Library Stuff

“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)

“Simon & Schuster has signed a new ebook retail agreement with Amazon and other ebook retailers. Ebook prices were lowered for Simon & Schuster titles over the weekend on sites like Amazon and Nook.com to levels several dollars below what they had been earlier in the week. Amazon is no longer displaying its usual disclaimer for agency-priced ebooks, “this price was set by the publisher,” for Simon & Schuster titles. “We have entered new agreements with our ebook agents that are in compliance with DOJ settlement and we look forward to working with our retailers to expand the readership for our authors and grow the ebook marketplace,” said Adam Rothberg, senior vice president of corporate communications for Simon & Schuster.”

via Digital Book World

“News Corp, owner of HarperCollins Publishers, has expressed interest to CBS Corp about acquiring its Simon & Schuster book business, according to people familiar with the talks. The people described the discussions as preliminary and cautioned that a deal isn’t imminent. News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., which publishes The Wall Street Journal.”

via WSJ.com