LibWorm.com provides a librarian RSS filtering service. Over 1500 RSS librarian sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest headlines from journals and sites in the Audiobooks interest group. http://www.libworm.com/rss/librarianqueries.php Fri, 05 Aug 2011 02:53:27 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.teleread.com/library/overdrive-traffic-and-ebook-checkouts-surge-over-christmas-holiday/ From Overdrive’s Digital Library Blog: If you need any evidence of the popularity of eBooks in the library, all you need to do is look at what happened over the past week. Despite some issues caused by a surge in activity, traffic, checkouts, and new user registration records were smashed over the Christmas holiday–all thanks to eBooks. For the first time ever, eBooks out-circulated audiobooks at libraries’ ‘Virtual Branch’ websites. Audiobooks are still very popular and increasing in circulation, but this momentum for eBook downloads shows that the format has gone mainstream at libraries. Library eBook circulation has steadily grown over the past month, starting on Nov. 26, the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday. (Like Christmas, many people had new devices, thanks to Black Friday deals, plus they had time to use them.) To show you what happened in one month, we’ve compared usage from Nov. 26-28 (around US Thanksgiving) to Dec. 25-27 (around Christmas). eBook checkouts increased a staggering 93% Visits to ‘Virtual Branch’ websites were up 60% Pageviews were up nearly 70% Needless to say, Christmas and the days following were the three biggest for library downloads ever. As a whole, 2010 was even more impressive. We’ll have the full stats for 2010 coming next week, so stay tuned. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:08:30 +0100 895766 http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2010/12/questions-today-at-reference-desk.html Do you have any Theodore Dreiser books on tape or CD? No, but we do have Sister Carrie as a downloadable audiobook from Listen NJ. It comes bundled with a self-help tape for depression. No, just kidding.Can you find information about my doctor? Yes, usually we can. We use AMA's Doctor Finder, The American Board of Medical Specialties website and/or the reference books to find educational information, address and phone number of offices and the NJ Office of the Attorney General to find the doctor's NJ license number and status. No, I can't tell you if I like your doctor or not.Can you write this address (patron shows piece of paper with address on it) on this envelope for me? Um, yes, but why? Is it a ransom note? No, I just don't want the addressee to recognize my handwriting.I can't read my handwriting with the information you gave me over the phone yesterday, can you give me the answer again? Yes. What is it with the handwriting problems today?Can you look up 5 people's phone numbers for me? Yes. We use Reference USA, a database of phone and city directories available online to all NJ library card holders from any internet connected computer.Patron calls back later to say several phone numbers did not work. Maybe he couldn't read his handwriting?Why does the copier say it doesn't have any matching paper? I don't know. It often says that, but it's lying.Does the library only have one copier now? Yes. The old copier location became a teen lounge. Alternatively, we could have middle schoolers lounging on the copier.Can you look up this phone number which I don't recognize that was on my caller ID? Patron hands over scrap of paper with scribbled numbers. Yes. It's usually telemarketers calling from a cell phone or unlisted phone, but I can't find this one. Handwriting, people! Do you have a fine tip marker I can use? No. ... Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 895738 http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/the-conundrum-of-the-user-unfriendly-appliance-interface/ At TechCrunch, Alexia Tsotsis posts an interesting meditation on how tricky most household appliance interfaces have become. Coffee makers, microwave ovens, even pepper grinders have become much more complex than they used to be—sometimes hilariously so: Many people received iPads and iPhones this Christmas, and because of Apple’s legendary intuitive and straightforward design, could pull them right out of the box and commence using. Not the case with a battery powered pepper grinder one of my relatives received at our gift exchange. It took three people to put together and when we did get it to work, we hilariously realized that it had a flashlight at the bottom, for no reason. Novel? yes. Productive? No. But far more often frustratingly so. She uses the examples of a coffee maker that she couldn’t figure out how to put the water in, and how much more complicated microwaves are than they used to be. Microwaves of old had approximately one control: a knob that controlled how long the device nuked the food for. (We still have some of those in the cafeteria/lounge at my work.) And to this I would add some of my own experiences doing tech support for ordinary, average people who call in with questions about their computers. Even the interfaces that designers think are simple and easy to understand are going to give somebody trouble. (The other day, I had to explain to someone how to open a Gmail message. Really.) And sometimes a lot of somebodies. Some of the biggest offenders are printers (how I shudder when the opening words of any call are, “I just got this printer, and…”) and wi-fi routers, but laptops are problematic, too—and one of the biggest problems is figuring out how to turn wifi on, something that should be dead simple but is not because no computer manufacturer ever makes the switch easy to find. (Easy to bump by accident, on the other hand, is another matter. ... Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:15:00 +0100 895350 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html#1748644698152055352 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:To You We Shall Return: Lessons About Our Planet from the Lakota by Joseph M. Marshall (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 24 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 895310 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/web2learning/YOVk/~3/mEwp63KA2c8/4465 This came across a few lists I’m on today and I thought it would be beneficial to some of you. Using the file that some Colorado Libraries have created you can import a batch of freely available ebook classics to your system. More info here: The Colorado Library Consortium created a project to clean up the most popular MARC records from Project Gutenberg called eDiscover the Classics. We identified the top 500 or so downloads and cleaned up those records and made them available to other libraries. We launched the website a few weeks at: http://www.clicweb.org/e_discover/e_discoverhome.html Since that time the records have been further enhancements by Douglas County Libraries and University of Denver. If you have already downloaded the MARC records we encourage you to get the new set of records and reload them into your catalog. Here is a link explaining our clean-up efforts: http://www.clicweb.org/e_discover/history%20of%20record%20enhancement%20.pdf Please consider these MARC records a gift to the library community! The more patrons think of libraries as a source for content for their Kindles, Nooks, IPads, MP3 players, etc – the better! Valerie Horton Related posts:Free Audio Books eXtensible Catalog (XC) gets more funding Penguin RSS (Source: What I Learned Today...) Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:53:42 +0100 894487 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/new-ebook-on-how-to-get-free-content-for-the-kindle/ Stephen Windwalker of Kindle Nation Daily has just published Kindle Free For All. It’s available at the Kindle store for $0.99 during the holiday season. Thanks to some great help from talented editor and author April Hamilton, we have worked hard to hit the sweet spot in making this book the most complete and easy-to-use resource yet for finding all kinds of free content for your Kindle and other Kindle-compatible devices, with useful information on millions of free ebooks, free audio books, and free periodical, blog, and research content for Kindle. If any of you are giving a Kindle for Christmas this might be a neat present to go along with it – now that Amazon allows you to gift ebooks. The full table of contents is at the link above. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:40:27 +0100 894412 http://www2.cincinnatilibrary.org/blog/entries/little-taste-of-summer During these cold, snowy and sometimes over holiday-ed winter days, a breath of summer can work wonders for our sun-starved psyches. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt (2010) by local Cincinnati area author Beth Hoffman is a delightful dose of summer, full of glorious summer days and strong Southern women.This wonderful book, previously recommended by Susanne, is available in Print, Large Print, audio book on CD, and electronic resource in both audio Overdrive and Adobe eBook formats. If you've never tried downloading an electronic book, try this one. It's worth it!I listened to this book as an audio book on CD, read by actress Jenna Lamia who also reads the audio version of The Secret Life of Bees (2002), another engaging story about a young girl in the South in about the same time period as Ceecee. This book is also available on cassette, as a Print or Large Print book, downloadable audio book and eBook, and a movie on dvd. And, the Library has a Secret Life of Bees Book Club to Go.As I have written before, I also love the books of Sarah Addison Allen. She takes us away into small-town life, summery and wintry, with believable unique characters and beautiful gardens. Most of her books are available in audio, large print, and downloadable books. I was happy to learn today that her 4th book, The Peach Keeper, is due out in March.So settle in by the fireplace, have some popcorn and a long cool drink of sweet tea, and enjoy summer in a book. (Source: Turning the Page...[Combined Feed]) Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:38:46 +0100 894778 http://mcls.org/blog/?p=828 In just a few short days, your library patrons will be opening gifts of new Kindles, Nooks, iPads, and other eReaders.  After reading their pre-loaded books, these patrons will descend on your libraries in droves, asking for help to download eBooks and audiobooks from your catalog.  Are you ready for the onslaught? On April 28, 2011, MCLS is hosting a special program in Lansing, Michigan, on digital books and eReaders.  Our keynote presenter will be Bobbi Newman (librarianbyday.net) speaking on “Choose Your Own Adventure: the Future of eBooks and Libraries.”  We will have a speaker addressing legal issues related to eReaders, and Kathy Petlewski will present on the practical side of helping patrons to download eBooks to a variety of eReaders.  During the breaks, Kathy will also host “Petlewski’s Petting Zoo” where attendees can try out different eReaders hands-on.  Online registration for this special program is available on the MCLS Workshop Registration web page: https://members.mcls.org/workshops/viewcourse.html?id=252 For help with eReaders prior to April 28, here are some helpful links: Julia Walkuski’s LibGuide (U of M Dearborn) http://libguides.umd.umich.edu/ereaders Paul Gallagher’s DALNET presentation http://www.dalnet.lib.mi.us/def.html Kathy Petlewski’s Thoughts from a Well-Rounded Librarian blog http://kpetlewski.wordpress.com/ eBook Reader Review http://ebook-reader-review.toptenreviews.com/ eReader Comparison http://chamberfour.com/ereader-comparison/ eBook Reader Comparison http://www.ereaderleader.com/ereader-comparison/ Note: the above links are posted on the MCLS Michigan & Indiana Libraries Wiki at: http://mcls.org/wiki/index.php/EBooks_and_eReaders Please feel free to add links to other eReader resources to this Wiki page! (Source: MLC Blog) Mon, 20 Dec 2010 20:18:40 +0100 894102 http://ricklibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/12/too-far-from-home-story-of-life-and.html Having recently read and enjoyed Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, I eagerly sought another space program book and found in the audiobook section at Thomas Ford Too Far from Home: A Story of Life and Death in Space by Chris Jones. This 9 disc/11 hour audiobook read ably by Erik Davies recounts events of 2003 when U.S astronauts Kenneth Bowersox and Donald Petite with Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin were left on the International Space Station with no date for returning to earth after the explosion of the shuttle Columbia. NASA suspended the shuttle program in the wake of the accident, thus postponing the scheduled launch of Expedition 7 to replace the crew of Expedition 6. Bowersox, Petite, and Budarin would have to sit tight.Of course, sitting is not easy in space. Everything floats. The ever-quizzical Petite began playing with his food, letting liquids float, spin, and assume strange shapes, which he photographed. Meanwhile, Bowersox strove to keep himself in shape with conditioning exercise, not wanting to lose bone mass or muscle strength. Though NASA managers tried to keep the crew busy, there was plenty of unstructured time. Ever mindful of their close quarters, the men strove to accommodate differences. Ironically, their worst dispute was over who might get to stay on the station if a Russian rescue mission could only take two of them. They were all enjoying their extended time in space.Like Roach in her book, Jones goes into great detail about the dangers of entering and returning from space, the effects of space travel on the human body, and the histories of the U.S. and Russian space programs. While Roach presents a witty collection of essays on various topics, Jones weaves his research into an intimate narrative about the lives of the three astronauts, their wives, and key officials of the NASA program. Both are great books for readers interested in the history and future of the space program.Jones, Chris. ... Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 894009 http://www.teleread.com/audiobooks/british-library-project-to-map-pronunciation-seeks-childrens-book-readers-from-around-the-world/ The British Library has embarked on a project to map accents and pronunciation of words by English-speakers worldwide, as part of its Evolving English exhibit. To that end, they have asked any English-speaker world-wide to record themselves reading aloud the children’s book Mr. Tickle for the benefit of their collection. The idea is that reading prose aloud tends to be more natural and conversational than simply reading lists of words, and also Mr. Tickle includes some words that have interesting variant pronunciations, like “mischievous” or “extraordinary”. Readers can take part in the project at the British Library website, or by using an Audioboo mobile app. The website includes a downloadable or printable copy of the book, and instructions on how to tag the recording. (Found via ReadWriteWeb.) (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:10:27 +0100 893860 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/18/sue-arnold-audiobook-choice-reviews The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø | A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess | Freedom by Jonathan FranzenThe Redeemer, by Jo Nesbø, read by Sean Barrett (16hrs unabridged, Isis, £34.99)After Stieg Larsson's brilliant block-busting Girl trilogy, is there any point in reading the other Scandinavian crime writers put forward as his successor? The frontrunner seems to be Norway's Jo Nesbø but, ever loyal to Larsson, I've ignored his three Inspector Harry Hole (purse your lips and pronounce it "Hurler") books, despite enthusiastic recommendations by thriller buffs. Thus, prepared, almost hoping, to be disappointed, I listened to his latest bestseller – all Nesbø's books are bestsellers – and by the end of chapter 2 I was smitten, dazzled, wild about Harry, Nesbø's depressed, alcoholic, maverick antihero, whose talent for cracking cases is matched only by his unerring instinct to flout authority, bend the rules and ruffle feathers. Think John Rebus relocated to Oslo – no, don't. Harry's infinitely sexier. The story opens with the murder of a Salvation Army officer at an open-air concert by, it turns out, a mysterious Croatian hit man known as mali spasitelj, the little redeemer, whose trademark is a red kerchief. Harry's personal problems are as complex as the plot, and it doesn't matter if, like me, you arrived late on the scene. There are references to the three earlier books, but you don't need to have read them to appreciate this one. Not that you could have, since it's the only Harry Hole as yet on audio. But Isis, working backwards like me, is bringing out The Redbreast, the first of the series, in April.A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, performed by Tom Hollander (8hrs unabridged, Random House, £16.99)Note "performed" rather than "read" – it's the reason I eventually got round to listening to this modern classic, having initially decided that, unlike Kubrick's film adaptation, the book would be gobbledegook. ... Sat, 18 Dec 2010 14:52:01 +0100 893619 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/dec/17/internet-problem-choice-self-publishing Self publishing a book provides a wealth of opportunity, but decisions are harder when there are no constraintsThe internet has created many problems in its young life – making various industries obsolete, enabling new forms of surveillance and control, exposing good, well-meaning people to crazy, vituperative trolls. But my internet problem is the surfeit of opportunity.If there's one thing the network does brilliantly, it's reducing coordination costs. The two best examples, of course, are the GNU/Linux operating system and Wikipedia. Whether you use these or not, whether you believe them to be of high or low quality, it's impossible to imagine how decentralised collectives could produce either an operating system or an encyclopedia without the internet.(I like to daydream fleets of Analogue Wikipedia lorries racing around the world with filing cabinets representing the day's edits, then racing back to the enormous Wikipedia Central Printing Office to retrieve a new load to deliver.)When I began writing, I imagined that the central problem of my working life would be figuring out which books to write, and how to produce the best books I could. These problems decompose into a lot of smaller problems: which books and music and movies should I consume to inspire my work? Which experts and artists should I seek out and converse with in order to improve my work?Once upon a time, the questions of which books, music, experts and experiences you should try were largely answered by circumstance. Which books to read? Which ones can you afford, which ones are on the library's shelf, which ones are in the shop, which ones can you discover? The pool of experts was limited to people who lived nearby or those to whom your immediate circle could introduce you. Half the problem was solved by default – the cost of seeking out a very rare book almost always exceeded the value you'd get from reading it. ... Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:31:00 +0100 893353 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html#60995701312759532 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 894374 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/web2learning/YOVk/~3/2lJym9s4tYY/4452 Tech books are expensive! A few months ago I signed up for 101FreeTechBooks.com to try and offset some of that cost. It only took me a month before I won my first tech book!! Basically, you sign up, put some books on your wish list and then if you win you get one of the books shipped to your for free. You really can’t beat it. So, just a quick tip for all you techies and librarians who want to learn to be techies Sign up at 101FeeTechBooks.com – you’ve got nothing to lose and lots of awesome books to gain. Related posts:The Tech Static Launches! Free Audio Books Free Audio Books (Source: What I Learned Today...) Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:29:10 +0100 892974 http://146.74.224.231/archives/2010/12/ebook_readers_u.html Our Ebook collections are more accessible than ever with the introduction of 'apps' for Android and Apple iPhone devices. The new apps enable you to download and enjoy EPUB eBooks and MP3 audiobooks directly to your iPhone, iPod touch, or Android phone/tablet. To download the apps you can search for "OverDrive Media Console" in the Apple App Store and Android Market, or visit our Overdrive site for download and set up instructions. The new Overdrive Media console v2.0 for iPhone and Android also offers an enhanced reading experience with additional features for bookmarking and adjusting brightness and font size. Overdrive ebooks are also available via your Nook, Kobo, Sony or Pandigital ereaders or download direct to your PC or laptop. For a complete list of compatible eBook Devices visit the Devices Resource Center. (Source: Santa Clara County Library - The Latest SCCoop) Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:19:21 +0100 892829 http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2010/12/it-wouldnt-be-christmas-without-books.html Not the silly seasonal books that some big name authors churn out. I mean short classics that you can read in one sitting while recovering from decorating/shopping/cooking/parties:A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. Possibly the best beginning of a book ever:One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nightswhen I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six. If you have never listened to the recording of Dylan Thomas reading this, you must. BHPL owns this on audiobook. Dylan Thomas' physician when he was in New York, Milton Feltenstein, lived in Free Acres in Berkeley Heights.Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl BuckThe story of a farmer's son who has little but finds a way to give his father the best present of his life. It can be read online but the version illustrated by Mark Buehner has beautiful paintings of dark snowy scenes.A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote.At libraries you generally have to check out Breakfast With Tiffany's to read this story ever since Modern Library published them in one volume. Six year-old Buddy and the elderly Miss Sook make fruitcakes for their friends out of moonshine and some pecans they gathered themselves.Do you have a favorite holiday book that you read every year? (Source: Berkeley Heights Public Library Book Blog and Buzz) Tue, 14 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 893203 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/nookcolor-kindle-roundup-millions-of-kindles-sold/ KINDLE AND NOOKCOLOR NEWS ROUNDUP Haven’t been around the last two days and now that I’m back, I see that the news seems to be almost entirely about the holiday lists all the newspapers and ‘zines are making.   I drew attention to one very popular list the other day, but on the Amazon review areas and forums, there are still many people wondering which e-reader to buy or whether or not they should upgrade their prior Kindles, so I’ll go again with what’s in the news.  Since I missed a couple of days, this will be extra wordy.  I miss a day and you get punished. That’s A Kindle World. In the hot, color department you have LCD tablets like the Apple iPad ,Samsung Galaxy 7″, Archos 70 at 7″ and Archos 101 at 10″, and now the 7″ Barnes & Noble NookColor (w/Sandisk micro SD card) too.  As I’ve written, I may get a NookColor eventually as a secondary or supplemental e-reader because I would like a color e-reader for SHORT-session reading (magazines, travel, history, and art reference books), and others want color for their children. The trade-offs are battery life, ability to read easily in sunlight or near a window, possible eye fatigue from long-form reading (books) on a backlit screen, weight, and expense.  The iPad starts at $500 w/WiFi Only ($629 w/3G also); the Samsung Galaxy 7″, quite a bit smaller but more portable than the 10″ iPad, is about $600; the Archos 101 10″ tablet is sold out already everywhere at $295, as it has many features the iPad doesn’t, at a considerably lower cost (HDMI connector, USB port, micro SD card slot, webcam), and the NookColor e-reader (which is $250 and wisely being marketed as mainly an e-reader since it’s officially not intended do what a full Android tablet can). ... Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:26:21 +0100 892615 http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/girl-genius-novelization-now-available-as-baen-e-book/ The Night Shade Books section on Baen Webscriptions recently began selling the novelization of the first part of the Girl Genius graphic novel/webcomic series by Phil and Kaja Foglio: Agatha H and the Airship City. As with all Baen titles, including the ones Baen sells on Night Shade’s behalf, there is no DRM, it is available in multiple formats, and the cost is $6. I follow the Monday/Wednesday/Friday “Girl Genius” webcomic anxiously from week to week, and I am greatly looking forward to the chance to go back to the beginning with this novel and learn all of the background details about the universe that could never be fit into the graphic novel series. (It also brings Girl Genius to the e-book format that Paul thought it couldn’t compete with paper in.) I have already purchased and downloaded it, and can’t wait to dig in. The print, Kindle, and audiobook versions of it will not officially be available until January 5th. (I have been told that this book is one of very few that don’t have a restricted street date, so bookstores can begin selling it as soon as they have it in stock.) In his LiveJournal, Phil Foglio asks that people who plan to purchase the book from Amazon wait and do so on January 12th (which also happens to be Kaja’s birthday). He and Kaja hope that so many people buying it on the same day will drive sales rankings high enough that non-fans will notice and check it out and more bookstores will be willing to carry it for local customers. (And if nothing else, it seems like a great birthday present for Kaja, so I’m all for it.) One thing about the book puzzles me just a bit, however. The Kindle version is priced at $7.99, almost $2 more than the Baen/Night Shade e-book. Given that Amazon’s contract usually requires that they have a price lower than or equal to that for which the title is selling elsewhere, I’m curious about the lack of parity. I have asked about it on Baen’s Bar and will see what I find out. ... Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:15:00 +0100 892512 http://146.74.224.231/archives/2010/12/lemony_snicket.html The books are at the library Series of Unfortunate Events Enjoy listening to Series of Unfortunate Events on audiobooks. (Source: Santa Clara County Library - The Latest SCCoop) Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:16:15 +0100 891892 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html#7172009885279294100 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:The Heat Islands by Randy Wayne White (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 891735 http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/2010/dec/09/short-stories-podcasts The Guardian's head of audio looks forward to a new series of podcasts, featuring leading authors reading short stories by other writersSaturday's an exciting day for us in the audio department. We're launching our new series of podcasts, but podcasts with a difference. We've invited some of the country's top authors to read us their favourite short story by another writer. So you'll hear Philip Pullman reading Chekov, Rose Tremain reading Yiyun and William Boyd reading JD Ballard, and then discuss why they chose those particular stories.We're running 12 of these from Saturday every day until Christmas. But it's been a project that we've been working on since the summer, when the Guardian's Review editor Lisa Allardice came up with the idea. She says: "We're familiar with audio books, but with writers choosing their favourite story they bring something of themselves to the reading."Julian Barnes surprised us with his choice of Hemingway's Homage to Switzerland. He's known as a really macho writer but he said he chose this piece to show the other more witty side of Hemingway."Over the last six months we've seen a succession of literary giants passing through the Guardian's multimedia hub, ushered in to our studio by our producers to record, re-record and retake their readings. Producer Tim Maby was surprised at how authors are now so used to reading aloud they even move the microphones to where it best suits them: "Anne Enright, for instance, likes to hug it." Tim says Rose Tremain commented that all writers like showing off, while Philip Pullman revealed he loves talking in to a mic.For me, as head of audio here at the Guardian, it's a particularly exciting series, because these recordings really show why podcasting is so much better than radio: they will remain on our website and on iTunes and be a resource for people forever. You don't have to be sitting next to your wireless at a certain time to catch them. So ... ... Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:52:30 +0100 891566 http://www.teleread.com/library/overdrive-apps-for-iphone-and-android-now-support-ebooks/ From OverDrive’s Digital Library blog: Today, we released an update to the OverDrive apps for iPhone and Android, which adds support for eBooks from OverDrive libraries. Now your customers will be able to download both EPUB eBooks and MP3 audiobooks directly to their iPhone, iPod touch, or Android phone/tablet. New users can search for “OverDrive Media Console” in the Apple App Store and Android Market, while current users will be alerted to update the existing OverDrive app on their devices. OverDrive Media Console v2.0 for iPhone and Android provides two major enhancements that improve the end user experience. First, the apps now enable users to download and enjoy EPUB eBooks on their devices (in addition to the existing ability to download MP3 audiobooks). The eBook reading experience includes user-inspired features for bookmarking and adjusting brightness and font size. Additional features will be added as the apps develop, including highlighting, annotation, in-app text-to-speech, and more. Second, both apps offer a built-in ‘Get Books’ feature. If a library customer has already downloaded audiobooks from your library with a previous version of the app, your library will be displayed when he or she selects ‘Get Books’. With a single click, the user can reach your site once again. If a customer is new to library downloads, he or she can quickly find your ‘Virtual Branch’ website and save it for single-click access going forward. More info in the blog. Thanks to Erica Cathers for the heads up. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:29:37 +0100 891638 http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/62485 From an AAP News Release: Publishers’ book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of October decreased by 0.9 percent on the prior year to $721 million and were up by 3.4 percent for the year to date. In the children’s book category, Hardcover Children’s/YA sales showed [...] (Source: ResourceShelf) Wed, 08 Dec 2010 23:21:47 +0100 891349 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/ebook-sales-hold-steady-at-almost-9-of-trade-book-sales-says-aap/ From the press release: E-book sales from participating reporting publishers continue to grow, with a 112.4 percent increase over October 2009 ($40.7 million) compared to $19.2 million in October 2009. January-October 2010 year-to-date E-book sales are up 171.3 percent reaching $345.3 million compared to 127.3 million from January-October 2009. Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 20.7 percent over last year, with sales of $6.3 million this October; and the category was also up 38.6 percent year-to-date. Physical Audio Book sales decreased 20.5 percent in October with sales totaling $14.7 million; sales for the year to date are down 13.5 percent. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:17:02 +0100 891327 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/a-informacao/~3/gz9Bz45yDAY/o-direito-autoral-e-o-livro-digital.html NOVAS CLÁUSULAS PARA O CONTRATO DE CESSÃO DE DIREITOS AUTORAIS/ DE EDIÇÃO PARA ABARCAR OS DIREITOS SOBRE O LIVRO DIGITAL Autora: Joana Teixeira de Mello Fonte: http://www.joanamello.com.br/artigos/index.php?id=6 Data: 2/12/2010. O sistema jurídico brasileiro de proteção aos direitos autorais é regulado, atualmente, pela Lei 9.610 de 1998. Esta dispõe como princípios fundamentais, o princípio da interpretação restritiva e o princípio da divisibilidade. O artigo 4º da referida Lei determina que os negócios jurídicos sobre os direitos autorais devem ser interpretados restritivamente. Isso significa que onde se lê cessão para comercialização de livro, não se lê livro em geral, não incluindo o livro digital. Portanto, no momento da elaboração de um contrato de cessão de direitos autorais ou de edição, em que se quer incluir a comercialização do livro digital, é importante prever expressamente que a cessão abarca esse novo formato, além do livro impresso. A Lei também determina, em seu artigo 31, que as diversas modalidades de utilização de obras literárias são independentes entre si e a autorização concedida pelo autor não se estende às demais modalidades. Esse é o chamado Princípio da Divisibilidade do Direito Autoral, fundamentado, por sua vez, na finalidade do legislador de proteger o autor, assim, como o faz, o princípio da interpretação restritiva explanado acima. O foco é que o autor possua controle sobre sua criação e os frutos que essa render. Ademais, o artigo 29, X da Lei 9.610/1998 prevê claramente que depende de autorização expressa do autor a utilização da obra por quaisquer outras modalidades de utilização existentes ou que venham a ser inventadas. ... Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:46:00 +0100 890989 http://blogaboutmurphy.blogspot.com/2010/12/free-library-apps-for-your-mobile.html Search for any of the following apps at the app store, or visit the links below to find out more information. Android:MyBookDroid by Zezi - helps you keep track of the books you have read, would like to read, and suggests similar books based on your reading habits. You can easily manage your library and add books with the barcode scanner feature. This app also incorporates reviews from http://www.goodreads.com/. YAGRAC by One Sad Jam - a Goodreads client for Android devices. You can explore and find interesting books and also find out what the people on your Goodreads friends list are reading while you are away from your computer. This app also has a feature to let you know what events are related near you. iPhone:RedLaser - Scan just about any book, and RedLaser is able to locate a copy of it in a nearby library. RedLaser will also help you find books from thousands of online retailers if you'd like to buy a copy at the lowest price. RedLaser also does a lot more, like warning you of food allergens, compare housewares and shop for electronics. Dewey D - An app that keeps track of the books you'd like to read. Search by author, keep trackof authors you hear about, browse selections on the NY Times bestsellers list. Nice interface with lots of additional features. Lend Me by Autus Mobile - Helps you keep track who is borrowing your stuff. It integrates with your calendar to put reminders of when they should be returning your stuff. Hopefully this app will help you get all of your favorite books back from your friends.Both:Worldcat Mobile - Worldcat, the world's largest library catalog, comes to your phone. Search for library materials and find a participating WorldCat library near you. Allows you to call a library by highlighting the number in the library listing and also map a route. Overdrive Media Console - MP3 audio book app for use with MyMediaMall titles. Allows you to navigate chapters, create bookmarks and resume from the last point played. ... Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 892108 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/04/sue-arnold-audiobook-reviews Handling Edna by Barry Humphries, Livin' the Dreem by Harry Hill and A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn FrenchHandling Edna, written and read by Barry Humphries (4hrs abridged, Orion, £18.99)Here's a conundrum. Barry Humphries makes me laugh; Dame Edna Everage, his alter ego, doesn't. Or at least not as much as the author describing how a suburban housewife took over his life. I'm not sure how it comes across in print. Without Humphries switching from Edna's famously strangulated falsetto to his own more often than not bewildered voice, surely most of the jokes are lost. Then again, what makes me laugh won't necessarily amuse you, though I defy anyone not to crack up at the description of the nativity play in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, in 1954, where he first saw her onstage: "A limp red curtain hung athwart the small stage, and as the lights convulsively dimmed it was thus to the tune of 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' that the curtain parted to reveal a bustling square in old Jerusalem. The stage swarmed with people – an effective use, I noticed, had been made of bath towels, dressing gowns and burnt cork. The players threw themselves enthusiastically into the roles of beggars, rabbis and non-specific Arabs . . ." But none is as enthusiastic as Mary Magdalene, who erupts onstage in a scarlet (if biblically inauthentic) muumuu and addresses a weary Jesus with the immortal lines: "Christ, your feet look awful. Let me give them a little TLC." How the two team up and how Dame Edna's meteoric rise to superstar status eventually eclipsed Humphries's own solo stage career is curiously unsettling. ... Sat, 04 Dec 2010 00:05:22 +0100 890172 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bryanloar/~3/UpBFt8-Z5g0/new-forms-of-synthesis.html Mark Twain Mashup from Nicolas de Peyer on Vimeo.I didn't want to write a paper for my Final in one of my college classes that was focused on Mark Twain. So instead I scoured the internet, and the library, my librivox audio books, and my music collection, and I mashed this up.Music is by Prefuse 73, and it is still one of their best songs. I highly recommend that you support Prefuse if you like them. Will today's term paper be tomorrow's media mashup? Should visual literacy be contrasted against literacy, or is it really about the ability to synthesize concepts and communicate those in compelling ways?More @ bryanloar.com (Source: Brave New World) Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 890439 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html#7603493746131501104 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:For the King: A Novel by Catherine Delors (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100 890320 http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/62311 You can access the complete list here. The complete list contains the Top 10 titles in each category. Here's the number one title in each of the eight categories: Most Downloaded eBook – Adult Fiction 1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group) Downloaded eBook – Adult Nonfiction 1. Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin Group [...] (Source: ResourceShelf) Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:03:17 +0100 889692 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BPLDNews/~3/X6S-x7YQKJ4/buena-park-librarys-volunteer-guild.html The always popular Double Discount Sale of the Volunteer Guild Bookstore will be held Saturday, December 11, 2010, from 12 pm to 4:30 PM in the Guild's bookstore, located on the 2nd floor of the Buena Park Library District at 7150 La Palma Avenue. Just in time for the holiday gift shopping, tables full of donations, including a large selection of audio books, music CDs and cassettes, music LPs, VHS movies, magazines, Christmas themed books of all kinds, and a ton of fiction and non-fiction titles will be on display for perusal and purchase. Come early for best selection! Cash only, please. The Bookstore is elevator-accessible. For further information, please contact the Volunteer Guild, 714.826.4100 x123. (Source: Buena Park Library District News) Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:16:10 +0100 890289 http://www.blogger.com/video-play.mp4?contentId=4d4e63ac470eb9b3&type=video%2Fmp4 The Digital Bookmobile National Tour will showcase the free audiobook, eBook, and music download service from the West Community Library at St. Petersburg Gibbs campus between the SC and TE buildings this Thursday December 2nd from 9-3pm. At these free events, readers of all ages will learn how to download digital books from the library through interactive demonstrations and high-definition (Source: St. Petersburg College Library Blog) Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:28:16 +0100 889340 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/27/sue-arnold-burma-audiobooks-review Finding George Orwell in Burma, Burmese Days and The Piano TunerFinding George Orwell in Burma, by Emma Larkin, read by Emily Durante (8hrs unabridged, Tantor, £26.99)Was finding George Orwell in Burma more frustrating than my quest to find anything, absolutely anything at all, about Burma on audio last week? Prompted by Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, Five Books, an online browsing site, invited me (my mother was Burmese) to recommend five books about Burma. I got there in the end thanks to the RNIB and Calibre Talking Book Libraries plus a rota of loyal readers, but the fact that none of the books I chose is currently available on UK commercial audio even as a download is depressing. So, no Freedom From Fear, then, by the lady herself; no From the Land of Green Ghosts, Pascal Khoo Thwe's autobiography chronicling his career from jungle revolutionary to Cambridge undergraduate; no The Lizard Cage, by Karen Connelly, a novel based on the brutal treatment of Burmese political prisoners. The good news is that Emma Larkin's revelatory odyssey makes up for everything. That's not her real name, of course, but neither was Orwell's. She speaks fluent Burmese, lives in Thailand and spent a year visiting all the places to which young Eric Blair, fresh from Eton, was posted in his brief career (1922-27) as an imperial police officer. Her resulting book, Secret Histories: Finding George Orwell in a Burmese Tea Shop, on which the audio is based, is a mix of history, travel, literary companion, but mainly an investigation into the lives of ordinary people under one of the world's harshest totalitarian regimes. What comes across most in her casual conversations with people in markets, on buses and in teashops is their resilience, their courage and their humour. OK, I'm biased. The easiest way to order US audios such as Tantor's is through the Audiobook Store in Baker Street, London. ... Sat, 27 Nov 2010 00:07:10 +0100 888684 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#5242767577175180209 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:A Full Cup: Sir Thomas Lipton's Extraordinary Life and His Quest for the America's Cup by Michael D'Antonio (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 26 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 888947 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.education.web4lib/17146 Melanie, In response to my own message, I jumped the gun on that. That app is for audiobooks, rather then regular e-books, so I apologize for my error. However, this accurate link states that OverDrive IS in the process of developing an e-book reading App, as of last May. They gave a preview of said App at BookExpo back in May, and the article says it will be available for Android first, then the Apple and other devices. _http://www.overdrive.com/aboutus/getArticle.aspx?newsArticleID=20100519_ (http://www.overdrive.com/aboutus/getArticle.aspx?newsArticleID=20100519) So, it seems that one is in the process of being created, it simply hasn't been released yet. Again, sorry for jumping the gun with the wrong article earlier! - Barron Angell MLS Student at SCSU "He who knows he knows, knows nothing, He who knows he knows nothing, truly knows." (Source: gmane.education.web4lib) Thu, 25 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 888548 http://ricklibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/musicophilia-tales-of-music-and-brain.html Everyone in my family is ready with book suggestions. My daughter Laura, who is studying music therapy at the University of Iowa, was deeply impressed with Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks. She told me over a year ago that I would enjoy it, so when I saw the audiobook available at the Downers Grove Public Library two weeks ago, I checked it out. I'm glad that I did, for I now understand much more about the mysteries of mental music and the promise of music therapy, an obviously important topic to Laura.Many readers already know Oliver Sacks as the psychiatrist author of Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and seven other books drawn from his clinical studies. Many of these books have been best sellers and the two that I named inspired films.In Musicophilia, Sacks tells many stories about the profound effects of music on people with varying brain conditions. Some involve genetic abnormalities, while others reveal of the effects of brain injuries. At the center of each story is a real person whose life is shaped by the music in their heads and in the environment around them. Some have unwanted music that plays constantly, rendering sleep and daily life difficult. Others, including some musicians, have lost the ability to recognize music. Some with severe memory loss can only function with the aid of music. Constant music in retail stores makes shopping intolerable for some sensitive individuals. Throughout Sacks sympathetically describes diagnosis, treatment, and results of his cases. I particularly found the discussions of earworms (catchy melodies that you can't dislodge from your mind) instructive; calm surrender can be better than desperately fighting the tunes. I was also fascinated by the chapter on the patients with Williams Syndrome, which restricts scholastic learning but fosters great talent at musical composition; one young woman who could not count to eight wrote beautiful orchestral pieces easily. ... Wed, 24 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 888353 http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2010/11/three-britains.html The recent news about the "new austerity" in the UK reminded me I've been meaning to read David Kynaston's book, Austerity Britain, 1945-51. Sadly I didn't even realize what life after the war was like there until I read the letters written to Helene Hanff in 84, Charing Cross Road ("Everyone was so grateful for the parcel. My little ones (girl 5, boy 4) were in Heaven - with the raisins and egg I was actually able to make them a cake!") Kynaston takes ordinary people's stories and ties them in to the major events of the day, albeit in 692 pages.Then, Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester caught my eye from its perch on the shelf for new books at BHPL. It's an illustrated guide to upper-class life during the early 19th century. Publishers Weekly says it addresses everything "from the inside-out details of period costume to the different methods of harnessing horses to carriages and the proper method of table service". But the book that I actually checked out is the historical novel Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, the 2009 Booker prize winner. In case you've been living under a rock, this is the gist of the book: In 1520s England, the Tudor Dynasty is threatening to unravel. King Henry VIII has yet to produce a male heir in twenty-year-marriage to his first wife. However, his pursuit to annul his marriage and court his wife's lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn, threatens the stability of all of England and sets forth a chain of events that alters the course of history. Oooh, thrilling. There are other copies available right now, including an audiobook, so I'm not hogging. (Source: Berkeley Heights Public Library Book Blog and Buzz) Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 888459 http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/copia-a-frustrating-ereader-experience-but-showing-potential-by-douglas-cootey/ I’ve been looking forward to this app for a few months. When I heard about The Copia and discovered its dizzying array of models to choose from, I wondered why they were focusing on hardware in this increasingly crowded ereader market when they could accomplish the same social network goals with less startup cost with apps for PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones, and Android tablets. Apparently, DMC Worldwide had the same thoughts because they’ve discontinued their ereaders and will be focusing on the desktop and mobile experience. Unfortunately, this app is very beta. As such, do not expect a new social network experience. Whatever Copia’s potential, it isn’t on display with their iPad client. In fact, my initial reactions to this app are very negative. I spent quite a bit of time diving into the Copia ecosystem last week since I was stuck on the couch. I discovered there was a vastly different experience between Mac, web, and iPad clients. The worst of the three was the iPad version. First of all, I could not create an account with the iPad client. It would hang upon submission. After ten minutes of failed attempts, I turned to the web and set up an account in mere moments. Once I had an account, the iPad let me in without further issue. The desktop or mobile client is needed to read the free ebooks because they use Adobe Digital Editions DRM. I would recommend you reboot your iPad once you’ve installed the Copia app. I could initiate no downloads of the free ebooks until I had done so. Finding the social network within the app was difficult. The community comments are mixed in with the search and table of contents. You need to select a dual column icon to access them while in reading mode. I found the process a bit unintuitive, but that is the least of its flaws. None of the highlights, notes, bookmarks, or even last place read synced between the Mac client and the iPad client. ... Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:48:03 +0100 887803 http://www.librarystuff.net/2010/11/21/enypl-for-apple-ipad-iphone-ipod-touch/ New York Public Library – “Overdrive, NYPL’s digital media vendor (ebooks.nypl.org), is coming out with an iOS app for both ebooks and audiobooks soon.  At the moment, if you’re an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch owner you can download and listen to Overdrive audiobooks using the Overdrive Media Console (available from the iTunes Store.) You can browse our site in Mobile Safari, check out .mp3 audiobook files, and simply click the Download button to launch the special player. In the meantime, Bluefire Reader is a new app that may fill in that (simply agonizing!) gap for some users until an Overdrive ebook reader is available” (Source: Library Stuff) Sun, 21 Nov 2010 13:33:40 +0100 887544 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Dbjx/~5/AO6g9_WXh9U/FhbV3phZ-N4 There have  been a few posts lately about the iphone app Bluefire Reader which enables reading of DRM protected ebooks. The Distant Librarian reminded me of these posts so I decided to try it out with my public library’s Overdrive collection. I’ve previously written about my experience with this collection and the Overdrive application which only provides access to audiobooks. It seems that Bluefire has stolen a march on it, although it might not be far behind. More on that later. The first scenario I tried was checking out and downloading an ePub book on my netbook and then using Dropbox to transfer it to the iPhone. This worked easily enough, however I found that because I had already opened it on the netbook using Adobe Digital Editions I could not open it with Bluefire even though it was with the same Adobe account. According to the Bluefire user guide this could be due to a publisher restriction. Another title, this time saved straight to Dropbox without opening and I was soon reading a loaned book on the phone. The Distant Librarian reported that only audiobooks were browseable in Safari on the iPhone for his library’s collection. I had the same experience with the Gold Coast Library’s Overdrive collection. Trying to get epub format books via Safari on the iPhone was the second scenario. UPDATE: There’s a comment on the Distant Librarian’s post explaining how to tweak the URL to get both audio and ebooks in Safari. Bluefire is easy to use, similar user experience to Stanza, but does not have the share options for posting snippets to email or social networks. According to this video, the Overdrive app will soon (December 2010) include functionality for ebooks in addition to audiobooks. Presumably the mobile site viewed in Safari will then also show ebooks too. Both Overdrive and Bluefire applications are free. (Source: Innovate) Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:13:36 +0100 888104 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/20/audiobook-sue-arnold-stories-review Seven Short Stories | Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories | Untold Stories, Volume OneSeven Short Stories, read by Jeff Harding, Stephen Thorne, William Hope and others (unabridged, Spokenink.co.uk, free)To celebrate National Short Story Week, starting on Monday, Spoken Ink, which specialises in short-story downloads, is offering listeners a free story every day, kicking off with Conan Doyle and ending with Lionel Shriver. Devotees of the genre will already be familiar with the MR James spinechiller and Saki's "Sredni Vashtar", which adds a new dimension to nasty things in woodsheds. Roald Dahl's "The Hitchhiker" was new to me, as was "The Pierce Sisters" by Mick Jackson, the quirkiest, cleverest and most atmospheric piece I've read in years. Lol and Edna live in a remote, ramshackle seaside shack and survive by taking their boat out six days a week, lowering their nets and consigning everything they don't immediately eat to their smokehouse. Once a fortnight they wrap the kippered results in newspaper and exchange them for bread, tea and salt in the town nine miles away. One day they rescue a shipwrecked man and bring him home. Here's what happens when he recovers and regards his saviours for the first time. "Now there was no denying that Lol and Edna Pierce had passed their prime a few years earlier. The sisters had led long and arduous lives. Their cheeks were blustered by the sea and wind, their hands were rough, their hair was matted. Their clothes were creased and greased from all the fish they'd rubbed up against. So when the half-drowned man opened his eyes it must have come as quite a shock to have both Pierces peering at him when, to be fair, either one would have been more than enough. ... Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:06:35 +0100 887333 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#604232306334662825 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:Strangers at the Feast by Jennifer Vanderbes (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 887831 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogs/distlib/~3/2CfbzKRDNcA/using-bluefire-reader-to-read-overdrive-ebooks-on-your-ios-device.html I carved out a little time this afternoon to explore the several posts I'd bookmarked about the new Bluefire ebook reader, which is notable for being able to support ebooks containing Adobe DRM. Here are the links to follow: How To Get Library Ebooks on the iPad/iPhone, No Sync Required - Josh Hadro, LJ Insider Reading Library Ebooks on iPad with Bluefire, the Easy Way - Liz Castro - this one includes a bookmarklet that may prove very useful to you Two quick ways to read library e-books on your iPhone or iPad with Bluefire - Jay Hathaway, Download Squad I got it all to work with Calgary Public Library's Overdrive subscription, though not quite as seamlessly as I'd hoped. Looking at a couple of the screen shots in the posts above leads me to believe CPL's instance of Overdrive isn't showing me the full meal deal; I can browse the mp3 audiobooks, but can't view the eBooks from Safari on my iPhone. So I ended up finding a book on my laptop, saving the file do DropBox, and then picking it up with Bluefire from DropBox on my iPhone. Not onerous at all, but I'd prefer to be able to do the whole operation from my phone. I'll contact CPL to see if there are any tweaks they can make to allow me (us) to do this. Would love to hear if you have the same success, and if your library's mobile interface for Overdrive lets you browse the ebook collection.   (Source: The Distant Librarian) Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 887270 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/15/golden-age-boom-literary-scene I was too hasty in appraising the contemporary literary scene, but there's no doubt we are living through an explosion in activityFrom time to time, on this blog, I've used a technical term – "golden age" – to describe the condition of the contemporary Anglo-American literary scene. I've done this partly because I'm generally optimistic, partly to annoy the nattering nabobs of negativity, and partly because I happen to think it's true. Now, as the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, I'm redefining my terms, and reconsidering the situation. On reflection, I concede that golden age is wrong. Who knows if it's a golden age? Posterity alone can make that judgment. It's a fair bet that among writers living in – approximately – 1605 (Shakespeare; Jonson; Donne), or 1795 (Coleridge; Wordsworth; Jefferson) or 1859 (Dickens; Darwin; George Eliot; Disraeli; Thackeray) very few would readily have recognised any golden age. That appreciation can only come with hindsight.But if it's not appropriate to speak of a golden age, there's certainly some kind of boom going on. Ben Johncock's recent Guardian blog on contemporary magazines illustrates how vital the print culture remains. Who could have predicted, in the age of the worldwide web, that so many little magazines would be flourishing so vibrantly? This goes to show, I'd say, that we are living through an age of almost unprecedented literary activity. Never before have so many been writing (emails; blogs; texts; tweets; novels; poems, etc) and never before has so much of this transmission been so widely received – globally, in fact. Never mind the quality (that's a later judgment), feel the width. ... Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:40:35 +0100 886880 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/macworld-looks-at-nookcolor-and-likes-it/ MacWorld has a positive review of the NookColor today. One of the major uses for such a device will be, I think, children’s books, so here is the section of the review discussing that: With over 130 picture books, and double that number planned by the end of 2010, Barnes & Noble launches NookColor with an engaging, albeit proprietary, approach to storytelling for children. A kid’s book on the NookColor.Picture books automatically launch in landscape mode. Swipe left to right or tap on the edge of the screen to change pages. And to enlarge the text so it’s more readable, just tap a paragraph to call up an enlarged popover text box. Some books have a “read to me” option. No computerized voices here; rather, it’s much like an audio book, just one that’s reading the content aloud as you move through each page. Titles that have the read to me option also let you pick a passage of text and play just that passage to hear the words. In addition to the picture books, the company also has some 12,000 children’s “chapter” books. So far, there’s no “Little House on the Prairie,” but there’s plenty of other kid-friendly titles on-hand. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:34:11 +0100 886608 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/14/tolstoy-russian-life-rosamund-bartlett-review A noble effort, but one that will not supersede earlier biographies of the master of fictionThe state of Tolstoy's health was closely monitored by the press during the final phase of his life. Years before his death in 1910, people worried about what it would mean. "I dread Tolstoy's death", Chekhov wrote in a letter in 1900 – partly, he explained, because he loved the man, partly because he admired his beliefs (without sharing them) and partly because Tolstoy's immense authority seemed to justify "all the hopes and aspirations invested in literature". While Tolstoy lived, Chekhov said, "crude, embittered vainglory" was kept in the outer darkness; "without him the literary world would be a flock without a shepherd, or a hopeless mess." The symbolist poet Aleksandr Blok, writing in 1908, went further: "everything is still straightforward and not fearfully relativistic so long as Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy is alive … The morning is still dewy, fresh, unfrightening, the vampires are drowsing, and thank God, Tolstoy walks … And if the sun sinks, Tolstoy dies, the last genius departs – what then?"For these two writers, and for many other men and women in Russia and around the world, Tolstoy was something more than a literary figure, and something more, too, than a sage and/or crank – his main occupation after his spiritual crisis in the early 1880s. "If the world could write by itself", Isaac Babel said, "it would write like Tolstoy"; and though on one level this was romantic hyperbole (Tolstoy, as Babel knew, was exhibit A in the great critic Viktor Shklovsky's work on literature as technique), you can still see, while under the spell of War and Peace or Anna Karenina, what Babel meant. Tolstoy had a complicated relationship with God: the pair of them famously reminded Maxim Gorky of "two bears in one den", a den not big enough for both. ... Sun, 14 Nov 2010 00:05:04 +0100 885876 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/13/zen-motorcycle-ts-eliot-review Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M Pirsig, read by Michael Kramer | The Bones of Avalon, by Phil Rickman, read by Sean Barrett | Murder in the Cathedral, by TS EliotZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M Pirsig, read by Michael Kramer (13hrs unabridged, Craftsman, £39.99)"Motorcycle riding is romantic, motorcycle maintenance is purely classic. The dirt, the grease, the mastery of underlying form required all give it such negative romantic appeal that women never go near it," wrote Pirsig in his 1974 bestseller. This may explain why, like every other self-respecting hippy weaned on Kerouac, Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti, I bought it but never actually read it. Listening to the book now I realise that trying to plough through this tortuous journey to self-enlightenment in print rather than on audio, I wouldn't have finished it anyway. Curious because, rather than endearing the author to me, Kramer's deadpan reading made me want to hurl one of Pirsig's precious spanners at his head. He's such a self-righteous nerd, constantly advising his friend John, astride the second Harley-Davidson en route to Montana, how to adjust his handlebars or tighten his chain. You can see why John, an easygoing musician, gets irritated. He's there for the ride, not the therapy. By contrast Pirsig – complex, uptight, tormented, a Korean war veteran who switched from science to philosophy at university and suffered a mental breakdown – is hoping that this 17-day road odyssey from Minnesota to California will exorcise his demons. How? By engaging in daily chautauquas or philosophical discussions (it's from an Iroquois word) on a variety of subjects – from epistemology to the kinaesthetic feeling for the elasticity of material that enables a good motorcycle mechanic tightening his axle nut to determine the vital difference between finger-tight and snug. Ye gods. No wonder they didn't talk much over meals. ... Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:05:41 +0100 885749 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#138129056962730035 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:Bury My Heart at Conference Room B: The Unbeatable Impact of Truly Committed Managers by Stan Slap (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 886488 http://www.teleread.com/andrys-basten/ebook-sales-grow-in-september-while-hardcover-book-sales-fall-says-the-aap/ From the press release: Publishers’ book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of September decreased by 12.1 percent on the prior year to $1.1 billion and were up by 3.8 percent for the year to date. The children’s book category showed decreases over September of last year, with Hardcover Children’s/YA sales down 17.4 percent for the month with sales of $76.6 million in September, and year-to-date sales are down by 15.1 percent. Children’s/YA Paperback sales decreased 1.6 percent in September with sales totaling $53.3 million; sales fell 6.8 percent for the year to date. The Adult Hardcover category was down 40.4 percent in September with sales of $180.3 million, and sales for the year-to-date down by 8.1 percent. Adult Paperback sales decreased 15.8 percent for the month ($111.5 million) but increased by 1.5 percent for the year so far. Adult Mass Market sales decreased 23.6 percent for September with sales totaling $67.8 million; sales were down by 15.7 percent year to date. E-book sales continue to grow, with a 158.1 percent increase over September 2009 ($39.9 million); year-to-date E-book sales are up 188.4 percent. Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 73.7 percent over last year, with sales of $7.7 million this September; and the category was also up 34.1 percent year-to-date. Physical Audio Book sales decreased 42.6 percent in September with sales totaling $11.6 million; sales for the year to date are down 12.6 percent. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:38:34 +0100 885146 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/sneak-preview-overdrive-ebook-app-for-the-iphone/ (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:06:00 +0100 885150 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/audio/2010/nov/10/talking-books-audiobook-agatha-christie An excerpt from one of the very first audiobooks: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Source: Guardian Unlimited Books) Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:30:00 +0100 885088 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/nov/10/rnib-talking-books-anniversary Some 75m books on vinyl, cassette and now special compressed CD, have been issued free to more than 2 million people with sight problemsIt was soldiers who lost their sight during the first world war and complained that learning to read using Braille was difficult that spurred the RNIB to come up with its Talking Book service. This week, the service celebrates its 75th anniversary. The first titles, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie, and Typhoon, by Joseph Conrad, recorded on 12-inch shellac gramophone records were sent out by the charity supporting blind and partially sighted people on 7 November1935.The records played at 24 revolutions per minute, rather than the then standard 75 rpm, so that 25 minutes of speech could be crammed on each side. Even so, a typical novel required 10 double-sided discs.The Society of Authors and the Society of Publishers lent the service their support to avoid copyright problems and the Post Office granted cheap postage rates. By September 1937, 966 specialist 24 rpm players had been sent out to readers with 42 new titles recorded.Since then, around 75m books on vinyl, cassette and now special compressed CD, have been issued free to more than 2 million people. The most popular authors include JK Rowling, James Patterson, Agatha Christie, Danielle Steel, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult. Over the last 12 months Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, Dear Fatty, by Dawn French, and How to Cheat at Cooking, by Delia Smith, were among the most popular listens.A new talking book costs up to £2,500 to produce and there are around 18,000 titles available. The charity charges an annual £79 subscription fee, which includes the special player required to listen to the extra-long CDs, for the £4m a year service. In many cases the fee is paid by local authorities via library services. ... Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:30:01 +0100 885089 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2010/nov/10/rnib-talking-books As RNIB celebrates the 75th anniversary of talking books, we look at their history (Source: Guardian Unlimited Books) Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:30:00 +0100 885090 http://yourlibrarycsu.blogspot.com/2010/11/books-on-cd-at-your-csu-library.html Did you know that Your CSU Library has a range of titles on CD. These include fiction, children's titles, biographies and much more.Here are some titles to enjoy during those long car trips over the summer, or even just as background sound.Waiting Room by by Gabrielle Carey (biography) Library catalogue holdings detailsDay by A.L. Kennedy (fiction) Library catalogue holdings detailsBreath by Tim Winton (fiction) Library catalogue holdings detailsTorchwood: another life by Peter Anghelides Library catalogue holdings detailsThe BFG by Roald Dahl (children's fiction) Library catalogue holdings detailsRomulus, my father by Raimond Gaita (biography) Library catalogue holdings detailsBleak house by Charles Dickens (fiction) Library catalogue holdings detailsAlice’s adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (children's fiction) Library catalogue holdings details Country by Tim Flannery (historical) Library catalogue holdings details Miss Marple in A Pocket full of rye by Agatha Christie (fiction) Library catalogue holdings detailsBehind the scenes at the museum by Kate Atkinson (fiction) Library catalogue holdings detailsThe brass verdict by Michael Connelly (fiction) Library catalogue holdings detailsAristotle : an introduction by Hugh Griffith (political science) Library catalogue holdings detailsThere are also a number of free downloadable audio books online available to the public. Some examples include:Anne of Green Gables by L. M Montgomery (children's fiction) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (children's fiction) Emma by Jane Austen (fiction)The Very Best of BBC Comedy published by BBC Audiobooks Ltd (comedy)Alibi Jones by Mike Luoma (science fiction)History of the Plague in London by Daniel Defoe (historical)War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (fiction) (Source: Your Library@CSU) Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 885649 http://santafelibrary.blogspot.com/2010/11/pre-thanksgiving-sale.html La Farge Library1730 Llano St.November 20 & 21Saturday: 10 am - 4 pmSunday: 1 pm - 4 pmOpen to the PublicNo memberships required for any hours of this sale.Discount books onlyHardbound $1paperback 3 for $1plus CDs, DVDs, audiobooks on saleSunday: Bag Day, $3 per bagAll sales sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.Funds raised by the Friends are dedicated to purchasing new books for the Library. (Source: ICARUS... the Santa Fe Public Library Blog) Tue, 09 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 884945 http://www.teleread.com/audiobooks/chapterme-hear-a-chapter-from-a-book/ It continually amazes me how people come up with new stuff in this electronic arena. To wit, Chapterme: This site is meant to help you discover books and authors by listening to random chapters. Then, your tastes will be compared with those of other listeners in order to choose other chapters. The recordings are created by the fabulous LibriVox.org site. At any time you can go to the book page on LibriVox.org and listen to the whole book. From there, you can navigate to Project Gutenberg if you want to get the text. Could be fun to try it out on a rainy afternoon. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:05:52 +0100 884710 http://bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com/2010/11/unveiling-bhpls-new-web-site.html BHPL's new web site went live late last night! The web site address is still bhplnj.org. (If you use bookmarks or favorites, you will need to bookmark or favorite the new site.) The "Books, CDs & DVDs" column on the right side links to anything you can take home from the library or view online using the library's subscription. Whether you want to browse BHPL's newly arrived books, request an interlibrary loan, read an article from the Star-Ledger archives from home, or download an eBook or audiobook, Books, CDs & DVDs is where you would look. Under the "Events" column, also on the right side of the page, the new calendar lists all of the library's events in one spot. BHPL's newsletter, The Buzz, is in the same column. If you prefer a list of events, check out the programs for adults or the children's page. And that's about it. We tried to make it simple. If that didn't cover what you're looking for, look under About, or use the search box in the bottom right corner. (Source: Berkeley Heights Public Library Book Blog and Buzz) Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:00:00 +0100 885303 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#4016931773689629968 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:Sea Escape by Lynne Griffin (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Fri, 05 Nov 2010 04:00:00 +0100 885215 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/amazon-com-publishes-best-books-of-2010-and-several-other-year-end-lists/ We love year-ends lists and rankings around here and its time to get started for 2010. A few minutes ago Amazon posted several lists: 1) Top 100 Books Selected By Editors at Amazon 2) Top 100 Books Selected By Customers If you want sample these two lists and review titles in close to 24 categories use this page. It provides direct links to all of the lists. And Don’t Forget the Kindle: 3) Best Kindle E-Books of 2010 You’ll find the links to all of the lists and additional material on this webpage Category Lists Include Selections from Both Editors and Customers (They’re All Listed and Linked in the First Column): + Audiobooks + Children’s Books: Middle Readers + Children’s Books: Picture Books + Comics & Graphic Novels + Debut Fiction + Nonfiction + Science Fiction & Fantasy In the third column note the links to author interviews and lists from previous years. Getting these lists online extra early makes for another fun? way to browse and purchase books for friends, family, colleagues, etc. Another real-world example of smart marketing. Source: Amazon.com Via Resource Shelf (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:03:12 +0100 883860 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TameTheWeb/~3/h3f0jXQWYlM/ Leah White, a good friend of TTW, writes: As many of you know, I recently took a position at the Morton Grove Public Library as the Readers Services Librarian. The first major project I planned was our participation in the Playaway Picture This Contest. Playaways are a relatively new style of audiobook and as a promotion, they are awarding $10,000 to the library who created the best display. I coordinated with every department in the library, borrowed some mannequins from Turin Bicycle in Evanston, IL and got to work on creating the best display we could possibly get together. Its not very often that you have a chance to win 10 grand with no strings attached! It is just money that will go directly to the library. Now we have made it to the top 10 and the rest is up to an online vote. And I am asking for your help. It is very simple. Just go to this link: http://vote.playaway.com/v/mortongrove/ You can view our photographs, which I’m pretty proud of, enter a valid email address, and click on “vote for this library”. There is one vote per valid email address. And please, once you have done that, please share the link on facebook, twitter, or forward this email. Post it to your blog or your website. Please pass it on. The way this can be successful is through word of mouth. And I know that I can count on you to spread the vote. So help us (and me) out and please vote for the Morton Grove Public Library. Thank you so much for your help. All the best, Leah L. White To be fair, I can’t say “Hurry, Go vote for Leah’s Library!” to you, Dear Readers, but I can say: “Please checkout all the photos and vote for your favorite.”  Please consider Leah’s work and the photos shared  for your vote.  Here’s wishing good luck to Leah and her library and to all of the Top Ten. (Source: Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology) Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:06:04 +0100 883599 http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/61705 You can access the complete list here. The complete list contains the Top 10 titles in each category. Here's the number one title in each of the eight categories. Most Downloaded Audiobook – Adult Fiction 1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Books on Tape) Most Downloaded Audiobook – Adult Nonfiction 1. Sh*t My Dad Says, [...] (Source: ResourceShelf) Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:06:11 +0100 883485 http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/turning-a-new-page-ebooks-and-audiobooks/ Congratulations to the fantastic team at Loreto Normanhurst Learning Resources Centre for getting their ebook initiative up and running successfully. This is just one wonderful example of what can be done in schools to support literacy and reading enjoyment – particularly where the students are keen to use their mobile devices to enjoy the world of books. Filed under: eBook Readers, Reading & Literacy Tagged: Audiobook, E-book, Mobile device, Overdrive (Source: heyjude) Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:27:52 +0100 883499 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/project-gutenberg-and-languages-by-marie-lebert/ Project Gutenberg has been a visionary project launched by Michael Hart in July 1971 to create free electronic versions of literary works and disseminate them worldwide. The project got its first boost with the invention of the web in 1990, and its second boost with the creation of Distributed Proofreaders in 2000, to help digitizing books from public domain. In 2010, there are Project Gutenberg websites in the U.S., in Australia, in Europe, and in Canada, with more websites to come in other countries.1990-94Initially, the ebooks were mostly in English. As Project Gutenberg was launched from the University of Illinois, with the help of English-speaking volunteers, its first goal has been to provide ebooks to the English-language community, that is to say 95% of internet users in the early 1990s. (Non-English-speaking users reached 50% in summer 2000, with a percentage steadily growing ever since.)Project Gutenberg was also inspiring other digital libraries elsewhere. Projekt Runeberg, for classic Nordic literature, and Projekt Gutenberg-DE, for classic German literature, started respectively in 1992 and 1994.Projekt Runeberg was the first Swedish digital library of books from public domain, and a partner of Project Gutenberg. It was created by the students’ computer club Lysator, in cooperation with Linköping University, as a volunteer project to produce and organize free electronic editions of classic Nordic (Scandinavian) literature. Around 200 ebooks were available in 1998, with a list of 6,000 Nordic authors as a tool for further collection development.Projekt Gutenberg-DE was the first German digital library of books from public domain, and also a partner of Project Gutenberg. A number of texts were available for online reading in 1998, with one web page for short texts and several web pages – one per chapter – for longer works. There was an alphabetic list of authors and titles, with a short biography and bibliography for each author. ... Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:47:22 +0100 882285 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html#2816579725793317313 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:A Murder of Crows by P.F. Chisholm (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 882597 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Librarianinblack/~3/QpWm7dd-4j0/dutchboys.html Internet Librarian 2010: The Community: Most Important Part of Our Collection Erik Boekesteign and Jaap Van de Geer Erik & Jaap work for the Innovation Department of the dok library concept center in Delft, Netherlands.  dok won the Netherlands library of the year this past year.  They have an annual report that is put out as a high quality glossy magazine.  Very awesome looking – we’re talking Vogue or Rolling Stone quality.  They showed us a brief LBI Shanachie Tour video introducing the dok library.  The library offers a bluetooth-powered device that will deliver audiobooks to users’ mobile phones.  (Sarah’s comment: Why the heck can’t we do that here in the U.S.?)  The library has a download station in their airport library.  The dok Library Concept Center was named as a nod to the nearby IKEA Concept Center (a testing outlet for IKEA’s stores).  dok is a merged library with the local art library as well (a condition for the city council building their new building).  They had an architect and a designer.  The glass stairs and windows set off the simple concrete walls and floors.  One of the main features of the building is the light — the reading room is covered by a 60 meter long glass roof.  The administrative offices are connected to the reading room through the glass windows on the second floor.  