Can an iTunes-style makeover bring the short story to new audiences? Ian Burrell meets the authors and innovators who are selling small tales
by: Ian Burrell
The short story, the vehicle that revolutionised magazines at the start of the 20th century, could emerge as the format that radicalises the way that the written word is consumed in the increasingly digital environment we live in 100 years later. In doing so, it could help to save publishing.
A series of new British online initiatives is hoping to do for authors what Steve Jobs and iTunes did for the music industry and establish a culture of making micro-payments for small pieces of content: the short story becomes the single-track download, with prices starting at 99p. The newspaper and magazine industries, as they wrestle with the challenge of monetising their content, should be following this closely.
So many great authors – Charles Dickens, W Somerset Maugham, Edgar Allan Poe, F Scott Fitzgerald – made fortunes from the short story. Eighty years ago, Fitzgerald could command fees of the equivalent of $50,000 today for a magazine piece. Poe, who loved to read his 108-line classic The Raven in New York pubs with the lights turned out, embraced the very modern notion of mastering the art of writing pieces that could be consumed in a single sitting.
The suggestion that literature can change the "everything for free" culture of the download generation might prompt snorts of derision, but, believe me, the short story is in fashion. Events such as Literary Death Match – which is something akin to a hip-hop battle for scribes and takes place under a pizzeria in east London – the Shoreditch House Literary Salon and the Book Club Boutique are making short-form fiction funky.
Clare Hey, a former HarperCollins editor, hopes to capitalise on this energy this month by launching a service which some will see as an iTunes for the written word. The Shortlist Press site will offer downloads of compositions of between 2,500 words and 15,000 words, all retailing for the same price of 99p. "Everyone nowadays is short of money and short of time," she says. "You can read short stories one by one, when you have a moment."
The culture of e-books is at a critical point in Britain and Christmas sales of the new Amazon Kindle are widely expected to be a tipping point. Sales of the iPad and other tablet formats also make the digital consumption of fiction a more attractive pastime. Although most British newspapers continue to provide their journalism for free, and out-of-copyright fiction can be accessed online without charge, the culture of piracy that has beset the music business is not entrenched in literature. Now is the time to set down some rules that work for everyone, says Hey, 31. "I'm keen to offer stories that people can buy affordably, but at the same time send out the message that these stories have a value."
She will launch Shortlist Press with offerings from three authors. Nadifa Mohamed, the author of Black Mamba Boy, has been shortlisted for a string of literary prizes. Laura Dockrill recently published the short-story collection Echoes for HarperCollins. Elizabeth Jenner is a newcomer, spotted by Hey at Literary Death Match.
According to Dockrill, 24, who also mentors schoolchildren in developing writing skills for the charity First Story, there is an appetite among young people for reading literature if it can be consumed on digital devices they are comfortable being seen with. "The reason why iPods have been successful is that you don't have to carry around 12 CDs. Similarly you can have a whole bank of short stories by different authors," she says. Dockrill, who has provided Shortlist Press with a love story called Topple, said the 99p download charge was "about the price of a Kit Kat Chunky".
Hey says she will offer her products through Amazon and hopes to maintain the same 99p price, even though her margins will be reduced. "You have to be in the place where the most people are, and even a minimal amount from an extra sale is better than nothing," she says, pragmatically.
Another young entrepreneur, Ed Caldecott, 25, is promoting digital sales of short stories in audio form. He came up with the idea for Spoken Ink after writing a collection of short stories while studying at Bristol University and then trying to get it published. He was advised that there was no viable market for short-story collections, particularly those by unknown authors.
"It got me thinking about short stories and why no one buys them any more," he says. "Collections are not a great way to sell short stories; that's not how they're written and that's not really how they are meant to be consumed."
Caldecott studied the history of the genre and its success, until half a century ago, within magazines. "In 1950, John Updike said he could support his family on the publication of six short stories a year; obviously you couldn't do that now," he says. "I suddenly thought that the MP3 player, the iPod, the mobile phone, is the new magazine – it's what everyone does when they are on the train – and I thought that would be the new format and a way of resurrecting the short story."
Like Hey, Caldecott believes there is a "renaissance" in short-story writing. He cites the excitement around the BBC National Short Story Award, which is being announced tonight, and the Sunday Times Short Story Award, which is worth £30,000. All five of the shortlisted BBC National Short Story titles will be available as downloads from iTunes or www.audiogo.co.uk from Monday 6 December.
In another initiative, Nick Hornby has founded the Ministry of Stories, which provides a workshop and space for young writers at the back of a shop in Hoxton, east London. The project, which also has the backing of Roddy Doyle and Zadie Smith, was inspired by a San Francisco scheme set up by American writer Dave Eggers.
Caldecott says the interest in short stories is also being driven by the popularity of creative-writing courses. On Spoken Ink he offers 400 pieces of audio, some fiction and some non-fiction. Authors receive royalties but the lack of rights payments and fat advances means prices are competitive, starting at 99p and going up to £6.60. Established authors include Roald Dahl and Michèle Roberts. Stories are sometimes voiced by famous actors, such as Timothy West and Prunella Scales.
The site encourages users to send short stories or poems as gifts. "You can buy a poem for 50p or a story for two quid and send it to a friend," Caldecott says. "We do non-fiction as well, from hobbies to history to sport." War poetry sold well on Remembrance Sunday and he expects strong demand for love poems next St Valentine's Day.
Spoken Ink, which Caldecott runs with business partner Constantine Gregory, also sells material from the BBC's audio book catalogue, breaking down lengthy works into short downloads. "Some people have the perception that audio books are for the elderly and the blind but actually, they are really fun and it's an intensely rich experience," says Caldecott, who admits he once saw the format as not being for him.
Taking short stories out of the package of a collection and offering them as downloads is a great opportunity for authors to make money. "I think people are more prepared to pay for it and I don't think piracy is so much of a problem. It's making audio books cool, that's the challenge," he says.
The advent of cutting-edge literary nights and the development of devices, including the latest Kindle, will help with that process. The only section of the publishing world not to have recognised the opportunity may be within the industry itself. "Sometimes, you talk to agents and publishers and they haven't come round to it," Caldecott says. "But the digitisation of literature is good for us and for publishing. I almost think it is inevitable now."
http://www.shortlistpress.com/
http://www.spokenink.co.uk/
from: Independent
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Secret Chamber Discovered in the National Library of India
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) engineers have found a sealed secret chamber inside the Belvedere House, the building housing the National Library of India.
Estimated to be 1,000-feet long, the room is situated on the building’s ground floor. ASI needs permission from India’s Ministry of Culture to drill a hole and investigate the room.
The Times of India has more: “The chamber has lain untouched for over two centuries. Wonder what secrets it holds. The archaeologists who discovered it have no clue either, their theories range from a torture chamber, or a sealed tomb for an unfortunate soul or the most favoured of all a treasure room. Some say they wouldn’t be surprised if both skeletons and jewels tumble out of the secret room.” (Via Maud Newton)
from: GalleyCat
Monday, November 22, 2010
Berkeley Tool Lending Library inspires others
by: Peter Hartlaub
A woman walks into the Berkeley Tool Lending Library with a small baby cradled in one arm and a sledgehammer in the other. It's an unusual sight for a newcomer, but Robert Young and Angel Entes don't even raise an eyebrow from behind the checkout desk.
"We get a little bit of everybody," Young says. "We're looking at about 250 (new) signups every month, and there's no such thing as 'typical' when it comes to people using the tool-lending library."
The 31-year-old Berkeley Public Library institution - the oldest continuously running library of its kind in the nation - is more popular than ever and has helped turn the Bay Area into arguably the tool-lending capital of the nation.
Most states don't have a tool-lending library within their borders. The Bay Area has five, not including several local libraries that lend out specialized energy-related or earthquake-retrofit tools.
The Temescal Tool Lending Library in Oakland is another thriving offshoot of the public library, which, like Berkeley, has served as a national model for other startups.
Santa Rosa has a tool library run by community members. The San Francisco Clean City Coalition is in the process of moving its popular Tool Lending Center, and the Marin Open Garden Project is in the early stages of building its library of garden tools.
Tool lending is a great fit for the Bay Area, for reasons beyond the region's quickness to embrace progressive values. Many local do-it-yourselfers want to improve their residences and yards, but don't have the money or storage space to buy the tools. The lines that often go out the door are only getting longer as the economy struggles.
Darryel Varize walked away from the Berkeley library on a busy Thursday afternoon after checking out a belt sander and a couple of clamps. The 34-year-old has been a regular for eight years, relandscaping his yard and updating his kitchen and bathroom with borrowed tools.
'Utilizing my taxes'
"I have a little one-car garage, so having all those tools would limit my real estate," Varize says. "This is my way of utilizing my taxes."
The Berkeley tool library started in 1979 in a small mobile shed with help from a block grant. Three decades later, it's a huge operation, with hundreds of carpentry, electrical, gardening, and concrete and masoning items for rental - including 30-pound demolition hammers and cement mixers that take up valuable real estate in a storage room.
The library is organized, but free space is non-existent. Plans have been made to remodel the entire South Branch Library in the next two years, and the Berkeley Tool Lending Library will double in size.
All of the local libraries have strict rules, starting with proof of residency. Young and Entes said everyone is welcome, but contractors are discouraged.
Tools are free and can be rented for up to a week in some cases, with late fees that range from $1 to $15 per day. Damage beyond normal wear and tear can result in fines.
The Temescal Tool Lending Library is equally busy on a recent Saturday, with a steady stream of patrons filing into the basement door in the back of the beautiful brick library building.
"Right now, drain snakes are in the highest demand," says branch manager Ty Yurgelevic, who has been at the Telegraph Avenue library since it opened in 2000. "When the rain comes, sump pumps. And in the spring, weed whackers."
Young says the highest-demand items that the library doesn't carry are power washers and chainsaws. The latter tools are absent because of sharpening issues, not safety. Every patron must sign a liability waiver before they check out tools.
No shushing
The biggest difference between the tool libraries and the traditional libraries is the noise level: No one gets shushed in the tool library, which has a vibe closer to a barbershop. Young said the other difference is that people hang out all day around the books, while the baby-and-sledgehammer crowd comes and goes quickly.
But that doesn't mean no one has any fun. More than one patron points out the personality of the librarians as a reason they enjoy coming back.
Two days after the interview, some neighbors threw a potluck garden party in honor of Young, Entes and the other Berkeley tool librarians.
"You have to have a sense of humor," Young says. "There's no reason why anyone should leave angry."
from: San Francisco Chronicle
A woman walks into the Berkeley Tool Lending Library with a small baby cradled in one arm and a sledgehammer in the other. It's an unusual sight for a newcomer, but Robert Young and Angel Entes don't even raise an eyebrow from behind the checkout desk.
"We get a little bit of everybody," Young says. "We're looking at about 250 (new) signups every month, and there's no such thing as 'typical' when it comes to people using the tool-lending library."
The 31-year-old Berkeley Public Library institution - the oldest continuously running library of its kind in the nation - is more popular than ever and has helped turn the Bay Area into arguably the tool-lending capital of the nation.
Most states don't have a tool-lending library within their borders. The Bay Area has five, not including several local libraries that lend out specialized energy-related or earthquake-retrofit tools.
The Temescal Tool Lending Library in Oakland is another thriving offshoot of the public library, which, like Berkeley, has served as a national model for other startups.
Santa Rosa has a tool library run by community members. The San Francisco Clean City Coalition is in the process of moving its popular Tool Lending Center, and the Marin Open Garden Project is in the early stages of building its library of garden tools.
Tool lending is a great fit for the Bay Area, for reasons beyond the region's quickness to embrace progressive values. Many local do-it-yourselfers want to improve their residences and yards, but don't have the money or storage space to buy the tools. The lines that often go out the door are only getting longer as the economy struggles.
Darryel Varize walked away from the Berkeley library on a busy Thursday afternoon after checking out a belt sander and a couple of clamps. The 34-year-old has been a regular for eight years, relandscaping his yard and updating his kitchen and bathroom with borrowed tools.
'Utilizing my taxes'
"I have a little one-car garage, so having all those tools would limit my real estate," Varize says. "This is my way of utilizing my taxes."
The Berkeley tool library started in 1979 in a small mobile shed with help from a block grant. Three decades later, it's a huge operation, with hundreds of carpentry, electrical, gardening, and concrete and masoning items for rental - including 30-pound demolition hammers and cement mixers that take up valuable real estate in a storage room.
The library is organized, but free space is non-existent. Plans have been made to remodel the entire South Branch Library in the next two years, and the Berkeley Tool Lending Library will double in size.
All of the local libraries have strict rules, starting with proof of residency. Young and Entes said everyone is welcome, but contractors are discouraged.
Tools are free and can be rented for up to a week in some cases, with late fees that range from $1 to $15 per day. Damage beyond normal wear and tear can result in fines.
The Temescal Tool Lending Library is equally busy on a recent Saturday, with a steady stream of patrons filing into the basement door in the back of the beautiful brick library building.
"Right now, drain snakes are in the highest demand," says branch manager Ty Yurgelevic, who has been at the Telegraph Avenue library since it opened in 2000. "When the rain comes, sump pumps. And in the spring, weed whackers."
Young says the highest-demand items that the library doesn't carry are power washers and chainsaws. The latter tools are absent because of sharpening issues, not safety. Every patron must sign a liability waiver before they check out tools.
No shushing
The biggest difference between the tool libraries and the traditional libraries is the noise level: No one gets shushed in the tool library, which has a vibe closer to a barbershop. Young said the other difference is that people hang out all day around the books, while the baby-and-sledgehammer crowd comes and goes quickly.
But that doesn't mean no one has any fun. More than one patron points out the personality of the librarians as a reason they enjoy coming back.
Two days after the interview, some neighbors threw a potluck garden party in honor of Young, Entes and the other Berkeley tool librarians.
"You have to have a sense of humor," Young says. "There's no reason why anyone should leave angry."
from: San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, November 21, 2010
'Anythink' library district wins highest honor for libraries
by: David Sarno
Rangeview, Colo.'s Anythink library system, which The Times profiled as part of its "Future of Reading" series, is one of five U.S. libraries to win the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor for libraries.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, which awards the medal each year, praised the winners for "serving their communities with innovative and creative new approaches to lifelong learning."
Rangeview appeared in a Times story last Friday that detailed its maverick attitude toward many traditional features of libraries: The district got rid of the Dewey Decimal System, overdue-book fines and reference desks and put in game rooms, big-screen TVs and cafes.
"It's a departure from books," Pam Sandlian-Smith, Anythink's director, said this past summer. "Our emphasis is on creative activity between people and information -- we connect people with ideas."
