalog of ebooks will be made available to the libraries. Beginning April 30th, The New York Public Library and
Brooklyn Public Library will have access to such beloved classic favorites and current bestsellers as The Great Gatsby, Lonesome Dove, Team of Rivals, Steve Jobs, The Glass Castle, Still Alice, The Road Less Traveled, The Coldest Winter Ever, Clockwork Princess, Misty of Chincoteague and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The Queens Library pilot expected to begin in mid-May.”(via S&S)