Signage is important.  They hired university students to do a lot of work in dok, one of whom approached the signage issue in the library–simple color-coded words on walls and floors.  The bookshelves are made of very cheap material so that if they need to destroy them or move them, it’s not as big a loss.  The shelves have no top shelf (the top shelves only gather dust)…and all the shelves are angled slightly backwards.  The youth department shelves are all on wheels and can be moved around very easily. ... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 22:35:38 +0100 882828 http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/vook-launches-digital-serial-rights-program/ From the press release: Vook, the leading digital publisher that lights up the world’s content with its mixed-media reading experience, today announced a digital serial rights program that provides authors and publishers with new opportunities for their books, e-books, audio books, and iPad and iPhone applications to reach new audiences and create new revenue streams.Vook premieres this groundbreaking program with “Bernhard Schlink on The Weekend,” a new title from Schlink, the New York Times best-selling author of “The Reader.” Schlink’s new Vook offers four chapters of the new novel as well as a complete Schlink short story, “A Little Fling,” from his collection “Flights of Love.” The Vook is enhanced with video interviews.“Our goal with this new initiative is to provide authors and publishers the opportunity to give readers a taste of their literary releases while creating a highly dynamic and engaging digital experience for readers,” said Matthew Cavnar, head of Acquisitions for Vook. “These Vooks bring readers closer to their favorite authors.”The Vook integrates four compelling interviews with Schlink and features documentary vignettes and archival images representing historical aspects of “The Weekend.”“Since we began working with Vook, they’ve pushed the envelope in terms of what’s possible with digital publishing. We are excited to be a part of yet another Vook breakthrough,” said Lynn Nesbit, literary agent and co-founder of Janklow & Nesbit, which represents Schlink. “Print opportunities for serial rights have been drying up, and Vook is offering authors like Bernhard Schlink an innovative way to reach existing and new fans in the digital age.”Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news. ... Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:02:12 +0100 882040 http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/latest-cory-doctorow-book-is-self-published-with-a-little-help-from-his-friends/ NPR’s All Things Considered has a brief audio interview with Cory Doctorow, and has also written it up in article form. Doctorow’s new project, A Little Help, is a collection of short stories that Doctorow is publishing entirely on his own—for the first time, he is not using a professional publisher at all.Proof-reading, editing, and typo-catching was done by members of Doctorow’s social network, which he also relied upon to help build buzz for the book. And while he’s giving the e-book and audiobook versions away for free, he has not limited himself to strictly selling print-on-demand paper books to earn money, either. One of the stories in the new volume was offered as a written-to-order commission for $10,000 (which ended up being bought by Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu).Doctorow is also going to sell 250 hand-sewn hardcover editions of the book, into each of which will be bound various one-of-a-kind paper ephemera, for $275 each, and has put out a donation “tip jar” as well (something he did not do for his previous books, since it would have cut the publishers of those books out of the loop). All in all, Doctorow expects to end up earning $70,000 to $80,000 out of this self-published book project.But Doctorow has other goals in mind than just the money he can earn. After the project is completed, he plans to publish his data about the process and its results, to give other potential self-published writers more information to work from. And he notes that since he’s already comfortably well off thanks to the other novels and story collections he’s published, he doesn’t really have to worry about money. “I feel like it’s giving something back to people.”Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:15:00 +0100 882044 http://www.teleread.com/drm/the-black-library-launches-warhammer-e-books-audiobooks/ The Black Library, the publisher of tie-in novels and audiobooks for Games Workshop’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 role-playing game settings, is going digital. To promote the event, the publisher has been giving away some free digital content every Friday for the last four weeks, with something more to go up on the site this coming Friday.Available thus far are the novels First & Only and Nightbringer, the first issue of Hammer and Bolter magazine, and an mp3 of the first disc of the Horus Rising audiobook. The e-books are downloadable in MobiPocket or EPUB format, and are not DRM-locked.On the main site, three titles are listed for December publication: an audio drama of Oath of Moment for £8.50 ($13.36 at current conversion rates), and e-books of Wulrik and Dead Men Walking for £6.50 ($10.22) each. The e-books seem a little pricy, but on the other hand a lot of people buy Amazon e-books at $9.99, and it is a UK publisher so prices will be a little higher. And if they aren’t locked by DRM either, then they’ll be that much more worth it. The FAQ on the digital downloads page adds some further details: Black Library is going to work on getting its substantial backlist into e-book format, though it will take time to convert them all. Up to 5 downloads will be permitted per file (so back those downloads up if you buy, I suppose).They will also be releasing abridged and unabridged audiobooks, at prices of £17.00 and £20.00 respectively—not out of line for audiobook pricing in general. E-books will be priced uniformly at £6.50, and Hammer and Bolter issues will be £2.50 each.This will be a great digital resource for Warhammer fans, and I imagine the free e-books will drum up some interest even in non-gamers. Good to see more DRM-free e-books become available.(Found via the Baen Bar baen.EBookReader group.)Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:15:00 +0100 881654 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/walkingpaper/full/~3/zPrhprjOU5k/2925 Here’s a reprint of my June 11, 2010 LJ column. ########## I like pBooks and eBooks. I like movies. I like music. What’s more, I think these things have a place in our libraries and have played a crucial role in their evolution. I’m afraid, though, that the pervasive concept of library as commercial content provider is preventing us from adapting and evolving. Libraries will have to build a new foundation if they are to recover from these economic hard times—a foundation of valuable services, of user experience, not just free content. Free Content For All The traditional warehouse model is seductive in economic hard times: libraries circulate more items, providing a convenient metric to demonstrate importance via usage. But this is the most shallow way libraries can demonstrate value—and looking at all of the budget cuts across the country, legislators apparently agree. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “If libraries didn’t exist today they wouldn’t be allowed to be created.” I always suspected this was true, but it wasn’t until the explosion in popularity of containerless content that I realized the rug was being pulled out from under us. Sure there are ebook, e-audiobook, and downloadable movie services into which libraries can buy. These solutions, however, are largely unsatisfying: there’s a variety of platforms, the selection of content is limited, and the software is difficult to use. Library users are well aware of this. In fact, the frustrations of a tech-savvy and highly motivated library user recently made the rounds in the form of a comic strip titled “Why DRM Doesn’t Work” (bit.ly/c3LlxA). Librarians could collectivize and demand content and interface improvements. But their inaction with regard to the most important part of their websites—their OPACs—suggests they aren’t likely to do that for digital content. ... Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:00:07 +0100 884070 http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/audio/2010/oct/25/science-weekly-podcast-maggie-philbin-james-randi-tomorrows-world Make sure you take advantage of our exclusive audio book offer. We have partnered with audible.co.uk to offer listeners one free audio book. There are 40-thousand titles to choose from including hundreds of science titles, including the winner of this year's Royal Society Prize for Science Books Life Ascending by Nick Lane. Here are all the details. A packed show this week with a science legend live in the studio. Former Tomorrow's World presenter Maggie Philbin explains why the judges plumped for Nick Lane's book about evolution's greatest inventions to win this year's Royal Society Prize for Science Books. At the end of the show we listen to some Tomorrow's World highlights and discuss what predictions the programme got right, and what it got wrong. Guardian science correspondent Ian Sample asks Maggie about the influence the programme had. Science Weekly has been nominated for this year's physics.org web awards. As well as a judges' award, there's a people's choice award for best podcast voted for by listeners. So why not help us out by registering, clicking on our podcast and adding your star rating at the top of the page. We grabbed James Randi, PZ Myers, Susan Blackmore and Tracey Brown at The Amazing Meeting, a celebration of critical thinking held in London recently. Martin Robbins live-blogged live-blogged the event for the Guardian. (Thanks to Mun Keat Looi for his help.)WARNING: contains a humorous reference to male genitalia.We hear from some famous geeks including Jonathan Ross, Brian Cox and Aleks Krotoski about their geek heroes. It's part of the Geek Calendar campaign for libel reform. Check out our gallery of geek pinups featured in the calendar, which is now on sale.Subscribe for free via iTunes to ensure every episode gets delivered. (Here is the non-iTunes URL feed). ... Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:01:00 +0100 881503 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/davidleeking/~3/lrqK3HhK9tA/ Just came across a couple of posts from The UK Publisher’s Association and from the CEO of Overdrive. Gotta say, it’s very interesting to watch and listen … but it’s a bit disappointing, too. Here’s a couple bits of what each of them said: From Richard Mollet, Chief Executive, The Publishers Association, in his PA statement regarding our position on library e-lending post: “Ultimately, the activities of selling and lending have to be able to co-exist with neither unduly harming the other. If ebook lending were untrammelled (as some comments seem to propose) it would pose an extremely potent threat to the retail market which in the long-term would undermine the ability of authors, and the companies which invest in them, to see a reward for their creativity.  This would be hugely a negative outcome for everyone, including libraries and their communities.” What? Did Mr. Mollet just say that if library patrons could download ebooks in an “untrammeled” way (which for them, I think means being able to check it out and download it from home), it would be a huge threat to the retail ebook market. Really? I’d love to see your numbers to back that up. And how in the world would patrons checking out ebooks remotely “undermine the ability of authors … to see a reward for their creativity” ??? Come on. Translation – We think ebook lending, if made too easy, will put us out of business. And, he very obviously doesn’t know how the whole checking out an ebook thing actually works (see below for a little more on that). Explains a lot, I think. ... Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:38:43 +0100 882152 http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html#7998678826595272480 Check here every Friday for the weekly Audio Now digital download selected from our “always available” digital audiobook collection.This week’s Audio Now Friday Download:The American by Martin Booth (Source: Marin County Free Library Blog) Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 881222 http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/61381 From a GalleyCat Post: LibriVox founder Hugh McGuire launched a new audiobook company today. Iambik Audio unveiled 11 new literary fiction audiobooks from indie publishers in the U.S. and Canada, including audiobooks for Gordon Lish and Lydia Millet. Prices range between $5 and $10 for the individual titles. Iambik Audio titles can be purchased on the website [...] (Source: ResourceShelf) Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:59:57 +0100 880491 http://www.teleread.com/audiobooks/iambik-audio-new-audiobook-company-launches/ From the press release. I note that Richard Nash’s Red Lemonade imprint is represented by Lynne Tillman. The books are priced at $4.99 and $5.99.We are pleased to announce Iambik Audio, a new kind of audiobook company, launching today with 11 literary fiction audiobooks from independent presses in the US and Canada. In the collection, Iambik is launching audiobooks of one giant of American letters, Gordon Lish (including a selection of stories read by Mr. Lish himself); one Pulitzer Prize finalist, Lydia Millet; and a number of newer and upcoming writers including Felicia Luna Lemus and J. Robert Lennon.Iambik Audio was started by Hugh McGuire, founder of LibiriVox, the free public domain audiobook community, once called “the most interesting cultural collaborative project this side of Wikipedia.”But whereas LibriVox helps anyone make free audiobooks of older public domain texts, Iambik connects talented voice actors with contemporary books from great publishers, and sells the audiobooks from iambik.com and distribution partners including Audible, Overdrive, and eMusic.