A few years ago, Rangeview had the worst-funded urban library system in Colorado. Its drab branches were poorly lighted, crumbling and crammed with obsolete books. Less than 10% of the community's population had library cards. If not for a last-minute measure to raise property taxes, its libraries were in danger of being shut down.
But more than $40 million and four new branches later, the library is flourishing and gaining wide notice in the library world, where leaders are struggling to chart a course into a digital future in which printed books may no longer define the library experience.
"Many of our winners have evolved and grown despite tremendous challenges -– all to empower and enrich the lives of their community members by cultivating collaboration and openness," said IMLS Acting Director Marsha L. Semmel. "I am deeply appreciative of their efforts to make a difference. They serve as the nation’s role models."
The winners will receive their awards, and a $10,000 prize, at an upcoming ceremony in Washington.
RELATED:
Photo gallery of Anythink libraries
from: LA Times
Rangeview, Colo.'s Anythink library system, which The Times profiled as part of its "Future of Reading" series, is one of five U.S. libraries to win the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor for libraries.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, which awards the medal each year, praised the winners for "serving their communities with innovative and creative new approaches to lifelong learning."
Rangeview appeared in a Times story last Friday that detailed its maverick attitude toward many traditional features of libraries: The district got rid of the Dewey Decimal System, overdue-book fines and reference desks and put in game rooms, big-screen TVs and cafes.
"It's a departure from books," Pam Sandlian-Smith, Anythink's director, said this past summer. "Our emphasis is on creative activity between people and information -- we connect people with ideas."
A few years ago, Rangeview had the worst-funded urban library system in Colorado. Its drab branches were poorly lighted, crumbling and crammed with obsolete books. Less than 10% of the community's population had library cards. If not for a last-minute measure to raise property taxes, its libraries were in danger of being shut down.
But more than $40 million and four new branches later, the library is flourishing and gaining wide notice in the library world, where leaders are struggling to chart a course into a digital future in which printed books may no longer define the library experience.
"Many of our winners have evolved and grown despite tremendous challenges -– all to empower and enrich the lives of their community members by cultivating collaboration and openness," said IMLS Acting Director Marsha L. Semmel. "I am deeply appreciative of their efforts to make a difference. They serve as the nation’s role models."
The winners will receive their awards, and a $10,000 prize, at an upcoming ceremony in Washington.
RELATED:
Photo gallery of Anythink libraries
from: LA Times
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Will Your Local Library Lend E-Books (Or Can They?)
Amazon has recently touted that sales of Kindle books are outstripping those of both hardcover and paperback editions. And a Forrester forecast earlier this week gauged that the sales from e-books for 2010 would hit over $1 billion. It seems as though the market for digital literature is strong.
But according to some publishers, if libraries start lending e-books, it could serve to "undo the entire market for e-book sales." Those were the words of Stephen Page, CEO of the publisher Faber and Faber who spoke last month at a library conference in the U.K. and announced the Publisher Association's new stance on e-book lending via libraries.
Lending E-Books, But With Restrictions
He told those present that "all the major trade publishers have agreed to work with aggregators to make it possible for libraries to offer e-book lending" with the addition of certain "controls." These controls would require library patrons to be onsite in order to access the e-books. And furthermore, libraries will only be able to lend one copy of an e-book to one individual at any given time. Why, it's almost as if digitizing books did not free them from their physical confines.
These restrictions hamper the access of those who cannot visit libraries in order to read books - the homebound and the disabled, for example. They make the process of interlibrary loan impossible. And honestly, they seem a little absurd. But these policies - both for personal and library lending - echo the sorts of restrictions that DRM has long demanded around music and movie sharing, and they come with the same sort of doom-and-gloom predictions should people be able to share content freely.
Looking for (DRM-Free) Alternatives
But not all publishers are on board with this idea. Springer Verlag recently announced that it would make its e-books available without DRM restrictions to institutional purchases. "Libraries buy direct from us and they own the content," says the publisher's director of channel marketing George Scotti. "Once users download content, they can give it out, share, whatever. They own it. Some of our competitors are afraid to do this, but we say, free the content."
Challenging the publishing industry's attachment to DRM, in an article this weekend in the Guardian, Simon Barron contends that "Applying physical paradigms to digital commodities shows a lack of digital understanding. Cory Doctorow argues that trying to control digital copies of work on the internet is 'a fool's errand: that digital works require different models for control, distribution and profit. The price for trading in digital commodities is to accept the nature of digital commodities: they can be copied, they are accessible virtually anywhere, and that physical restrictions do not and cannot apply."
Libraries of the Future: Lending E-Books and E-Readers
Whether or not they can access DRM-free content from publishers, Some libraries are adapting. Recognizing the growing demand for e-books, they are pursuing not just the lending programs for e-books but those for e-readers as well, in order to help their patrons access material digitally. While the Terms of Service say you can't share your account information on the devices, the Library Journal suggests that Amazon may be simply turning a blind eye to the enforcement around this.
Libraries will have to embrace digital books to stay relevant to readers looking for books. Of course libraries' relevance involves much more than simply being a repository for books, e- or otherwise. Libraries are community centers. They are places where people can access not just literature and the latest magazines, but also find Internet access and computer stations.
It's worth noting too, that despite the great role that libraries play in literacy and in the preservation of literature, they are only a small part of the buying market for books - less than 4% by Faber and Faber's own admission. So to say that allowing libraries to lend e-books will destroy the publishing industry seems - excuse my literary reference here - a bit of a tall tale.
from: ReadWriteWeb
Friday, November 19, 2010
In Jordan, a bookstore devoted to forbidden titles
Banned books — on sex, politics, religion — are a specialty at Sami Abu Hossein's shop in Amman. 'We have them,' he says with a grin, 'but don't tell anyone.'
By: Borzou Daragahi
Reporting from Amman, Jordan — At Sami Abu Hossein's cramped bookstore, the hundred or so book titles listed on a wall aren't bestsellers. They're banned.
And the cheery Abu Hossein can you get you any of them, sometimes in the few minutes it takes to sit down and drink a cup of thick-brewed Turkish coffee.
"There are three no-nos," the owner of Al Taliya Books explains with a big smile. "Sex, politics and religion. Unfortunately, that's all anyone ever wants to read about."
He laughs uproariously.
"These are all the banned ones," he says, gesturing to the list taped to the wall above the store entrance, books on sexuality to ones that critically examine the life and times of the prophet Muhammad, the most taboo topic in the Arab world.
"We have them," he says, grinning broadly, "but don't tell anyone."
The tubby father of five seems to get a tremendous kick out of bucking the rules. (Not that they're strictly enforced; he's never been arrested or even summoned by the authorities.)
His partner in thought crime is Hossein Yassin, a self-described Marxist in a worn beige linen suit. Abu Hossein summons his wiry 48-year-old comrade in for the really tough jobs.
Yassin jokes that he's the Special Forces for getting banned or hard-to-find books. He makes allusions to a murky past as an underground revolutionary. He says he calls upon a network that stretches across the Middle East to locate and transport hard-to-find titles.
"I can get any book," he boasts. "But don't ask how I get them."
The most widely requested banned book remains "The Satanic Verses," the 1988 novel that suggested some parts of the Koran weren't God's words and thereby earned its author, Salman Rushdie, a fatwa issued by Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the hatred of pious Muslims worldwide.
Other top requests include "23 Years," by the Iranian scholar Ali Dashti, which questions miracles ascribed to Muhammad in the Koran; and "The Joke in the Arab World," by the Egyptian writer Khaled Qashtin, a sarcastic view of the Middle East, its rulers and customs.
Abu Hossein's shop, in the capital's rambling but lively downtown, also sells nonblacklisted books. His shelves are filled with titles from serious political studies about the Middle East to romance novels and pirated software manuals.
But his shop is known as the place in Amman to get forbidden fruits of knowledge.
Censoring books in the age of the Internet may seem like a quaint idea. Even the government official in charge of restricting them recently announced in a newspaper article that "stopping books from reaching the people is a page we've turned."
The censor, Abdullah Abu Roman, occasionally stops by the bookstore to hobnob with Abu Hossein. So do plainclothes security officials. Abu Hossein serves them his Turkish coffee. They very politely ask him for the copies of the forbidden books. He hands them over. It's all very civilized.
"Allah maakon," he bids them farewell. God be with you.
"They are very sensitive to politics and criticism of politicians," says Abu Hossein, who has been working at his family shop for decades. "But there are some books that are banned arbitrarily. Sometimes a censor will ban a book for a sentence he doesn't like."
A thickly bearded man wearing a headdress and flowing white dishdasha walks in. He's one of the regulars, a Saudi religious scholar named Thaer Balawi who perhaps enjoys the challenge of subjecting his puritanical Salafist beliefs to the scrutiny of critical intellects. "You can't stop an idea by censoring it," he says.
"Mamnoueh maqroubieh," goes the Arabic proverb. All that is forbidden is desired.
Abu Hossein recalls a memoir by a former interior minister that the censors immediately forbade for its sensitive revelations. It became a bestseller. But later, the political sands shifted, and the book was removed from the blacklist. Now it hardly sells.
In walks Raed Toguj, iPod ear buds firmly in place, a Web designer in his 20s with a penchant for philosophy and social theory. Censorship, he says, is a product of political ideology. "What I see as the solution is critical thinking," he says.
Toguj acknowledges that the Internet has made his task superfluous. Many banned books are already available for download, and those with money can order copies from online bookstores abroad.
But Abu Hossein and his customers insisted that there's something special about holding a book in your hand, feeling its pages, gabbing with the bookseller and fellow seekers of knowledge, like Carol Kaplanian, a 29-year-old doctoral student writing a thesis on honor killings of women in the Middle East, picking through a pile of books on gender relations.
The afternoon wears on. Abu Hossein keeps serving cups of coffee for his guests, the Salafist, the communist, the feminist and the Web dude with a passion for philosophy. They sift through titles and chat quietly, their murmurs softened by the stacks of books surrounding them.
from: LA Times
 |
| Sami Abu Hossein laughs as he describes his travails as a book seller specializing in officially banned books. His son, Osama, is at left. (Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times / November 14, 2010) |
Reporting from Amman, Jordan — At Sami Abu Hossein's cramped bookstore, the hundred or so book titles listed on a wall aren't bestsellers. They're banned.
And the cheery Abu Hossein can you get you any of them, sometimes in the few minutes it takes to sit down and drink a cup of thick-brewed Turkish coffee.
"There are three no-nos," the owner of Al Taliya Books explains with a big smile. "Sex, politics and religion. Unfortunately, that's all anyone ever wants to read about."
He laughs uproariously.
"These are all the banned ones," he says, gesturing to the list taped to the wall above the store entrance, books on sexuality to ones that critically examine the life and times of the prophet Muhammad, the most taboo topic in the Arab world.
"We have them," he says, grinning broadly, "but don't tell anyone."
The tubby father of five seems to get a tremendous kick out of bucking the rules. (Not that they're strictly enforced; he's never been arrested or even summoned by the authorities.)
His partner in thought crime is Hossein Yassin, a self-described Marxist in a worn beige linen suit. Abu Hossein summons his wiry 48-year-old comrade in for the really tough jobs.
Yassin jokes that he's the Special Forces for getting banned or hard-to-find books. He makes allusions to a murky past as an underground revolutionary. He says he calls upon a network that stretches across the Middle East to locate and transport hard-to-find titles.
"I can get any book," he boasts. "But don't ask how I get them."
The most widely requested banned book remains "The Satanic Verses," the 1988 novel that suggested some parts of the Koran weren't God's words and thereby earned its author, Salman Rushdie, a fatwa issued by Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the hatred of pious Muslims worldwide.
Other top requests include "23 Years," by the Iranian scholar Ali Dashti, which questions miracles ascribed to Muhammad in the Koran; and "The Joke in the Arab World," by the Egyptian writer Khaled Qashtin, a sarcastic view of the Middle East, its rulers and customs.
Abu Hossein's shop, in the capital's rambling but lively downtown, also sells nonblacklisted books. His shelves are filled with titles from serious political studies about the Middle East to romance novels and pirated software manuals.
But his shop is known as the place in Amman to get forbidden fruits of knowledge.
Censoring books in the age of the Internet may seem like a quaint idea. Even the government official in charge of restricting them recently announced in a newspaper article that "stopping books from reaching the people is a page we've turned."
The censor, Abdullah Abu Roman, occasionally stops by the bookstore to hobnob with Abu Hossein. So do plainclothes security officials. Abu Hossein serves them his Turkish coffee. They very politely ask him for the copies of the forbidden books. He hands them over. It's all very civilized.
"Allah maakon," he bids them farewell. God be with you.
"They are very sensitive to politics and criticism of politicians," says Abu Hossein, who has been working at his family shop for decades. "But there are some books that are banned arbitrarily. Sometimes a censor will ban a book for a sentence he doesn't like."
A thickly bearded man wearing a headdress and flowing white dishdasha walks in. He's one of the regulars, a Saudi religious scholar named Thaer Balawi who perhaps enjoys the challenge of subjecting his puritanical Salafist beliefs to the scrutiny of critical intellects. "You can't stop an idea by censoring it," he says.
"Mamnoueh maqroubieh," goes the Arabic proverb. All that is forbidden is desired.
Abu Hossein recalls a memoir by a former interior minister that the censors immediately forbade for its sensitive revelations. It became a bestseller. But later, the political sands shifted, and the book was removed from the blacklist. Now it hardly sells.
In walks Raed Toguj, iPod ear buds firmly in place, a Web designer in his 20s with a penchant for philosophy and social theory. Censorship, he says, is a product of political ideology. "What I see as the solution is critical thinking," he says.
Toguj acknowledges that the Internet has made his task superfluous. Many banned books are already available for download, and those with money can order copies from online bookstores abroad.
But Abu Hossein and his customers insisted that there's something special about holding a book in your hand, feeling its pages, gabbing with the bookseller and fellow seekers of knowledge, like Carol Kaplanian, a 29-year-old doctoral student writing a thesis on honor killings of women in the Middle East, picking through a pile of books on gender relations.
The afternoon wears on. Abu Hossein keeps serving cups of coffee for his guests, the Salafist, the communist, the feminist and the Web dude with a passion for philosophy. They sift through titles and chat quietly, their murmurs softened by the stacks of books surrounding them.
from: LA Times
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Libraries reinvent themselves as they struggle to remain relevant in the digital age
They're preparing for a future in which materials can be checked out and read from a home computer, smart phone or e-reader.
by: David Sarno
Kathy DeGrego's T-shirt lets you know right away she isn't an old-school librarian.
"Shhh," it says, "is a four-letter word."
That spirit of bookish defiance has guided the makeover of the suburban Denver library system where DeGrego works. Reference desks and study carrels have been replaced by rooms where kids can play Guitar Hero. Overdue book fines have been eliminated, and the arcane Dewey Decimal System has been scrapped in favor of bookstore-like sections organized by topic.
