Library Stuff

Bloomberg – “The U.S. sued Apple Inc. AAPL, Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster in New York district court, claiming the publishers colluded to fix eBook prices.CBS Corp. CBS’s Simon & Schuster, Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group and News Corp. NWSA’s HarperCollins settled their suits today, two people familiar with the matter said. Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, according to people familiar with the matter. They will argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon.com Inc. AMZN”

Boston Herald – “The city would hire 100 new firefighters and cops, and 64 teachers, open five new teen centers and boost library services — including lending popular e-readers for the first time — as part of a $2.4 billion budget proposed today by Mayor Thomas M. Menino. City spending would increase by $60 million in fiscal 2013, under the mayor’s proposed plan, with the School Department seeing a $26 million increase — the largest for any city agency. The boost for schools would cover new teachers and improvements including new science labs at the Hyde Park Education Complex and new sites for New Mission High and the Boston Community Leadership Academy.”

ars technica – “Three e-book publishers are nearing a settlement over an e-book price-fixing case in the US and Europe, according to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal. But not everyone is on board—Apple and two other publishers are allegedly holding out, though the situation was described as “fluid” and could change as a lawsuit filing looms.”

Off the Shelf – “Choose Your Own Adventures” were interactive tales told in the second person. Every few pages the protagonist (i.e. you) faced a decision. “You hear someone trying to pry open your window. If you choose to investigate flip to page 18. If not, turn to page 20,” or something like that. I’m sure that I wasn’t the only person whose first flaunting of authority was ignoring a stern librarian’s injunction to not bend or write on book’s pages as I marked each difficult decision in “my” adventure. One must be thorough about possible worlds. If you missed the chance to choose your own adventure, Coliloquy [ http://www.coliloquy.com/ ], a California-based startup, has resurrected the idea, this time for the Kindle e-reader. They are also looking to expand to other platforms.”

Reuters.

“The Justice Department could reach a settlement in the next few weeks with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and some of the major publishers suspected of colluding to push up electronic book prices, according to two people close to the negotiations. While negotiations are still fluid, the settlement is expected to eliminate Apple’s so-called “most favored nation” status, which had prevented the publishers from selling lower-priced e-books through rival retailers such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) or Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N), the people said.

paidContent“DRM is just “a speedbump,” Hachette’s Maja Thomas said at a copyright conference this afternoon. However, opinion within Hachette is clearly divided. DRM “doesn’t stop anyone from pirating,” Hachette SVP digital Thomas said in a publishing panel at Copyright Clearance Center’s OnCopyright 2012. “It just makes it more difficult, and anyone who wants a free copy of any of our books can go online now and get one.”

eBookNewser – “We’ve all read lots of survey results on eReaders and who’s buying them, and here’s another one, only this time it’s focused on the Kindle and Kindle Fire. Citi released a report this week explaining the ‘buy’ recommendation they have on Amazon’s stock. As part of their research, they surveyed 1,100 online consumers here in the US. Needless to say, they’re pleased with what they found.”

San Francisco Chronicle – “The popularity of e-readers is soaring, but good luck finding that hot new title at your local library. Most large publishers refuse to sell critical portions of their digital catalogs for library lending, and those that do are imposing stiff fees and onerous rules.”

The News Tribune – “There are already tens of millions of e-book lovers, and their ranks are sure to be boosted by the latest iPad – along with improved Kindles, Nooks and their rivals.

My sister, the retired fourth-grade teacher, has finally succumbed; Dorothy reads faster by enlarging the words on her tablet. And my wife favors e-books when she stretches out in bed. Clearly, the time has come for a well-stocked national digital library system, not to replace brick-and-mortar libraries but to augment them.

Reuters – “The Justice Department has warned Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them, accusing them of colluding to raise the prices of electronic books, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Several parties have held talks to settle the potential anti-trust case, the paper cited the people as saying. It added that a successful settlement could lead to cheaper e-books for consumers.”