"It's very common for people to say, 'Why do I need a library when I've got a computer?' " said Pam Sandlian-Smith, director of the seven-branch Rangeview, Colo., Library District. "We have to reframe what the library means to the community."
In the struggle to stay relevant — and ultimately to stay open — libraries are reinventing themselves in ways unimaginable even a few years ago, preparing for a future in which most materials can be checked and read from a home computer, smart phone or electronic reading device.
University and public libraries are rushing to push as much material as they can onto the Web, so patrons can peruse genealogical records, historical maps or rare volumes without leaving home.
Many public libraries are also becoming digital activity centers, where in addition to books visitors can find game rooms, computer clusters or Internet cafes. Collections of DVDs have swelled, as has the number of high-definition televisions.
Some traditional librarians worry that experiments aimed at making libraries more accessible could dumb them down.
"If you want to have game rooms and pingpong tables and God knows what — poker parties — fine, do it, but don't pretend it has anything to do with libraries," said Michael Gorman, a former president of the American Library Assn. "The argument that all these young people would turn up to play video games and think, 'Oh by the way, I must borrow that book by Dostoyevsky' — it seems ludicrous to me."
Others argue that reinvention is a matter of survival in an age when Google Inc. has made the reference desk almost obsolete and printed books are beginning to look more like antique collectibles.
The number of books checked out by the average public library user dropped nearly 6% between 1997 and 2007, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Book checkouts at the New York Public Library alone plunged by 1 million volumes in the most recent fiscal year.
At the 540,000-square-foot Central Library in downtown Los Angeles — the largest public research library west of the Mississippi — few visitors wander the main floors where most of the building's 2 million books are kept. At wooden reading tables, only a handful of people sit paging through newspapers.
But down the escalator it's a different story. The 70-seat computer center is often packed as patrons read news, watch YouTube videos and scour the Web for jobs.
In the last fiscal year, the library system's patrons checked out 102,000 e-books, more than twice as many as in the previous year. The number is on track to nearly double again in 2010.
Like regular books, e-books can be borrowed for a few weeks. Then the book deletes itself from the borrower's computer, e-reader or mobile phone.
E-book collections at U.S. libraries grew nearly 60% between 2005 and 2008, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. During the same period libraries' print collections grew less than 1%, though ink-on-paper works still make up 98% of U.S. libraries' holdings.
Joan Frye Williams, a library consultant and futurist, believes that the underlying purpose of libraries will not change, even if bookshelves disappear.
"Saying that there's a challenge to libraries because books are changing would be like saying there's a challenge to family dinner because plates are changing," she said.
Digital technology is also allowing libraries to digitize large swaths of their collections, creating a virtual library accessible from any computer.
Libraries are leading the effort to scan centuries' worth of rare, unique and fragile materials as varied as medieval religious manuscripts and antique phone books — whatever they've been keeping in the basement.
Libraries are reluctant to digitize new bestsellers and other books still in copyright, or roughly anything published after 1923. But there remains a vast trove of classic books, government documents, historical papers and other material not covered by copyright that libraries can scan without fear of litigation. Many of these digital books and documents can be searched, read and even downloaded free.
"It's a phenomenal boom," said Paul LeClerc, president and chief executive of the New York Public Library, which has an online repository of more than 700,000 digital images — including early American maps, photographs, books and historical documents — that attracts visitors from 230 countries every month. "It liberates our collections in a way that would have been inconceivable before."
Smaller libraries with unique collections are going digital too. At the Conjuring Arts Research Center, a dimly lighted magic library in New York, magician and librarian William Kalush has been working to scan in the entire collection, including 12,000 magic books dating to the 15th century.
"It sounds ridiculous," he said, "but we want to digitize everything in the magic domain."
Still, the universal digital library, where users anywhere can access any book, movie or album, is years away.
One hurdle is money. Many public library administrators say they don't have the funds to make a full-scale conversion to digital books and related equipment, including e-readers that could be lent to patrons.
Piracy concerns have also limited the supply of popular new titles. None of the bestselling " Harry Potter" books, for example, is available in a digital version. Publishers and some authors are concerned that books, once online, can easily be copied and shared without authorization.
In other cases, such as the new Jonathan Franzen bestseller "Freedom," the book is available to consumers as an e-book, but the publisher does not offer electronic versions to libraries. The book's publisher, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux., declined to comment on whether piracy concerns affected its decision to hold the digital version of "Freedom" out of libraries.
Libraries have been building their digital collections by stocking electronic versions of century-old classics not covered by copyright and so-called back-catalog books unlikely to appeal to book pirates, including an array of "how-to" and other nonfiction titles. But when it comes to bestsellers, the digital cupboard is often bare.
"What the libraries are worried about is being sued," said Peter Jaszi, a professor of copyright law at American University's Washington College of Law.
Until recently, the threat of a lawsuit by publishers was a "hypothetical concern" for libraries, Jaszi said. Noting that libraries are among the largest purchasers of books and other media, he said, "Generally it's bad business to sue your best customers."
That changed in 2008, when a group of publishers, including Cambridge University Press, sued library officials at Georgia State University for making digital copies of course materials, often from copyright-protected library books, available to students. The case is awaiting trial in federal court.
Legal worries have discouraged libraries from making and lending digital copies of many printed books they already own.
A few companies, like OverDrive Inc., offer a service that allows libraries to buy digital copies of some books. Once users download the digital copy to a PC, they have three weeks until the book deletes itself, at which point another patron can download it.
But OverDrive has a limited selection, and because e-books are often wrapped in proprietary software to prevent copying, the company's books can be read on some electronic readers but not others.
If libraries are mainly staying clear of the uphill battle to change copyright law, Google isn't. Since 2004, the company has scanned more than 10 million books from dozens of libraries around the world. Many of those books are under copyright, but Google wants to be able to share them anyway, including with libraries.
Publishers and authors initially rejected the idea and in 2005 sued Google for making unauthorized copies. But after three years of litigation, the two sides crafted a settlement that would allow publishers to sell books through Google and give libraries and users instant access to huge numbers of books that have long been out of print but are still legally protected.
The settlement has been opposed by many authors, legal scholars and booksellers, who fear it could give Google too much power over the market for digital books. The 2-year-old pact is under review by a federal court in New York.
Some in the library community worry that libraries could be wiped out by the same technological revolution that threatens video rental, music and book stores, whose wares can now be downloaded in a fraction of the time it takes to drive three blocks and find a parking space.
In response, public libraries in particular are looking to become more like community centers.
At Rangeview in Colorado, visitors can help cultivate the library's garden, take classes on how to use Facebook or attend "Harry Potter"-themed rock concerts on the library floor.
Alejandra Delacruz, 11, sat in front of a large-screen Apple iMac in the children's section recently. "I come here twice a week to do my homework," she said, switching among Facebook, YouTube and a text file with some written notes.
In Charlotte, N.C., the library district built a separate complex, the Imaginon, with digital equipment that children and teens can use to make blue-screen movies, stop-motion animations and rap songs.
Those who spent their childhood reading "Treasure Island" and "Ramona" in a quiet corner of the stacks may resist the idea that libraries could become frenetic workshops. But advocates say equipping libraries with tools for digital creation may be one way to help young people interact with history and literature in a familiar medium.
"That's how a culture reproduces itself," said Anne Balsamo, a professor of interactive media at USC. "It doesn't just make things up willy-nilly, but it also takes time to look back and discover the ways things were done in the past. So yes to rap music and yes to turn-of-the-century poetry."
david.sarno@latimes.com
ABOUT THIS STORY
This is the third in a series of occasional articles exploring how technology is changing libraries, the publishing industry and the experience of reading. Previous articles, video reviews of e-book readers and e-book applications, and a slide show on the evolution of books are available at http://www.latimes.com/reading.
from: LA Times
by: David Sarno
 |
| Pam Sandlian-Smith, director of the Rangeview, Colo., Library District, says, "It's very common for people to say, 'Why do I need a library when I've got a computer?' We have to reframe what the library means to the community." (David Sarno / Los Angeles Times) |
"Shhh," it says, "is a four-letter word."
That spirit of bookish defiance has guided the makeover of the suburban Denver library system where DeGrego works. Reference desks and study carrels have been replaced by rooms where kids can play Guitar Hero. Overdue book fines have been eliminated, and the arcane Dewey Decimal System has been scrapped in favor of bookstore-like sections organized by topic.
"It's very common for people to say, 'Why do I need a library when I've got a computer?' " said Pam Sandlian-Smith, director of the seven-branch Rangeview, Colo., Library District. "We have to reframe what the library means to the community."
In the struggle to stay relevant — and ultimately to stay open — libraries are reinventing themselves in ways unimaginable even a few years ago, preparing for a future in which most materials can be checked and read from a home computer, smart phone or electronic reading device.
University and public libraries are rushing to push as much material as they can onto the Web, so patrons can peruse genealogical records, historical maps or rare volumes without leaving home.
Many public libraries are also becoming digital activity centers, where in addition to books visitors can find game rooms, computer clusters or Internet cafes. Collections of DVDs have swelled, as has the number of high-definition televisions.
Some traditional librarians worry that experiments aimed at making libraries more accessible could dumb them down.
"If you want to have game rooms and pingpong tables and God knows what — poker parties — fine, do it, but don't pretend it has anything to do with libraries," said Michael Gorman, a former president of the American Library Assn. "The argument that all these young people would turn up to play video games and think, 'Oh by the way, I must borrow that book by Dostoyevsky' — it seems ludicrous to me."
Others argue that reinvention is a matter of survival in an age when Google Inc. has made the reference desk almost obsolete and printed books are beginning to look more like antique collectibles.
The number of books checked out by the average public library user dropped nearly 6% between 1997 and 2007, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Book checkouts at the New York Public Library alone plunged by 1 million volumes in the most recent fiscal year.
At the 540,000-square-foot Central Library in downtown Los Angeles — the largest public research library west of the Mississippi — few visitors wander the main floors where most of the building's 2 million books are kept. At wooden reading tables, only a handful of people sit paging through newspapers.
But down the escalator it's a different story. The 70-seat computer center is often packed as patrons read news, watch YouTube videos and scour the Web for jobs.
In the last fiscal year, the library system's patrons checked out 102,000 e-books, more than twice as many as in the previous year. The number is on track to nearly double again in 2010.
Like regular books, e-books can be borrowed for a few weeks. Then the book deletes itself from the borrower's computer, e-reader or mobile phone.
E-book collections at U.S. libraries grew nearly 60% between 2005 and 2008, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. During the same period libraries' print collections grew less than 1%, though ink-on-paper works still make up 98% of U.S. libraries' holdings.
Joan Frye Williams, a library consultant and futurist, believes that the underlying purpose of libraries will not change, even if bookshelves disappear.
"Saying that there's a challenge to libraries because books are changing would be like saying there's a challenge to family dinner because plates are changing," she said.
Digital technology is also allowing libraries to digitize large swaths of their collections, creating a virtual library accessible from any computer.
Libraries are leading the effort to scan centuries' worth of rare, unique and fragile materials as varied as medieval religious manuscripts and antique phone books — whatever they've been keeping in the basement.
Libraries are reluctant to digitize new bestsellers and other books still in copyright, or roughly anything published after 1923. But there remains a vast trove of classic books, government documents, historical papers and other material not covered by copyright that libraries can scan without fear of litigation. Many of these digital books and documents can be searched, read and even downloaded free.
"It's a phenomenal boom," said Paul LeClerc, president and chief executive of the New York Public Library, which has an online repository of more than 700,000 digital images — including early American maps, photographs, books and historical documents — that attracts visitors from 230 countries every month. "It liberates our collections in a way that would have been inconceivable before."
Smaller libraries with unique collections are going digital too. At the Conjuring Arts Research Center, a dimly lighted magic library in New York, magician and librarian William Kalush has been working to scan in the entire collection, including 12,000 magic books dating to the 15th century.
"It sounds ridiculous," he said, "but we want to digitize everything in the magic domain."
Still, the universal digital library, where users anywhere can access any book, movie or album, is years away.
One hurdle is money. Many public library administrators say they don't have the funds to make a full-scale conversion to digital books and related equipment, including e-readers that could be lent to patrons.
Piracy concerns have also limited the supply of popular new titles. None of the bestselling " Harry Potter" books, for example, is available in a digital version. Publishers and some authors are concerned that books, once online, can easily be copied and shared without authorization.
In other cases, such as the new Jonathan Franzen bestseller "Freedom," the book is available to consumers as an e-book, but the publisher does not offer electronic versions to libraries. The book's publisher, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux., declined to comment on whether piracy concerns affected its decision to hold the digital version of "Freedom" out of libraries.
Libraries have been building their digital collections by stocking electronic versions of century-old classics not covered by copyright and so-called back-catalog books unlikely to appeal to book pirates, including an array of "how-to" and other nonfiction titles. But when it comes to bestsellers, the digital cupboard is often bare.
"What the libraries are worried about is being sued," said Peter Jaszi, a professor of copyright law at American University's Washington College of Law.
Until recently, the threat of a lawsuit by publishers was a "hypothetical concern" for libraries, Jaszi said. Noting that libraries are among the largest purchasers of books and other media, he said, "Generally it's bad business to sue your best customers."
That changed in 2008, when a group of publishers, including Cambridge University Press, sued library officials at Georgia State University for making digital copies of course materials, often from copyright-protected library books, available to students. The case is awaiting trial in federal court.
Legal worries have discouraged libraries from making and lending digital copies of many printed books they already own.
A few companies, like OverDrive Inc., offer a service that allows libraries to buy digital copies of some books. Once users download the digital copy to a PC, they have three weeks until the book deletes itself, at which point another patron can download it.
But OverDrive has a limited selection, and because e-books are often wrapped in proprietary software to prevent copying, the company's books can be read on some electronic readers but not others.
If libraries are mainly staying clear of the uphill battle to change copyright law, Google isn't. Since 2004, the company has scanned more than 10 million books from dozens of libraries around the world. Many of those books are under copyright, but Google wants to be able to share them anyway, including with libraries.
Publishers and authors initially rejected the idea and in 2005 sued Google for making unauthorized copies. But after three years of litigation, the two sides crafted a settlement that would allow publishers to sell books through Google and give libraries and users instant access to huge numbers of books that have long been out of print but are still legally protected.
The settlement has been opposed by many authors, legal scholars and booksellers, who fear it could give Google too much power over the market for digital books. The 2-year-old pact is under review by a federal court in New York.
Some in the library community worry that libraries could be wiped out by the same technological revolution that threatens video rental, music and book stores, whose wares can now be downloaded in a fraction of the time it takes to drive three blocks and find a parking space.
In response, public libraries in particular are looking to become more like community centers.
At Rangeview in Colorado, visitors can help cultivate the library's garden, take classes on how to use Facebook or attend "Harry Potter"-themed rock concerts on the library floor.
Alejandra Delacruz, 11, sat in front of a large-screen Apple iMac in the children's section recently. "I come here twice a week to do my homework," she said, switching among Facebook, YouTube and a text file with some written notes.
In Charlotte, N.C., the library district built a separate complex, the Imaginon, with digital equipment that children and teens can use to make blue-screen movies, stop-motion animations and rap songs.
Those who spent their childhood reading "Treasure Island" and "Ramona" in a quiet corner of the stacks may resist the idea that libraries could become frenetic workshops. But advocates say equipping libraries with tools for digital creation may be one way to help young people interact with history and literature in a familiar medium.
"That's how a culture reproduces itself," said Anne Balsamo, a professor of interactive media at USC. "It doesn't just make things up willy-nilly, but it also takes time to look back and discover the ways things were done in the past. So yes to rap music and yes to turn-of-the-century poetry."
david.sarno@latimes.com
ABOUT THIS STORY
This is the third in a series of occasional articles exploring how technology is changing libraries, the publishing industry and the experience of reading. Previous articles, video reviews of e-book readers and e-book applications, and a slide show on the evolution of books are available at http://www.latimes.com/reading.
from: LA Times
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Indie Swiss Pubs Promote Books on Juice Bottle Labels
by: Siobhan O'Leary
An association of independent Swiss publishers known as Swips is juicing up its marketing activities on behalf of its members. Literally.
Founded three years ago, the organization is now teaming up with organic smoothie producer Traktor to launch an unconventional new campaign giving its 22 member publishers the opportunity to feature poems, book excerpts or very short stories on the back of Traktor juice bottle labels. There will be 32 different labels in total and they will be numbered for the benefit of potential collectors.
Authors featured will include Werner Bucher, Franz Dodel, Katharina Faber, Felicitas Hoppe, Sandra Hughes, Francesco Micieli and Gerold Späth and the texts will appear in Bernese German, standard German or French.
This is only the start of the association’s refreshing attempts to amplify the voices of independent Swiss publishers. According to Buchreport, the publishers will also join forces with the Swiss Tourist Board to organise a series of literary/culinary events that will take place in some of Switzerland’s luxury hotels next summer.
from: Publishing Perspectives
An association of independent Swiss publishers known as Swips is juicing up its marketing activities on behalf of its members. Literally.
Founded three years ago, the organization is now teaming up with organic smoothie producer Traktor to launch an unconventional new campaign giving its 22 member publishers the opportunity to feature poems, book excerpts or very short stories on the back of Traktor juice bottle labels. There will be 32 different labels in total and they will be numbered for the benefit of potential collectors.
Authors featured will include Werner Bucher, Franz Dodel, Katharina Faber, Felicitas Hoppe, Sandra Hughes, Francesco Micieli and Gerold Späth and the texts will appear in Bernese German, standard German or French.
This is only the start of the association’s refreshing attempts to amplify the voices of independent Swiss publishers. According to Buchreport, the publishers will also join forces with the Swiss Tourist Board to organise a series of literary/culinary events that will take place in some of Switzerland’s luxury hotels next summer.
from: Publishing Perspectives
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Cambridge University Press Donates 100,000 Books to African Schools
by: Maryann Yin
Cambridge University Press will donate 100,000 books to schools in 12 sub-Saharan African countries through a partnership with the nonprofit organization, Book Aid International.
The press release reports: “School libraries in Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia (Puntland, Somaliland), Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe will each receive 50-100 new and unused copies of each book donated, ensuring that whole classrooms of school children will be able to learn from them. Cambridge University Press has supported Book Aid International for a number of years, but this is the largest single donation to date.”
Since its inception, Book Aid International has supplied 30 million books to developing countries. Every year, approximately 500,000 books are collected and given to sub-Saharan Africa and Palestinian territories.
from: GalleyCat
Cambridge University Press will donate 100,000 books to schools in 12 sub-Saharan African countries through a partnership with the nonprofit organization, Book Aid International.
The press release reports: “School libraries in Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia (Puntland, Somaliland), Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe will each receive 50-100 new and unused copies of each book donated, ensuring that whole classrooms of school children will be able to learn from them. Cambridge University Press has supported Book Aid International for a number of years, but this is the largest single donation to date.”
Since its inception, Book Aid International has supplied 30 million books to developing countries. Every year, approximately 500,000 books are collected and given to sub-Saharan Africa and Palestinian territories.
from: GalleyCat
Monday, November 15, 2010
Fable maker to target youth e-book market
 |
| Isabella Products has teamed up with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to display titles in color. (Isabella Products) |
by: Hiawatha Bray
Amazon.com is making a fortune selling electronic books, presumably to adults. Now, Concord start-up company Isabella Products Inc. and Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are planning to cash in on an untapped market: e-books for children.
Next summer, Isabella will introduce the Fable, a combination tablet computer and e-book reader aimed at children. Unlike the black-and-white screen found on Amazon.com’s popular Kindle e-reader, the Fable will feature a full-color, 7-inch touchscreen that can display the colorful illustrations found in most children’s titles.
“Today there’s very, very little children’s digital illustrated content, “said Isabella chief executive Matthew Growney. “There’s now a way to bring this content into your child’s backpack.’’
Cheryl Cramer Toto, Houghton Mifflin’s senior vice president of digital strategy and planning, said an inexpensive color e-reader would open up a vast new audience of younger readers. “There is a real market need out there for a kids’ color tablet,’’ Toto said.
The Fable will run a customized version of Google Inc.’s Android operating system, the same software found on many cellphones. And like the Kindle, it will connect wirelessly to the Internet through a cellular data network. Each Fable will come preloaded with several titles from Houghton Mifflin’s large library of children’s books, but parents can use the network to download new books to the device. Titles are expected to cost between 99 cents and $3.99.
Growney said Houghton Mifflin isn’t the only children’s book publisher with an interest in producing books for the Fable. “We have right now four other publishers signed up,’’ he said, but he declined to identify them.
The Fable will be more than an e-reader. Like Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet, it will be able to run software apps such as educational games. It will include a drawing program to let users make digital sketches, and a four-megapixel digital camera. Users can share drawings and photos via e-mail. But the Fable tablet’s privacy software lets children communicate only with people who have been approved by their parents. “There’s a lot on the Internet that you don’t want kids accessing,’’ said Toto.
Growney hopes to price the Fable between $149 and $179, with an additional fee for the cellular data service. Isabella already makes Vizit, a digital picture frame that gets new photos through a cellular connection. The Vizit data service costs $5 a month or $79 a year, and Growney said he’s considering the same price for the Fable data service.
Americans bought $3.2 billion of children’s and young adult hardcover and paperback books last year, according to the Association of American Publishers. Nobody has tracked the number of children’s e-book sales, but Allen Weiner, e-book market analyst at Gartner Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz., said the number is small, because early black-and-white devices aren’t suitable for many such books.
But a wave of new color readers is making an impact. Weiner cited Apple’s iPad and the new color version of the Nook e-reader from bookseller Barnes & Noble. “The opportunity for kid’s books has suddenly erupted,’’ Weiner said.
from: Boston Globe
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Commentary: Technological and economic shifts have only made libraries more valuable
by: Roberta Stevens
Today's challenging economy demands strategic investments. While the job market continues to recover, one of the best uses of public and private funds is to help ensure that people are digitally literate and are improving their employment skills.
Increasingly, the local public library serves as the community technology hub for training, digital literacy and, yes, even books.
While some believed the Internet might retire the library, the reverse has occurred. Over the past decade, libraries have embraced technology resources, and library visits and circulation have grown by 20 percent. The recession has only increased the demands on the public library.
Yet providing the full range of services to the public is possible only when libraries remain open. Locally, fiscal 2011 funding cuts have led to reduced staff and services and fewer operational hours in libraries in Arlington, Fairfax and Montgomery counties and the District.
As businesses in the D.C. area know, increasingly employment and government information is online -- and sometimes online only. Libraries open doors for millions of Americans who may lack Internet access or the skills to survive and thrive online. Sixty-seven percent of libraries, in fact, report helping library patrons apply for jobs online last year.
The 2010 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study conducted by the American Library Association and the Center for Library & Information Innovation at the University of Maryland found that in two-thirds of U.S. communities, public libraries offer the only free public access to computers and the Internet. Maryland and Virginia libraries report similar percentages statewide.
Libraries in the region are complementing access with vital technology training. Virtually all Maryland and D.C. public libraries provide formal or informal training, as do 91 percent of Virginia libraries. Helping people with a variety of things from office software to online job searching, libraries are helping to create a more competitive workforce with the skills needed to navigate the 21st century workplace.
In site visits associated with the national study, it became clear that entrepreneurs also are power users of library technology. With more than 82 percent of public libraries providing free WiFi, many small-business people and travelers turn to their libraries as a satellite home office. In addition, libraries are investing in robust digital collections, including online business and investing resources such as RefUSA, Morningstar and the Wall Street Journal, which are available in most area libraries free with a library card.
Maryland, Virginia and D.C. public libraries top national averages in nearly every category -- including available computers and WiFi, Internet speeds and available Internet services. And a $1.5 million federal stimulus broadband grant will allow the D.C. Public Library to further improve its services by enhancing Internet speeds and increasing the number of computers.
Here's a message to elected leaders as they balance budgets: Today's libraries are an essential service and provide resources to ensure a competitive workforce.
All of us -- parents, families, seniors and businesses large or small -- must speak up to keep libraries open and available. The time to act is now: Phone or e-mail local officials supporting libraries and become a "friend of" your library.
The resources in your local library have the power to change the world; but the doors must be kept open.
Roberta Stevens is president of the American Library Association.
from: Washington Post
Today's challenging economy demands strategic investments. While the job market continues to recover, one of the best uses of public and private funds is to help ensure that people are digitally literate and are improving their employment skills.
Increasingly, the local public library serves as the community technology hub for training, digital literacy and, yes, even books.
While some believed the Internet might retire the library, the reverse has occurred. Over the past decade, libraries have embraced technology resources, and library visits and circulation have grown by 20 percent. The recession has only increased the demands on the public library.
Yet providing the full range of services to the public is possible only when libraries remain open. Locally, fiscal 2011 funding cuts have led to reduced staff and services and fewer operational hours in libraries in Arlington, Fairfax and Montgomery counties and the District.
As businesses in the D.C. area know, increasingly employment and government information is online -- and sometimes online only. Libraries open doors for millions of Americans who may lack Internet access or the skills to survive and thrive online. Sixty-seven percent of libraries, in fact, report helping library patrons apply for jobs online last year.
The 2010 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study conducted by the American Library Association and the Center for Library & Information Innovation at the University of Maryland found that in two-thirds of U.S. communities, public libraries offer the only free public access to computers and the Internet. Maryland and Virginia libraries report similar percentages statewide.
Libraries in the region are complementing access with vital technology training. Virtually all Maryland and D.C. public libraries provide formal or informal training, as do 91 percent of Virginia libraries. Helping people with a variety of things from office software to online job searching, libraries are helping to create a more competitive workforce with the skills needed to navigate the 21st century workplace.
In site visits associated with the national study, it became clear that entrepreneurs also are power users of library technology. With more than 82 percent of public libraries providing free WiFi, many small-business people and travelers turn to their libraries as a satellite home office. In addition, libraries are investing in robust digital collections, including online business and investing resources such as RefUSA, Morningstar and the Wall Street Journal, which are available in most area libraries free with a library card.
Maryland, Virginia and D.C. public libraries top national averages in nearly every category -- including available computers and WiFi, Internet speeds and available Internet services. And a $1.5 million federal stimulus broadband grant will allow the D.C. Public Library to further improve its services by enhancing Internet speeds and increasing the number of computers.
Here's a message to elected leaders as they balance budgets: Today's libraries are an essential service and provide resources to ensure a competitive workforce.
All of us -- parents, families, seniors and businesses large or small -- must speak up to keep libraries open and available. The time to act is now: Phone or e-mail local officials supporting libraries and become a "friend of" your library.
The resources in your local library have the power to change the world; but the doors must be kept open.
Roberta Stevens is president of the American Library Association.
from: Washington Post
Saturday, November 13, 2010
ISBNs and E-books: The Ongoing Dilemma
• Should publishers assign a unique ISBN for each e-book format of each title they publish, and what are the implications either way?
• There is no consensus of what is the best practice, but one thing is clear: you need to make the decision yourself and not leave it up to someone else.
By: Erik Christopher
ST. CLOUD, MN: As more people venture into the e-book world, they inevitably come across a question they need to answer: Should I assign an ISBN to my e-book? But before we answer this first question, let’s look at why it’s important to designate a new ISBN for an e-book in the first place.
There are many reasons for using a unique identifier for an e-book. It helps with discoverability and allows you to separate out the different formats of the title, which in turn allows you as a publisher or writer to see how it is doing in various channels. The ability to measure the success rate of each e-book format for any given title is paramount to good marketing. The ISBN also gives you control over your title and your content. If you let someone else assign an identification number to your content, you lose that control, both in terms of quality and ownership.
Much of the debate about ISBNs and e-books stems from the use of the word “format.” The question being, when is an e-book in one format, say ePUB, no longer an ePUB? We know, for example, that a Kindle version is a new format, because it is no longer an ePUB file, but a unique version that will only work with Amazon’s software.
“A lot of it depends on where you will be submitting the e-book and who you will be working with for distribution,” says Laura Dawson, Content Chief and head of the Content Services group at Firebrand and co-chair of BISG’s Identification and Rights Committees.
Simply put, there are a variety of vendors and marketplaces selling e-books -– Apple, Amazon, Google (as soon as they come full force with it) Sony, B&N, Kobo and the list goes on. And some require ISBNs and some don’t care whether you have an ISBN attached or not.
Take Apple’s iBookstore, as just one example. If you submit your work to them directly -– they accept ePUB files –- they requires a 13-digit ISBN. They’ll add DRM to the e-book for you as well.
If you need to work in a different format, Apple suggests you go with one of their approved third part aggregators. These vary and they each may have their own stipulation for how to get the e-book to them. Smashwords works with the iBookstore to get your e-book there, but you have to start out with a Microsoft Word file and make sure it is formatted according to Smashwords’ specifications so they can convert into different formats.
“We currently only assign ISBNs to the ePUB format, since the retailers we distribute to who require ISBNs are taking our ePUBs,” says Bill Kendrick of Smashwords. “So, for example, if an author gives us an ISBN here at Smashwords, it will get attached to the ePUB that we generate here.”
Since Smashwords only accepts Word files, which limits the creative control a creator might have over his or her work, it essentially tosses the idea of an ISBN for every format out the window.
This doesn’t even go into all the other conversion houses and distributors out there that can get your e-book into all the aforementioned stores, and what they may require.
Next, consider this: what happens when you add a DRM layer on top of the original file, no matter the format? Does that signify a new creation of that work?
Again, let’s take an ePUB file for example. If you have the original ePUB file and you add DRM to it, is that another format and do you need a different ISBN for the DRM version and for the version without DRM?
Phil Madans, Director of Publishing Standards and Practices at Hachette Book Group, states: “In my opinion, which is also Hachette’s, no, it’s not a new format. The DRM is an anti-theft feature applied to the ePUB.”
Think of it as a bike lock on your e-book, it doesn’t change the bike really, just restricts what you can do with it. So, if you say that DRM is just a stop gap, then no new ISBN is needed. If you think it changes the e-book itself, then you may still want to consider one.
There are a variety of reasons to add the ISBN on your own as well, either as the author or publisher; one very important reason being that if you don’t assign an ISBN, the distributor could assign one for you, which could result in multiple ISBNs for the very same type of file (as sold through a wide variety of distribution channels). The bloat is likely to make collating and tracking sales data –- and thus looking at overall performance for a title — all the more complicated.
Though, as discussed here, there is no universal answer as to whether or not each format requires individual ISBNs, one thing is indeed clear: take control of the process. The worse thing you can do is lose control of your content or let another entity (whether conversion house, distributor or retailer) control the metadata and, accordingly, the invisible ties that bind you to your customers. Ceding too much control takes you out of the picture and makes this already complex situation all the more challenging.
• There is no consensus of what is the best practice, but one thing is clear: you need to make the decision yourself and not leave it up to someone else.
ST. CLOUD, MN: As more people venture into the e-book world, they inevitably come across a question they need to answer: Should I assign an ISBN to my e-book? But before we answer this first question, let’s look at why it’s important to designate a new ISBN for an e-book in the first place.
Much of the debate about ISBNs and e-books stems from the use of the word “format.” The question being, when is an e-book in one format, say ePUB, no longer an ePUB? We know, for example, that a Kindle version is a new format, because it is no longer an ePUB file, but a unique version that will only work with Amazon’s software.
“A lot of it depends on where you will be submitting the e-book and who you will be working with for distribution,” says Laura Dawson, Content Chief and head of the Content Services group at Firebrand and co-chair of BISG’s Identification and Rights Committees.
Simply put, there are a variety of vendors and marketplaces selling e-books -– Apple, Amazon, Google (as soon as they come full force with it) Sony, B&N, Kobo and the list goes on. And some require ISBNs and some don’t care whether you have an ISBN attached or not.
Take Apple’s iBookstore, as just one example. If you submit your work to them directly -– they accept ePUB files –- they requires a 13-digit ISBN. They’ll add DRM to the e-book for you as well.
If you need to work in a different format, Apple suggests you go with one of their approved third part aggregators. These vary and they each may have their own stipulation for how to get the e-book to them. Smashwords works with the iBookstore to get your e-book there, but you have to start out with a Microsoft Word file and make sure it is formatted according to Smashwords’ specifications so they can convert into different formats.
“We currently only assign ISBNs to the ePUB format, since the retailers we distribute to who require ISBNs are taking our ePUBs,” says Bill Kendrick of Smashwords. “So, for example, if an author gives us an ISBN here at Smashwords, it will get attached to the ePUB that we generate here.”
Since Smashwords only accepts Word files, which limits the creative control a creator might have over his or her work, it essentially tosses the idea of an ISBN for every format out the window.
This doesn’t even go into all the other conversion houses and distributors out there that can get your e-book into all the aforementioned stores, and what they may require.
Next, consider this: what happens when you add a DRM layer on top of the original file, no matter the format? Does that signify a new creation of that work?
Again, let’s take an ePUB file for example. If you have the original ePUB file and you add DRM to it, is that another format and do you need a different ISBN for the DRM version and for the version without DRM?
Phil Madans, Director of Publishing Standards and Practices at Hachette Book Group, states: “In my opinion, which is also Hachette’s, no, it’s not a new format. The DRM is an anti-theft feature applied to the ePUB.”
Think of it as a bike lock on your e-book, it doesn’t change the bike really, just restricts what you can do with it. So, if you say that DRM is just a stop gap, then no new ISBN is needed. If you think it changes the e-book itself, then you may still want to consider one.
There are a variety of reasons to add the ISBN on your own as well, either as the author or publisher; one very important reason being that if you don’t assign an ISBN, the distributor could assign one for you, which could result in multiple ISBNs for the very same type of file (as sold through a wide variety of distribution channels). The bloat is likely to make collating and tracking sales data –- and thus looking at overall performance for a title — all the more complicated.
Erik Christopher is owner of KC Educational Services, working as an independent publisher rep in the Midwest, and owner of Ugly Dog Digital, an all in one consulting, e-book conversion and sales company working with authors, publishers and libraries. Previously he was the National Sales Manager for North America at Blackwell, an academic library vendor for print and e-books. He is also Senior Advisor with Digital Publishing Partners. You can find him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and online at http://ebooknoir.wordpress.com/ and http://ebooknoir.tumblr.com/.
from: Publishing Perspectives
Friday, November 12, 2010
A Nook for Books, Underground
by: Corey Kilgannon
THEY call it the commuters’ secret, these denizens of the Terence Cardinal Cooke-Cathedral branch of the New York Public Library. It is located down a flight of stairs, just outside the turnstile entrance to the No. 6 train on the northwest corner of Lexington Avenue and 50th Street. The door is next to a MetroCard machine. There is no street-level sign announcing its existence.
“If you don’t take the train, you’d probably never even know this place exists,” said Eric Velasquez, 47, who commutes from the Parkchester section of the Bronx to an administrative job at a Midtown bank and stops by frequently. But the location is also a plus. “It’s second nature to return the book,” Mr. Velasquez said, “because you can’t help but pass the library every morning and evening when you’re getting the train.”
Then there are the people who assume the library is an outpost of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “They come in asking for help with the MetroCard machine,” said Anisha Huffman, the branch manager. “We do help them if we’re not too busy, and they also ask us for subway maps, so we keep a lot of them on hand.”
Before the branch opened in 1992, the space housed a library, dating to 1887, for the Archdiocese of New York.
At 2,100 square feet, it is the second smallest of the 90 branches in the New York system, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island (the Macombs Bridge Library in the Harlem River Houses is 700 square feet). It has little space for desktop computers, so there are 13 laptops. But the Cooke branch has the circulation activity of a much bigger library, officials said.
Ms. Huffman, who commutes on the No. 6 from Upper Manhattan, said the patron pool seemed to reflect the ridership of a typical downtown train in Manhattan: an extreme diversity of ethnicity, wealth, education and occupation. You have the rich and the poor, the soiled and the well scrubbed, all pushed together. The branch also sees tourists from Midtown hotels who check e-mail, print airplane tickets and ask touristy questions.
“It’s funny,” said Alvin Tulshi, a clerk at the library. “One question we get regularly is ‘Where’s the Barnes & Noble?’ ”
When the branch is packed at lunch, one can almost picture the place swaying between stops. Like subway riders, the patrons keep their heads down, focused on their own business, but they don’t brook much nonsense.
“Hey, can you keep it down — some people are trying to concentrate,” one patron barked at a reporter who was chatting with library employees and users. Others grunted support without looking up.
The mix of material is tailored to commuters: a decent selection of business books and lots of page-turning novels.
“Mostly, patrons don’t come here for serious research,” Ms. Huffman said. “A lot of them are looking to head home with books for their children or looking for leisure books.”
Melissa Britt, 48, who manages a messenger service nearby, said she enjoyed the clubbiness of the branch.
“You see the same people all the time,” Ms. Britt said. “You can’t find this place unless someone tells you about it.”
from: NY Times
THEY call it the commuters’ secret, these denizens of the Terence Cardinal Cooke-Cathedral branch of the New York Public Library. It is located down a flight of stairs, just outside the turnstile entrance to the No. 6 train on the northwest corner of Lexington Avenue and 50th Street. The door is next to a MetroCard machine. There is no street-level sign announcing its existence.
“If you don’t take the train, you’d probably never even know this place exists,” said Eric Velasquez, 47, who commutes from the Parkchester section of the Bronx to an administrative job at a Midtown bank and stops by frequently. But the location is also a plus. “It’s second nature to return the book,” Mr. Velasquez said, “because you can’t help but pass the library every morning and evening when you’re getting the train.”
Then there are the people who assume the library is an outpost of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “They come in asking for help with the MetroCard machine,” said Anisha Huffman, the branch manager. “We do help them if we’re not too busy, and they also ask us for subway maps, so we keep a lot of them on hand.”
Before the branch opened in 1992, the space housed a library, dating to 1887, for the Archdiocese of New York.
At 2,100 square feet, it is the second smallest of the 90 branches in the New York system, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island (the Macombs Bridge Library in the Harlem River Houses is 700 square feet). It has little space for desktop computers, so there are 13 laptops. But the Cooke branch has the circulation activity of a much bigger library, officials said.
Ms. Huffman, who commutes on the No. 6 from Upper Manhattan, said the patron pool seemed to reflect the ridership of a typical downtown train in Manhattan: an extreme diversity of ethnicity, wealth, education and occupation. You have the rich and the poor, the soiled and the well scrubbed, all pushed together. The branch also sees tourists from Midtown hotels who check e-mail, print airplane tickets and ask touristy questions.
“It’s funny,” said Alvin Tulshi, a clerk at the library. “One question we get regularly is ‘Where’s the Barnes & Noble?’ ”
When the branch is packed at lunch, one can almost picture the place swaying between stops. Like subway riders, the patrons keep their heads down, focused on their own business, but they don’t brook much nonsense.
“Hey, can you keep it down — some people are trying to concentrate,” one patron barked at a reporter who was chatting with library employees and users. Others grunted support without looking up.
The mix of material is tailored to commuters: a decent selection of business books and lots of page-turning novels.
“Mostly, patrons don’t come here for serious research,” Ms. Huffman said. “A lot of them are looking to head home with books for their children or looking for leisure books.”
Melissa Britt, 48, who manages a messenger service nearby, said she enjoyed the clubbiness of the branch.
“You see the same people all the time,” Ms. Britt said. “You can’t find this place unless someone tells you about it.”
from: NY Times
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Libraries around the world
Now we want to tell you about one of the world’s newest libraries in Bhutan. Bhutan is a tiny kingdom sandwiched between two giants — India and China. It’s also perched high in the Himalayas — isolated for much of its history.
by: Lisa Napoli
The village of Ura looks like it came out of a fairy tale a cluster of farmhouses in the midst of a valley of green. Most everyone here in this tiny community works the land. The children here represent the new, modern Bhutan: They’re learning to read, and in English.
So when a non-profit group announced it wanted to help the village start a library, the reaction was lukewarm. The library is only the second free lending library in the entire country. The other one is ten hours away in the capital Thimphu.
Kesang Choden came from there to help the villagers get the library up and running. She’s with the Bhutan office of the nonprofit group, Read Global. Choden says books aren’t the only thing in short supply in Ura.
“There’s just two stores, and those are grocery stores. You just get necessities. Like salt and oil. It’s very difficult for them to even get a pencil. Very difficult.”
Choden says some parents were worried by the idea that their kids would borrow books to take home. They were afraid the children might destroy them, and they’d have to pay. The sad part is that the parents here maybe because they’re illiterate don’t see the importance of a book. They don’t encourage their children to read. That’s the sad thing, right?
The closest high school is two hours away, and many kids, especially girls, drop out after tenth grade. Two local young women have been hired by Read Bhutan as librarians. They’re getting a crash course in the Dewey Decimal system as they stack a new shipment of books on the shelves.
On this Saturday, after the usual half day at school, fifty kids are crammed in here, reading, helping each other, and clambering to get onto one of six computers. Even though they can’t get on the Internet yet, they’re excited to be able to play with technology they don’t have at home.
Karma Jurmin, a father of two, says just having the computers is good for the entire community.
“We want to educate them with computers, new techniques, so you don’t get kicked out from urban places, saying, this guy is a rural man, he’s a farmer,” he says.
Jurmin says even though many of the parents initially expressed misgivings, they’re starting to embrace the new library. One seventy year old Ura resident stopped in, hoping to learn how to type in Bhutan’s national language, Dzongkha.
And other elders have been trickling in. Mostly, though, it’s kids who pack this place every day.
When we read more, we learn more, no? The children of Ura are so excited about the library that the staff is putting in extra hours. Kesang Choden doesn’t seem to mind:
“The kids are here till six, and we say we have to go, and they say, please ma’am, and you can’t say no?” Choden said. “So you’re here till six-thirty. Isn’t that amazing?”
Read Global hopes to open several libraries in other villages across the country by the end of the year.
from: PRI's The World
by: Lisa Napoli
The village of Ura looks like it came out of a fairy tale a cluster of farmhouses in the midst of a valley of green. Most everyone here in this tiny community works the land. The children here represent the new, modern Bhutan: They’re learning to read, and in English.
So when a non-profit group announced it wanted to help the village start a library, the reaction was lukewarm. The library is only the second free lending library in the entire country. The other one is ten hours away in the capital Thimphu.
Kesang Choden came from there to help the villagers get the library up and running. She’s with the Bhutan office of the nonprofit group, Read Global. Choden says books aren’t the only thing in short supply in Ura.
“There’s just two stores, and those are grocery stores. You just get necessities. Like salt and oil. It’s very difficult for them to even get a pencil. Very difficult.”
Choden says some parents were worried by the idea that their kids would borrow books to take home. They were afraid the children might destroy them, and they’d have to pay. The sad part is that the parents here maybe because they’re illiterate don’t see the importance of a book. They don’t encourage their children to read. That’s the sad thing, right?
The closest high school is two hours away, and many kids, especially girls, drop out after tenth grade. Two local young women have been hired by Read Bhutan as librarians. They’re getting a crash course in the Dewey Decimal system as they stack a new shipment of books on the shelves.
On this Saturday, after the usual half day at school, fifty kids are crammed in here, reading, helping each other, and clambering to get onto one of six computers. Even though they can’t get on the Internet yet, they’re excited to be able to play with technology they don’t have at home.
Karma Jurmin, a father of two, says just having the computers is good for the entire community.
“We want to educate them with computers, new techniques, so you don’t get kicked out from urban places, saying, this guy is a rural man, he’s a farmer,” he says.
Jurmin says even though many of the parents initially expressed misgivings, they’re starting to embrace the new library. One seventy year old Ura resident stopped in, hoping to learn how to type in Bhutan’s national language, Dzongkha.
And other elders have been trickling in. Mostly, though, it’s kids who pack this place every day.
When we read more, we learn more, no? The children of Ura are so excited about the library that the staff is putting in extra hours. Kesang Choden doesn’t seem to mind:
“The kids are here till six, and we say we have to go, and they say, please ma’am, and you can’t say no?” Choden said. “So you’re here till six-thirty. Isn’t that amazing?”
Read Global hopes to open several libraries in other villages across the country by the end of the year.
from: PRI's The World
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Web sites go beyond Wikipedia
Yes, Students, there's a world beyond Wikipedia
by: Karen All Culotta
For parents with fond memories of the Dewey Decimal System, library card catalogs and thumbing through their family's World Book Encyclopedia, it can come as a shock to discover that their own children's research habits often begin and end with a quick click on Wikipedia.
Heather Moorefield-Lang, the education and social-sciences librarian at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., and a former middle school librarian, is aware of the frustration both parents and educators experience when students limit their research efforts to Google and Wikipedia, when a wealth of online tools are at their fingertips, many free of charge.
"We all struggle to find the best tools to find information, and to present information," said Moorefield-Lang, a member of the American Association of School Librarians' task force assigned to study the best educational Web sites for kindergarten through 12th grade. The group has posted this year's Top 25 Web sites for Teaching and Learning on the American Library Association's site (ala.org).
With roughly 100 nominations, the task force selected the winners based on credibility, ease of use, interactivity and affordability. They run the gamut from content resources, such as the National Archives Digital Classroom (archives.gov/education/index.html), to curriculum-sharing sites like the Jason Project (jason.org/public/whatis/start.aspx), National Science Digital Library (nsdl.org) and Exploratree (exploratree.org.uk).
"We know that in these economic times, families and schools don't have extra money to spend, so we prefer if the sites offer their content for free," said Moorefield-Lang, who offers snapshots of her favorite sites:.
Kindergarten – fifth grade
Professor Garfield (professorgarfield.org): "(It) is lots of fun, and great for writing stories, comic strips, and even for math and science projects."
International Children's Digital Library (en.childrenslibrary.org): "A wonderful tool, with 3,400 books, in 54 different languages."
Middle and high school
Museum Box (museumbox.e2bn.org): "I'm very fond of this Web site, which allows students to chat, and to create virtual 'boxes' that they can fill with text or video clips."
Live Binders (livebinders.com): "Virtual binders where you can store Web pages. It's really slick."
Prezi (prezi.com): "I love this Web site, which is like PowerPoint kicked up a notch. A really nifty presentation tool."
Debategraph (debategraph.org): "This Web site is a virtual graphic organizer, where students can collaborate and organize their debates and presentations."
Scratch (scratch.mit.edu): "This Web site is great for students between the ages of 8 and 16, and offers a multimedia tool to design graphics with sound to create a video game."
from: Chicago Tribune
by: Karen All Culotta
For parents with fond memories of the Dewey Decimal System, library card catalogs and thumbing through their family's World Book Encyclopedia, it can come as a shock to discover that their own children's research habits often begin and end with a quick click on Wikipedia.
Heather Moorefield-Lang, the education and social-sciences librarian at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., and a former middle school librarian, is aware of the frustration both parents and educators experience when students limit their research efforts to Google and Wikipedia, when a wealth of online tools are at their fingertips, many free of charge.
"We all struggle to find the best tools to find information, and to present information," said Moorefield-Lang, a member of the American Association of School Librarians' task force assigned to study the best educational Web sites for kindergarten through 12th grade. The group has posted this year's Top 25 Web sites for Teaching and Learning on the American Library Association's site (ala.org).
With roughly 100 nominations, the task force selected the winners based on credibility, ease of use, interactivity and affordability. They run the gamut from content resources, such as the National Archives Digital Classroom (archives.gov/education/index.html), to curriculum-sharing sites like the Jason Project (jason.org/public/whatis/start.aspx), National Science Digital Library (nsdl.org) and Exploratree (exploratree.org.uk).
"We know that in these economic times, families and schools don't have extra money to spend, so we prefer if the sites offer their content for free," said Moorefield-Lang, who offers snapshots of her favorite sites:.
Kindergarten – fifth grade
Professor Garfield (professorgarfield.org): "(It) is lots of fun, and great for writing stories, comic strips, and even for math and science projects."
International Children's Digital Library (en.childrenslibrary.org): "A wonderful tool, with 3,400 books, in 54 different languages."
Middle and high school
Museum Box (museumbox.e2bn.org): "I'm very fond of this Web site, which allows students to chat, and to create virtual 'boxes' that they can fill with text or video clips."
Live Binders (livebinders.com): "Virtual binders where you can store Web pages. It's really slick."
Prezi (prezi.com): "I love this Web site, which is like PowerPoint kicked up a notch. A really nifty presentation tool."
Debategraph (debategraph.org): "This Web site is a virtual graphic organizer, where students can collaborate and organize their debates and presentations."
Scratch (scratch.mit.edu): "This Web site is great for students between the ages of 8 and 16, and offers a multimedia tool to design graphics with sound to create a video game."
from: Chicago Tribune
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
James Bond novels go digital, cutting out Penguin
The books industry could lose out on millions of pounds because publishers have failed to sign up the digital rights to authors, who are expected to bypass traditional publishing houses in favour of Amazon or Google.
by: Harry Wallop
The fears were raised after the estate of Ian Fleming announced that all the Bond novels are to be made available as e-books in the UK for the first time this week. But they are not being released by the author's print publisher Penguin.
Industry insiders suggested that blockbusting authors including JK Rowling, Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie would be looking at the deal closely.
The digital versions of the 007 books will be published by Ian Fleming Publications, which administers the rights to the Bond books. The 14 titles, including Dr No, Moonraker, and Diamonds Are Forever, will launch on November 4, and will be made available via online e-booksellers such as Amazon.co.uk and Waterstone.com.
The deal has come about because Penguin did not own the digital rights to the Bond novels – a concept that was never considered when Ian Fleming was writing.
There are many authors still working that have not signed away the digital rights to their books, allowing them to cut out their traditional publisher if they chose to. Agents said they had grown increasingly irritated by the low royalty rates offered by publishers for digital rights.
Philip Jones, the deputy editor of The Bookseller, the industry publication, said: “This has big implications for the established publishing houses, which are already under threat from internet retailers, who are pricing very aggressively.
“They could be missing out on millions of pounds worth of revenue in the future because they never signed up the digital rights to their authors. There are also issues around new books, with publishers insistent that digital rights have to be included as part of any deal, otherwise they could end up paying for all the marketing, while the upstart owner of the digital rights reaps the benefits.”
Earlier this year Booker winner Ian McEwan signed an exclusive deal through Amazon.com for the digital rights to his back catalogue, while in the US one literary agent has attempted to set up his own digital publishing business for those authors, including Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie, whose digital rights were unassigned.
Over 100 million Bond books have been sold since they were first published in the 1950s, with the books continuing to sell in the 100,000s each year. The Bond license is worth about £3m a year to IFP, but any deal over the Harry Potter rights would easily dwarf that. Bloomsbury, which bought the seven-part series in 1995, did not secure the digital rights at the time.
Neil Blair, partner at the Christopher Little Agency, which represents Rowling, said the agency was still in the "determining phase" of how to release the Harry Potter books digitally, but said the agency hoped to have something to announce before the final film was released in July next year.
He described the Bond news as interesting, and did not rule out discussions with Amazon or Google over the rights: "We are talking with everyone. What we've got to try and do is come up with an arrangement that suits everybody, and which makes the e-books available to as many people as possible globally."
Corinne Turner, the managing director of Ian Fleming Publications, said the deal was the best one for the Bond brand: "We are not taking on the publishers, we are just looking after the rights that we have. We have very good partnerships with the print publishers and will continue to do so." She added: "Fleming loved good, new technology, and I am sure he would have been thrilled by the idea of his books being available electronically.”
from: Telegraph
by: Harry Wallop
The fears were raised after the estate of Ian Fleming announced that all the Bond novels are to be made available as e-books in the UK for the first time this week. But they are not being released by the author's print publisher Penguin.
Industry insiders suggested that blockbusting authors including JK Rowling, Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie would be looking at the deal closely.
The digital versions of the 007 books will be published by Ian Fleming Publications, which administers the rights to the Bond books. The 14 titles, including Dr No, Moonraker, and Diamonds Are Forever, will launch on November 4, and will be made available via online e-booksellers such as Amazon.co.uk and Waterstone.com.
The deal has come about because Penguin did not own the digital rights to the Bond novels – a concept that was never considered when Ian Fleming was writing.
There are many authors still working that have not signed away the digital rights to their books, allowing them to cut out their traditional publisher if they chose to. Agents said they had grown increasingly irritated by the low royalty rates offered by publishers for digital rights.
Philip Jones, the deputy editor of The Bookseller, the industry publication, said: “This has big implications for the established publishing houses, which are already under threat from internet retailers, who are pricing very aggressively.
“They could be missing out on millions of pounds worth of revenue in the future because they never signed up the digital rights to their authors. There are also issues around new books, with publishers insistent that digital rights have to be included as part of any deal, otherwise they could end up paying for all the marketing, while the upstart owner of the digital rights reaps the benefits.”
Earlier this year Booker winner Ian McEwan signed an exclusive deal through Amazon.com for the digital rights to his back catalogue, while in the US one literary agent has attempted to set up his own digital publishing business for those authors, including Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie, whose digital rights were unassigned.
Over 100 million Bond books have been sold since they were first published in the 1950s, with the books continuing to sell in the 100,000s each year. The Bond license is worth about £3m a year to IFP, but any deal over the Harry Potter rights would easily dwarf that. Bloomsbury, which bought the seven-part series in 1995, did not secure the digital rights at the time.
Neil Blair, partner at the Christopher Little Agency, which represents Rowling, said the agency was still in the "determining phase" of how to release the Harry Potter books digitally, but said the agency hoped to have something to announce before the final film was released in July next year.
He described the Bond news as interesting, and did not rule out discussions with Amazon or Google over the rights: "We are talking with everyone. What we've got to try and do is come up with an arrangement that suits everybody, and which makes the e-books available to as many people as possible globally."
Corinne Turner, the managing director of Ian Fleming Publications, said the deal was the best one for the Bond brand: "We are not taking on the publishers, we are just looking after the rights that we have. We have very good partnerships with the print publishers and will continue to do so." She added: "Fleming loved good, new technology, and I am sure he would have been thrilled by the idea of his books being available electronically.”
from: Telegraph
Monday, November 8, 2010
Teens haven't shelved reading for pleasure
by: Donna St. George
Teens read for pleasure, even in the digital age.
That's how it looks in a Rockville library, where 14-year-old Olivia Smith is propped in a comfy chair, deep into a Japanese novel genre called manga. She has been reading on the computer for an hour, and later, when she texts her friends, she will still be turning pages between messages. "I'm sort of a bookworm," she said.
Recreational reading has changed for teens in an era of ebooks and laptops and hours spent online, but experts and media specialists say there are signs of promise despite busy lives and research findings that show traditional book reading is down.
"It's not that they're reading less; they're reading in a different way," said Kim Patton, president of the Young Adult Library Services Association.
A detailed analysis into the trend on reading for fun - in books, newspapers and magazines - comes from researcher Sandra Hofferth of the University of Maryland, who analyzed the daily time-use diaries of a nationally representative sample of children 12 to 18.
Pleasure reading dropped 23 percent from 2003 to 2008, from 65 minutes a week to 50 minutes a week - with the greatest falloff for those ages 12 to 14. Still, she said: "They could be reading on the cellphone, in games, on the Web, on the computer. It doesn't mean they're not reading, but they're not reading using the printed page."
Michael Kamil, an education researcher at Stanford, sees it much the same way, noting that teens "still read quite a bit but in different ways and for different reasons than the adults believe they should."
The question of what constitutes "reading" has been debated for decades, said Kamil, whose definition is broad: It includes not only just books, magazines, newspapers and blogs, but also text messages, multimedia documents, certain computer games and many Web pages. "It's all important," he said.
Recreational book reading looked stronger in a January study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found more reading overall than the Maryland study. For kids 8 to 18, it reported a decline from 43 minutes a day to 38 minutes a day, entirely related to magazines and newspapers. At the same time, students reported online reading of those publications - an average of two minutes a day.
"The data say to me that kids have a love of reading that is enduring, and that is different than other things teens do," said co-author Victoria Rideout.
Clearly, books still can create a phenomenon.
Think "Harry Potter." The "Twilight" series. And lately, "The Hunger Games," a science fiction trilogy that librarian Deborah Fry said has created "quite a waiting list" in her Loudoun County library branch in Ashburn.
"Even with all the distractions, even with all the technology, there are books that break through," said Deborah Taylor of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, who has worked in the trenches of teen reading for more than 35 years.
The way Taylor sees it, getting teens to read for fun has always been a challenge, but now, time is a bigger obstacle. Still, she said, technology "can also pull you together with people who like the books you like" on fan sites and in online forums.
Patton, of the Young Adult Library Services Association, said that sales for young adult books have outpaced those for adult books and that "The Hunger Games" series is as nearly big a phenomenon as "Twilight." Teen favorites also include graphic novels, such as manga, that include illustrations or comic panels.
"No matter what teens are doing, we need to show them they need to keep reading on their radar and make time for it," Patton said.
Randi Adleberg, head of the high school English program at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax County, said that overall, she thinks the trend is positive. If reading online and in game-playing are taken into account, "I think the digital age has probably increased reading," she said.
For some students, traditional book reading for pleasure is not a first choice because they equate reading with schoolwork.
Ross Vincent, 16, wishes he had more time to read but said he's sidelined by other endeavors - homework, marching band and orchestra, a job, a girlfriend. "I find my time is spent in other places," he said. Told about an Edgar Allan Poe book event he could have attended that day, the teen lit up. "For serious?" he asked, rattling off Poe works he has enjoyed.
He would have gone, he said. "Oh, man, I would've run my mouth."
This sort of interest is what school media specialists love to see.
Sarah Way, who works at Wootton High School in Montgomery County, said that there is a core group of students who use the library a lot and then others who do assigned reading there but don't seem to browse. "I would like to see more carry that book around for the sheer joy of it," she said.
In Arlington County, a library book club for high-schoolers has seen its ranks swell from 13 or 14 a couple of years ago to 26, said Maria Gentle, a youth services librarian in the county. "I think we have many, many kids who still read for pleasure," she said, recalling that last spring, two teens hit the book club en route to prom, fancy dresses and all.
At Gaithersburg High School, media specialist Catharine Chenoweth sees a declining interest in nonfiction books - with so much of that material available online - while fiction still gets readers. At least certain kinds of fiction.
"Classics are not read as much as the more contemporary fiction," she said.
Then there are the Olivia Smiths of the world.
The ninth-grader at Richard Montgomery High School has been reading voraciously since she was young. Her two sisters read the same way. When Olivia really likes a book, as with the last of the "Twilight" series, she rereads - maybe 20 times.
From: Washington Post
Teens read for pleasure, even in the digital age.
That's how it looks in a Rockville library, where 14-year-old Olivia Smith is propped in a comfy chair, deep into a Japanese novel genre called manga. She has been reading on the computer for an hour, and later, when she texts her friends, she will still be turning pages between messages. "I'm sort of a bookworm," she said.
Recreational reading has changed for teens in an era of ebooks and laptops and hours spent online, but experts and media specialists say there are signs of promise despite busy lives and research findings that show traditional book reading is down.
"It's not that they're reading less; they're reading in a different way," said Kim Patton, president of the Young Adult Library Services Association.
A detailed analysis into the trend on reading for fun - in books, newspapers and magazines - comes from researcher Sandra Hofferth of the University of Maryland, who analyzed the daily time-use diaries of a nationally representative sample of children 12 to 18.
Pleasure reading dropped 23 percent from 2003 to 2008, from 65 minutes a week to 50 minutes a week - with the greatest falloff for those ages 12 to 14. Still, she said: "They could be reading on the cellphone, in games, on the Web, on the computer. It doesn't mean they're not reading, but they're not reading using the printed page."
Michael Kamil, an education researcher at Stanford, sees it much the same way, noting that teens "still read quite a bit but in different ways and for different reasons than the adults believe they should."
The question of what constitutes "reading" has been debated for decades, said Kamil, whose definition is broad: It includes not only just books, magazines, newspapers and blogs, but also text messages, multimedia documents, certain computer games and many Web pages. "It's all important," he said.
Recreational book reading looked stronger in a January study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found more reading overall than the Maryland study. For kids 8 to 18, it reported a decline from 43 minutes a day to 38 minutes a day, entirely related to magazines and newspapers. At the same time, students reported online reading of those publications - an average of two minutes a day.
"The data say to me that kids have a love of reading that is enduring, and that is different than other things teens do," said co-author Victoria Rideout.
Clearly, books still can create a phenomenon.
Think "Harry Potter." The "Twilight" series. And lately, "The Hunger Games," a science fiction trilogy that librarian Deborah Fry said has created "quite a waiting list" in her Loudoun County library branch in Ashburn.
"Even with all the distractions, even with all the technology, there are books that break through," said Deborah Taylor of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, who has worked in the trenches of teen reading for more than 35 years.
The way Taylor sees it, getting teens to read for fun has always been a challenge, but now, time is a bigger obstacle. Still, she said, technology "can also pull you together with people who like the books you like" on fan sites and in online forums.
Patton, of the Young Adult Library Services Association, said that sales for young adult books have outpaced those for adult books and that "The Hunger Games" series is as nearly big a phenomenon as "Twilight." Teen favorites also include graphic novels, such as manga, that include illustrations or comic panels.
"No matter what teens are doing, we need to show them they need to keep reading on their radar and make time for it," Patton said.
Randi Adleberg, head of the high school English program at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax County, said that overall, she thinks the trend is positive. If reading online and in game-playing are taken into account, "I think the digital age has probably increased reading," she said.
For some students, traditional book reading for pleasure is not a first choice because they equate reading with schoolwork.
Ross Vincent, 16, wishes he had more time to read but said he's sidelined by other endeavors - homework, marching band and orchestra, a job, a girlfriend. "I find my time is spent in other places," he said. Told about an Edgar Allan Poe book event he could have attended that day, the teen lit up. "For serious?" he asked, rattling off Poe works he has enjoyed.
He would have gone, he said. "Oh, man, I would've run my mouth."
This sort of interest is what school media specialists love to see.
Sarah Way, who works at Wootton High School in Montgomery County, said that there is a core group of students who use the library a lot and then others who do assigned reading there but don't seem to browse. "I would like to see more carry that book around for the sheer joy of it," she said.
In Arlington County, a library book club for high-schoolers has seen its ranks swell from 13 or 14 a couple of years ago to 26, said Maria Gentle, a youth services librarian in the county. "I think we have many, many kids who still read for pleasure," she said, recalling that last spring, two teens hit the book club en route to prom, fancy dresses and all.
At Gaithersburg High School, media specialist Catharine Chenoweth sees a declining interest in nonfiction books - with so much of that material available online - while fiction still gets readers. At least certain kinds of fiction.
"Classics are not read as much as the more contemporary fiction," she said.
Then there are the Olivia Smiths of the world.
The ninth-grader at Richard Montgomery High School has been reading voraciously since she was young. Her two sisters read the same way. When Olivia really likes a book, as with the last of the "Twilight" series, she rereads - maybe 20 times.
From: Washington Post
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Prize is Created for Gay and Literature for Young Readers
by: Julie Bosman
The American Library Association has added an award for gay and lesbian literature to its annual prizes for children’s books. The prizes, which include the prestigious John Newbery and Randolph Caldecott medals, will be announced on Jan. 10.
The new award, called the Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, is for an English-language book “of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience,” the association said on Monday. Stonewall Awards for adult books have been handed out since 1971.
Robert Stevens, the president of the American Library Association, said in a statement that children’s books that include the experiences of gays and lesbians “are critical tools in teaching tolerance, acceptance and the importance of diversity.”
Books that win awards from the association are closely watched by librarians, teachers and parents, and are typically distributed widely in bookstores, schools and libraries after receiving a prize.
The American Library Association said there was a growing demand for hihg-quality children’s books that reflect the experiences of gays and lesbians, citing a national statistic that about 14 million children have a gay or lesbian parent.
From: NY Times
The American Library Association has added an award for gay and lesbian literature to its annual prizes for children’s books. The prizes, which include the prestigious John Newbery and Randolph Caldecott medals, will be announced on Jan. 10.
The new award, called the Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, is for an English-language book “of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience,” the association said on Monday. Stonewall Awards for adult books have been handed out since 1971.
Robert Stevens, the president of the American Library Association, said in a statement that children’s books that include the experiences of gays and lesbians “are critical tools in teaching tolerance, acceptance and the importance of diversity.”
Books that win awards from the association are closely watched by librarians, teachers and parents, and are typically distributed widely in bookstores, schools and libraries after receiving a prize.
The American Library Association said there was a growing demand for hihg-quality children’s books that reflect the experiences of gays and lesbians, citing a national statistic that about 14 million children have a gay or lesbian parent.
From: NY Times
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Plot Escapes Me
by: James Collins
Those were glorious days, the ones I spent reading “Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case,” by Allen Weinstein. It is a book that I, having long had an interest in domestic Communist intrigues, had been meaning to read for years — decades — and I vividly remember that moment a couple of summers ago when, on my way to visit friends in New Hampshire, I found a hardcover copy in good condition at a restaurant-cum-used-book-store.
For the next few days, all I wanted to do was read “Perjury.” I tried to be a good sport about kayaking and fishing and roasting wieners with the kids, but I was always desperate to get back to Alger and Whittaker. The house where I was staying had been built on the edge of a lake, and I distinctly remember looking up from the book and seeing the sun sparkle on the clear, rippling water, then returning to the polluted gloom of the Case.
I remember it all, but there’s just one thing: I remember nothing about the book’s actual contents.
Before reading “Perjury,” I had an elementary understanding of the Hiss affair and the personalities involved; further, I knew that Hiss claimed to have known Chambers as “George Crosley.” Today, a couple of years after reading “Perjury,” I have an elementary understanding of the Hiss affair and the personalities involved; further, I know that Hiss claimed to have known Chambers as “George Crosley.” I have forgotten everything else. What was the point?
I have just realized something terrible about myself: I don’t remember the books I read. I chose “Perjury” as an example at random, and its neighbors on my bookshelf, Michael Chabon’s “Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” (on the right) and Anka Muhlstein’s “Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine” (on the left), could have served just as well. These are books I loved, but as with “Perjury,” all I associate with them is an atmosphere and a stray image or two, like memories of trips I took as a child.
Nor do I think I am the only one with this problem. Certainly, there are those who can read a book once and retain everything that was in it, but anecdotal evidence suggests that is not the case with most people. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most people cannot recall the title or author or even the existence of a book they read a month ago, much less its contents.
So we in the forgetful majority must, I think, confront the following question: Why read books if we can’t remember what’s in them?
One answer is that we read for the aesthetic and literary pleasure we experience while reading. The pleasure — or intended pleasure — of novels is obvious, but it is no less true that we read nonfiction for the immediate satisfaction it provides. The acquisition of knowledge, while you are acquiring it, can be intensely engrossing and stimulating, and a well-constructed argument is a beautiful thing. But that kind of pleasure is transient. When we read a serious book, we want to learn something, we want it to change us, and it hardly seems possible for that to happen if its fugitive content passes through us like light through glass.
Now, with a terrible sense of foreboding, I slowly turn to look again at my bookshelf. There they all are, “Perjury” and “Kavalier & Clay” and those other books that I have read and of which I remember so little. And I have to ask myself, Would it have made no difference if I had never read any of them? Could I just as well have spent my time watching golf?
But this cannot be. Those books must have reshaped my brain in ways that affect how I think, and they must have left deposits of information with some sort of property — a kind of mental radiation — that continues to affect me even if I can’t detect it. Mustn’t they have?
To help answer this question I called Maryanne Wolf, a professor of child development at Tufts University and the author of “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain.” I described my “Perjury” problem — I was interested in the subject and engrossed in the book for days, but now remember nothing about it — and asked her if reading it had ultimately had any effect on me.
“I totally believe that you are a different person for having read that book,” Wolf replied. “I say that as a neuroscientist and an old literature major.”
She went on to describe how reading creates pathways in the brain, strengthening different mental processes. Then she talked about content.
“There is a difference,” she said, “between immediate recall of facts and an ability to recall a gestalt of knowledge. We can’t retrieve the specifics, but to adapt a phrase of William James’s, there is a wraith of memory. The information you get from a book is stored in networks. We have an extraordinary capacity for storage, and much more is there than you realize. It is in some way working on you even though you aren’t thinking about it.”
Did this mean that it hadn’t been a waste of time to read all those books, even if I seemingly couldn’t remember what was in them?
“It’s there,” Wolf said. “You are the sum of it all.”
This was very encouraging, and it makes intuitive sense: we have been formed by an accretion of experiences, only a small number of which we can readily recall. You may remember the specifics of only a few conversations with your best friend, but you would never ask if talking to him or her was a waste of time. As for the arts, I can remember in detail only a tiny fraction of the music I have listened to, or the movies I have watched, or the paintings I have looked at, but it would be absurd to claim that experiencing those works had no influence on me. The same could be said of reading.
Still, reading is different from life, and writing is different from those other art forms. Indeed, reading’s great distinction may be that it is not an experience to be experienced only as an experience (otherwise, poets wouldn’t have to sweat so hard to make their poems a performance rather than discourse). A book, even a novel, contains information, in the strictest sense, and the most obvious purpose of reading a book is to acquire that information for oneself. And unlike a catch-and-release fisherman, when I acquire that information, I want to keep it. I enjoyed reading “Perjury” and am relieved and happy that I retain its gestalt, but I didn’t actually read it for pleasure or for its gestalt. I read it so that I would know, consciously, a lot about the Hiss case. Well, guess what? I don’t.
I suppose one solution would be to use the techniques recommended in study guides for retaining reading assignments. Do not recline! First review the table of contents and index. Read actively, underlining and making notations in the text. Review what you have read, making notes (three to five pages for every hundred pages of text).
Some good ideas, surely. But “Do not recline”? Impossible.
from: NY Times
Those were glorious days, the ones I spent reading “Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case,” by Allen Weinstein. It is a book that I, having long had an interest in domestic Communist intrigues, had been meaning to read for years — decades — and I vividly remember that moment a couple of summers ago when, on my way to visit friends in New Hampshire, I found a hardcover copy in good condition at a restaurant-cum-used-book-store.
For the next few days, all I wanted to do was read “Perjury.” I tried to be a good sport about kayaking and fishing and roasting wieners with the kids, but I was always desperate to get back to Alger and Whittaker. The house where I was staying had been built on the edge of a lake, and I distinctly remember looking up from the book and seeing the sun sparkle on the clear, rippling water, then returning to the polluted gloom of the Case.
I remember it all, but there’s just one thing: I remember nothing about the book’s actual contents.
Before reading “Perjury,” I had an elementary understanding of the Hiss affair and the personalities involved; further, I knew that Hiss claimed to have known Chambers as “George Crosley.” Today, a couple of years after reading “Perjury,” I have an elementary understanding of the Hiss affair and the personalities involved; further, I know that Hiss claimed to have known Chambers as “George Crosley.” I have forgotten everything else. What was the point?
I have just realized something terrible about myself: I don’t remember the books I read. I chose “Perjury” as an example at random, and its neighbors on my bookshelf, Michael Chabon’s “Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” (on the right) and Anka Muhlstein’s “Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine” (on the left), could have served just as well. These are books I loved, but as with “Perjury,” all I associate with them is an atmosphere and a stray image or two, like memories of trips I took as a child.
Nor do I think I am the only one with this problem. Certainly, there are those who can read a book once and retain everything that was in it, but anecdotal evidence suggests that is not the case with most people. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most people cannot recall the title or author or even the existence of a book they read a month ago, much less its contents.
So we in the forgetful majority must, I think, confront the following question: Why read books if we can’t remember what’s in them?
One answer is that we read for the aesthetic and literary pleasure we experience while reading. The pleasure — or intended pleasure — of novels is obvious, but it is no less true that we read nonfiction for the immediate satisfaction it provides. The acquisition of knowledge, while you are acquiring it, can be intensely engrossing and stimulating, and a well-constructed argument is a beautiful thing. But that kind of pleasure is transient. When we read a serious book, we want to learn something, we want it to change us, and it hardly seems possible for that to happen if its fugitive content passes through us like light through glass.
Now, with a terrible sense of foreboding, I slowly turn to look again at my bookshelf. There they all are, “Perjury” and “Kavalier & Clay” and those other books that I have read and of which I remember so little. And I have to ask myself, Would it have made no difference if I had never read any of them? Could I just as well have spent my time watching golf?
But this cannot be. Those books must have reshaped my brain in ways that affect how I think, and they must have left deposits of information with some sort of property — a kind of mental radiation — that continues to affect me even if I can’t detect it. Mustn’t they have?
To help answer this question I called Maryanne Wolf, a professor of child development at Tufts University and the author of “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain.” I described my “Perjury” problem — I was interested in the subject and engrossed in the book for days, but now remember nothing about it — and asked her if reading it had ultimately had any effect on me.
“I totally believe that you are a different person for having read that book,” Wolf replied. “I say that as a neuroscientist and an old literature major.”
She went on to describe how reading creates pathways in the brain, strengthening different mental processes. Then she talked about content.
“There is a difference,” she said, “between immediate recall of facts and an ability to recall a gestalt of knowledge. We can’t retrieve the specifics, but to adapt a phrase of William James’s, there is a wraith of memory. The information you get from a book is stored in networks. We have an extraordinary capacity for storage, and much more is there than you realize. It is in some way working on you even though you aren’t thinking about it.”
Did this mean that it hadn’t been a waste of time to read all those books, even if I seemingly couldn’t remember what was in them?
“It’s there,” Wolf said. “You are the sum of it all.”
This was very encouraging, and it makes intuitive sense: we have been formed by an accretion of experiences, only a small number of which we can readily recall. You may remember the specifics of only a few conversations with your best friend, but you would never ask if talking to him or her was a waste of time. As for the arts, I can remember in detail only a tiny fraction of the music I have listened to, or the movies I have watched, or the paintings I have looked at, but it would be absurd to claim that experiencing those works had no influence on me. The same could be said of reading.
Still, reading is different from life, and writing is different from those other art forms. Indeed, reading’s great distinction may be that it is not an experience to be experienced only as an experience (otherwise, poets wouldn’t have to sweat so hard to make their poems a performance rather than discourse). A book, even a novel, contains information, in the strictest sense, and the most obvious purpose of reading a book is to acquire that information for oneself. And unlike a catch-and-release fisherman, when I acquire that information, I want to keep it. I enjoyed reading “Perjury” and am relieved and happy that I retain its gestalt, but I didn’t actually read it for pleasure or for its gestalt. I read it so that I would know, consciously, a lot about the Hiss case. Well, guess what? I don’t.
I suppose one solution would be to use the techniques recommended in study guides for retaining reading assignments. Do not recline! First review the table of contents and index. Read actively, underlining and making notations in the text. Review what you have read, making notes (three to five pages for every hundred pages of text).
Some good ideas, surely. But “Do not recline”? Impossible.
from: NY Times
Friday, November 5, 2010
Stars fall in Amazon protest about ebook prices
Readers give authors including Stephen King one-star reviews in concerted campaign against price rises for Kindle digital editions
by: Benedicte Page
Authors found themselves in the firing line this week as fans furious at sudden rises in Amazon's Kindle prices protested by giving their books one-star reviews on the retailer's website.
Iain Banks, Stephen King, Maeve Binchy, Elizabeth Buchan and Michael McIntyre were among those authors whose books were given new, low-ranking reviews on the basis of their Kindle ebook price, as part of a concerted attempt by readers to voice their displeasure.
Earlier this week, Amazon.co.uk was forced to accept new commercial terms from big publishers Penguin, Hachette and HarperCollins, who have switched to the "agency model" for their ebooks. On this model it is publishers, not retailers, who set the selling price.
Amazon's own discounts disappeared from ebooks overnight. Many digital editions now cost the same as printed books, with some costing more.
Readers responded angrily. Among more than 600 comments on the Kindle forum at Amazon.co.uk were many accusing the publishers of greed.
In a review of Iain M Banks's novel Surface Detail, one Banks fan protests: "As a 'Culture' fan and Kindle owner I would have bought this book, but not when the digital version costs more than the hardback. Now I won't buy either. Do the publishers have some bizarre vested interest in driving people to torrent sites?"
A Stephen King reader complains in a review of King's backlist book Just After Sunset: "The Kindle price for this book is absurd. I suggest people do not buy any version of this book until the publisher stops this farce."
Elizabeth Buchan, whose latest novel Separate Beds is among those being targeted by the protest reviews, said she was "extremely sorry that books and authors are the victims of this debate which should have been sorted by now".
Buchan suggested that readers' anger was "perhaps a reflection of how the perception has changed of what book prices should be". She expressed concern that authors would suffer if that perception dropped too low to make writing and publishing books sustainable. "Is a danger point approaching where books are so cheap that no one can make a living?" she asked.
Banks's literary agent, Mic Cheetham, said she could see both sides of the argument. "Publishers don't want their hardback prices undercut by ebooks, and that's fair enough," she said. "Readers would like something very cheap, but publishers simply can't afford to see their market totally wiped out."
HarperCollins director of communications, Siobhan Kenny, said: "Of course readers demand good value for money. And I am sure they are equally keen to see a vibrant marketplace." The agency model helps to encourage that, Kenny argued, "facilitating multiple channels to market while offering consumers a fair and competitive price to drive sales and limit piracy".
The row coincides with the announcement that Ian Fleming's James Bond novels are to be published in ebook form for the first time this week – but not by Penguin, Fleming's print publisher. The 14 books, including Casino Royale, Live and Let Die and From Russia With Love, are being published independently by Ian Fleming Publications, the family company that owns and administers the author's literary copyright. The Fleming ebooks would be priced "in line with the lowest-priced Bond paperback editions available on the market", the company said.
• This article was amended on Thursday 4 November 2010 after one of the authors involved was named as Elizabeth Buchanan. The author of Separate Beds is in fact Elizabeth Buchan. This has been corrected
from: Guardian
by: Benedicte Page
Authors found themselves in the firing line this week as fans furious at sudden rises in Amazon's Kindle prices protested by giving their books one-star reviews on the retailer's website.
Iain Banks, Stephen King, Maeve Binchy, Elizabeth Buchan and Michael McIntyre were among those authors whose books were given new, low-ranking reviews on the basis of their Kindle ebook price, as part of a concerted attempt by readers to voice their displeasure.
Earlier this week, Amazon.co.uk was forced to accept new commercial terms from big publishers Penguin, Hachette and HarperCollins, who have switched to the "agency model" for their ebooks. On this model it is publishers, not retailers, who set the selling price.
Amazon's own discounts disappeared from ebooks overnight. Many digital editions now cost the same as printed books, with some costing more.
Readers responded angrily. Among more than 600 comments on the Kindle forum at Amazon.co.uk were many accusing the publishers of greed.
In a review of Iain M Banks's novel Surface Detail, one Banks fan protests: "As a 'Culture' fan and Kindle owner I would have bought this book, but not when the digital version costs more than the hardback. Now I won't buy either. Do the publishers have some bizarre vested interest in driving people to torrent sites?"
A Stephen King reader complains in a review of King's backlist book Just After Sunset: "The Kindle price for this book is absurd. I suggest people do not buy any version of this book until the publisher stops this farce."
Elizabeth Buchan, whose latest novel Separate Beds is among those being targeted by the protest reviews, said she was "extremely sorry that books and authors are the victims of this debate which should have been sorted by now".
Buchan suggested that readers' anger was "perhaps a reflection of how the perception has changed of what book prices should be". She expressed concern that authors would suffer if that perception dropped too low to make writing and publishing books sustainable. "Is a danger point approaching where books are so cheap that no one can make a living?" she asked.
Banks's literary agent, Mic Cheetham, said she could see both sides of the argument. "Publishers don't want their hardback prices undercut by ebooks, and that's fair enough," she said. "Readers would like something very cheap, but publishers simply can't afford to see their market totally wiped out."
HarperCollins director of communications, Siobhan Kenny, said: "Of course readers demand good value for money. And I am sure they are equally keen to see a vibrant marketplace." The agency model helps to encourage that, Kenny argued, "facilitating multiple channels to market while offering consumers a fair and competitive price to drive sales and limit piracy".
The row coincides with the announcement that Ian Fleming's James Bond novels are to be published in ebook form for the first time this week – but not by Penguin, Fleming's print publisher. The 14 books, including Casino Royale, Live and Let Die and From Russia With Love, are being published independently by Ian Fleming Publications, the family company that owns and administers the author's literary copyright. The Fleming ebooks would be priced "in line with the lowest-priced Bond paperback editions available on the market", the company said.
• This article was amended on Thursday 4 November 2010 after one of the authors involved was named as Elizabeth Buchanan. The author of Separate Beds is in fact Elizabeth Buchan. This has been corrected
from: Guardian
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Never-ending book heralds new chapter in e-publishing
by: Barry Neild
It's an age-old problem for avid book readers: You become so engrossed in a good page-turner that when the end arrives, you're still crying out for more.
But if a new creation offering books that don't end proves successful, such heartache for fiction fans could be a thing of the past.
Libroid, the brainchild of German author Juergen Neffe, is a new program that tries to reboot the e-book for the interactive age, offering readers the possibility of potentially limitless content with every publication.
And with the publishing industry in turmoil as corporate giants take fewer risks amid revenue uncertainties, Neffe hopes his product will offer a new creative outlet that could revolutionize book writing.
"I saw that what happened to the music industry is happening to the book industry and one day I woke up and said 'I don't want to drown in this,'" Neffe told CNN.
"So I started thinking about what the book of the future would be."
It's certainly a pressing question for the publishing industry. As more of the book business moves off the printed page and onto a computer screen, publishers who can corner this new market stand to win big.
Bookseller Amazon U.S. said this year it was selling 143 e-books for every 100 hard copies. According to the International Digital Publishing Forum, e-book sales in the U.S. amounted to $88.7 million in the second quarter of 2010. In the same period five years earlier they were barely $3 million.
Yet, there are concerns in this nascent marketplace.
Some industry experts speculate the low-cost market entry offered by e-books could pose a threat to the dominance of big-name publishers. And though authors might benefit from being able to self-publish, without the machinery of large publishing houses behind them, it's tough to stand out in a crowded landscape.
Enter Libroid, which creator Neffe -- a veteran journalist for Germany's Der Spiegel magazine and author of a best-selling book on Charles Darwin -- hopes will beat its own path to success.
The program, which currently runs only on Apple's iPad tablet computer, splits the traditional book page into three columns, allowing authors space to annotate their text with footnotes, images, maps, videos and web links.
Libroid delivers the book's core text in the middle of the page. Two smaller columns on either side carry the extra content. Page numbers are abandoned in favor of a percentage bar that tells readers where they are.
Interactive elements allow readers to make their own comments on virtual book clubs that can be linked up to the text. It also offers authors the possibility of updating their own work (something that U.S. author Jonathan Franzen might appreciate after the wrong draft of his latest novel was published in the UK).
With Libroid publications also allowing readers to flit between different translations of the text, Neffe said he believes the added extras, plus a lower price tag, will set it apart from standard e-books.
Though circumspect about its chances for success, he said it does have several major selling points, not least the potential to generate a new medium for fiction writers who, he says, are already lining up to try it out.
"It does sound interesting," says crime writer Dan Waddell, whose debut novel "The Blood Detective" topped the UK e-book bestseller list in 2009.
"I think ultimately what will give e-books their point of difference to traditional books -- which are still the most efficient and best design for reading and carrying literature -- is this interactive element.
"But they have to be done well, and be integral to the story; otherwise they will simply come across as annoying and pointless gimmicks."
Neffe agrees, saying although he has been bombarded by suggestions from authors, he is choosing carefully. One winning idea, he says, is the "round book."
"Round books are those with no beginning and no end. Experienced authors tell me they have problems because every linear story has centrifugal forces that try to get out from the center.
"There is a well-known author in Germany who writes crime stories. He wants to randomly mix chapters so you would be the judge in the criminal case.
"You get nine different reports from witnesses and when you shake it up, they will mix up, so you always start with different one. Every reader is having a different experience."
So, for the time being at least, there's no end in sight.
from: CNN
 |
| The Libroid app allows authors to add multimedia to their e-books. |
But if a new creation offering books that don't end proves successful, such heartache for fiction fans could be a thing of the past.
Libroid, the brainchild of German author Juergen Neffe, is a new program that tries to reboot the e-book for the interactive age, offering readers the possibility of potentially limitless content with every publication.
And with the publishing industry in turmoil as corporate giants take fewer risks amid revenue uncertainties, Neffe hopes his product will offer a new creative outlet that could revolutionize book writing.
"I saw that what happened to the music industry is happening to the book industry and one day I woke up and said 'I don't want to drown in this,'" Neffe told CNN.
"So I started thinking about what the book of the future would be."
It's certainly a pressing question for the publishing industry. As more of the book business moves off the printed page and onto a computer screen, publishers who can corner this new market stand to win big.
Bookseller Amazon U.S. said this year it was selling 143 e-books for every 100 hard copies. According to the International Digital Publishing Forum, e-book sales in the U.S. amounted to $88.7 million in the second quarter of 2010. In the same period five years earlier they were barely $3 million.
Yet, there are concerns in this nascent marketplace.
Some industry experts speculate the low-cost market entry offered by e-books could pose a threat to the dominance of big-name publishers. And though authors might benefit from being able to self-publish, without the machinery of large publishing houses behind them, it's tough to stand out in a crowded landscape.
Enter Libroid, which creator Neffe -- a veteran journalist for Germany's Der Spiegel magazine and author of a best-selling book on Charles Darwin -- hopes will beat its own path to success.
The program, which currently runs only on Apple's iPad tablet computer, splits the traditional book page into three columns, allowing authors space to annotate their text with footnotes, images, maps, videos and web links.
Libroid delivers the book's core text in the middle of the page. Two smaller columns on either side carry the extra content. Page numbers are abandoned in favor of a percentage bar that tells readers where they are.
Interactive elements allow readers to make their own comments on virtual book clubs that can be linked up to the text. It also offers authors the possibility of updating their own work (something that U.S. author Jonathan Franzen might appreciate after the wrong draft of his latest novel was published in the UK).
With Libroid publications also allowing readers to flit between different translations of the text, Neffe said he believes the added extras, plus a lower price tag, will set it apart from standard e-books.
Though circumspect about its chances for success, he said it does have several major selling points, not least the potential to generate a new medium for fiction writers who, he says, are already lining up to try it out.
"It does sound interesting," says crime writer Dan Waddell, whose debut novel "The Blood Detective" topped the UK e-book bestseller list in 2009.
"I think ultimately what will give e-books their point of difference to traditional books -- which are still the most efficient and best design for reading and carrying literature -- is this interactive element.
"But they have to be done well, and be integral to the story; otherwise they will simply come across as annoying and pointless gimmicks."
Neffe agrees, saying although he has been bombarded by suggestions from authors, he is choosing carefully. One winning idea, he says, is the "round book."
"Round books are those with no beginning and no end. Experienced authors tell me they have problems because every linear story has centrifugal forces that try to get out from the center.
"There is a well-known author in Germany who writes crime stories. He wants to randomly mix chapters so you would be the judge in the criminal case.
"You get nine different reports from witnesses and when you shake it up, they will mix up, so you always start with different one. Every reader is having a different experience."
So, for the time being at least, there's no end in sight.
from: CNN
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)