“When we were approached by Iambik to participate in their new venture, I was thrilled, since their aspirations and ways of thinking about books in the context of new and expanding media is very much in tune with our plans for the future,” says Chris Fischbach, Associate Publisher of Coffee House Press.Iambik aims to change the way commercial audiobooks are made. For audiobook listeners, Iambik will offer hand-picked collections of audiobooks, a little off the beaten path, at reasonable prices (between $5 and $10) with no digital rights management—meaning they can be played on any computer or mobile device. …Iambik launches today, with 11 audiobooks for sale:* All My Friends Are Superheroes, by Andrew Kaufman (Coach House Books), narrated by Gord Mackenzie * Castle, by J. ... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:18:40 +0100 880303 http://poesygalore.blogspot.com/2010/10/iambik-audiobooks-small-press-books-in.html I don't use exclamation points in blog post titles often. I do often refer library patrons looking for recordings of public domain works (there are inevitably way too many last-minute holds on Huck Finn on CD at the end the summer when it's been assigned to every highschooler in town) to LibriVox, which features free audiobooks recorded by volunteers.Today, LibriVox founder Hugh Maguire has launched a company that sells (very inexpensive) audio recordings of a selection of small press books.Iambik, the new company, currently offers 11 DRM-free audiobooks as mp3s or m4bs, including Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Davis (Soft Skull) and Like Son by Felicia Luna Lemus (Akashic Books).Iambik seeks input on which small press books you'd like to listen to, and is also open to hearing from publishers, authors, narrators, and prooflisteners who might be interested in working with them. Great news, I think. (Source: poesygalore<IMG SRC=http://www.geocities.com/emilylloyd.geo/glore.jpg>) Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 881025 http://ricklibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/nelson-mandelas-favorite-african.html I am always looking for something different to listen to while driving to work or doing chores. I found what I sought in Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales: An Audiobook Benefitting Children in South Africa Orphaned and Impacted by HIV/AIDS. The producers started with Mandela's 2002 collection of folktales and enlisted a great lineup of readers, including Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Mirren, and Jurnee Smollett. To this they added a welcome message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a variety of musical introductions, and a small concert by South Africa's Vusi Mahlasela at the end.I chose Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales just as I was leaving work - a benefit of working at a library is having such choices - and I did not even bother to read the back of the cover before inserting the first disc into my car's CD player. I was not surprised to hear Desmond Tutu welcome me, as he has worked with Mandela frequently, but then I heard a voice say "The Ring of the King." I knew right away that it was one of my favorite actors, Alan Rickman, who excels in everything he does. I knew I had made a good listening selection. Over the course of a week, I heard many enchanting stories about wise and foolish people tried by the circumstances of living.The twenty plus stories come mostly from the southern end of Africa with a few extras from Morocco, Tanzania, and Uganda. Many are fairly short. If I added a minute or two sitting in the parking lot, I often heard two or three stories during my fifteen minute drive to work. A few, such as "The Mother Who Turned to Dust" read by Helen Mirren last between ten and fifteen minutes. I suspect some of the stories might be enjoyed more by adults than children, but I would not want to rule anyone out. If you like Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, or Hans Christian Andersen, try Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales. ... Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 880343 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/quick-note-overdrive-receives-venture-capital-infusion/ From the press release:OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global distributor of eBooks, audiobooks and digital content services to retailers, libraries, and schools, announced today that Insight Venture Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on technology companies, has made a major investment in the company. The investment, subject to regulatory approval, will provide additional resources and capital to help fuel the company’s impressive growth.[donotprint]Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news. [/donotprint] (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:55:01 +0100 879951 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=Birmingham_Public_Library39s_Latest_News_Reviews_amp_Info_Need_a_--- The Birmingham Public Library's book, magazine, audiobook, cd, and dvd budget was cut 48% in July 2010. We need your help to continue to provide new (Source: pligg - all) Sun, 17 Oct 2010 07:00:26 +0100 879593 http://ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-do-u-wish-to-see-get-experience.html My tweet question in Apr 2010 (ok, ok, I'll be more prompt in posting next time): to the twitterverse: what do u wish to see/ get/ Experience wrt the Public Library within 5 & 10 yr's time? (or no PLs at all?)Verbatim responses:metacole @ramblinglib many many more couches and armchairs for reading, even between shelves nickpan @ramblinglib the lib is a place of knowledge. Why not a place of knowledge exchange. The painting "The School of Athens" comes to mind. jolantru @ramblinglib More interactive literature, e-books, more dialogue between public (reader) and library. atticusfoo @ramblinglib people taking better care of books ntt @ramblinglib I would still like PLs.. Love the atmosphere and calm&quiet env.. I'd hope for more tech.. Audiobooks/Ebooks etc..It's nice to get a certain feel of what library customers are thinking about.   Web ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com myrightbrain.wordpress.com roughnotes.wordpress.com (Source: Rambling Librarian :: Incidental Thoughts of a Singapore Liblogarian) Fri, 15 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 879301 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/14/digital-reading-ebook-kindle-ipad Devices such as the Kindle and iPad are changing the way we think about books – but who will control the future of reading?Books have come late to the digital party, but change is now happening at such a furious pace that even conservative members of the trade are starting to realise that their industry is being snatched away from them before their eyes. The undisputed leader in the race to sell digital books is Amazon. Its Kindle e-reader was a late entry into the race but it used its redoubtable marketing muscle to gain a 76% share of all digital books sold. It could have been much more but for the arrival of the iPad, which now has a 5% market share, though rising fast.Traditional booksellers such as Barnes and Noble (which has just released a new wifi reader) and Waterstones are still in the race, but it looks as though book distribution is being sewn up by existing digital giants. Is this what we really want – a series of walled gardens controlled by corporate giants? Why hasn't a horizontal model emerged in which networks of readers and authors can interact and buy and exchange favourite works on a global scale? Where is the Facebook of books?This vertical model, of course, brings terrific benefits – having a virtual library of thousands of books you can read when and where you want. I do it a lot. But there are also very disturbing side-effects. Do we want reading, which ought to be a truly communal experience, migrating into a handful of digital silos, each imposing their own rules about what we can read, where we can read it and making it impossible to lend a book if you don't lend the device as well? Some publishers even ask you to state that you won't read the book aloud.Amazon doesn't just own Kindle. Its tentacles have spread out into a series of worrying monopolies. ... Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:30:00 +0100 878999 http://galwaylibrary.blogspot.com/2010/10/social-inclusion-week-in-galway.html 17th – 22nd Oct has been designated Social Inclusion Week in Ireland. The week is being coordinated by the Social Inclusion Unit of Galway County Council. The Mayor, Cllr Jimmy Mc Clearn will launch the week in County Hall on Monday 17th Oct. 2010 @ 1pmThere are 29 Branch Libraries in the County working with their local communities all through the year. All are welcome in Libraries and nobody is found wanting.Some services that may be of interest. ‘Getting Started’ Age Action Computer Classes take place in Branch Libraries throughout the County. Classes are free. Contact your local library.Audio Book Service for Visually Impaired. Books on CD and Tape are posted free of charge to people with a visual impairment. More information is available from Library Headquarters, Island House. Phone 091 562471There are a number of events taking place in Libraries during Social Inclusion Week.Gort LibraryThe film 'Milk' will be shown on Thursday14th Oct @ 8pm in conjunction with the Gort Family Resource Centre.A display of arts and crafts by clients of the Brothers of Charity Orchard Services Centres in South Galway will take place from Friday 15th Oct – 25th Oct.The ‘Six Book Challenge for Adults’ will be launched on Thursday 21st Oct @ 11.30.The six book challenge is an incentive scheme for adults who have been out of the habit of reading and want to regain confidence in reading.Loughrea LibraryA Cultural Storytelling Evening.Youth Work Ireland, Loughrea Project, will hold an evening of storytelling, from different cultures on Tuesday 19th Oct from 4pm – 6pm.Youth Work Ireland will host a film & quiz night for teenagers on Wednesday19th Oct from 4 – 6pm.The work of the Parent and Youth Programme at St Brendan’s Centre of Education and Training will be on display in Loughrea Library for the week.Tuam LibraryCups and Crowns Theatre will perform ‘Benny , the Waterdaughter ‘ in Tuam Library on Tuesday 19th from 10.30- 11. ... Thu, 14 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 880514 http://www.lisnews.org/pick_book_or_dvd_those_groceries Republican-American LITCHFIELD — Residents of Bantam CT no longer have to visit Oliver Wolcott Library to grab a book, an audio book, or a DVD. Now they can do it at Bantam's Big Value Supermarket. The library, using two grants totaling $36,500, has installed a vending machine anyone with a library card can use to check out materials. Known as the OWL Box, it's the first machine of its kind in the state, according to Oliver Wolcott Library's director, Anne Marie White. See comment below for information about the Brodart vending machine. "We wanted to reach out to the people in Bantam and others in that area who can't always get to the center of town," White said. "Providing greater access to our materials is a goal, and we thought Big Value would be an ideal place to do it." From the library in Litchfield to the store in Bantam is about 3.5 miles. (Source: LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News) Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:20:36 +0100 879091 http://lisnews.org/pick_book_or_dvd_those_groceries Republican-American LITCHFIELD — Residents of Bantam CT no longer have to visit Oliver Wolcott Library to grab a book, an audio book, or a DVD. Now they can do it at Bantam's Big Value Supermarket. The library, using two grants totaling $36,500, has installed a vending machine anyone with a library card can use to check out materials. Known as the OWL Box, it's the first machine of its kind in the state, according to Oliver Wolcott Library's director, Anne Marie White. "We wanted to reach out to the people in Bantam and others in that area who can't always get to the center of town," White said. "Providing greater access to our materials is a goal, and we thought Big Value would be an ideal place to do it." From the library in Litchfield to the store in Bantam is about 3.5 miles. (Source: LISNews.org) Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:20:36 +0100 878384 http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/61177 For those of you unfamiliar with Librivox: LibriVox provides free audiobooks from the public domain. There are several options for listening. The first step is to get the mp3 or ogg files into your own computer. From the Interview With the Founder of the Service: How is the project doing now? Any numbers on contributors, files, etc? [...] (Source: ResourceShelf) Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:59:01 +0100 878036 http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/uk-publishers-association-says-turn-on-text-to-speech/ From The Bookseller:The Publishers Association, The Society of Authors, The Association of Authors Agents and The Right to Read Alliance have released a joint ‘recommendation to publishers’ to encourage the use of the text-to-speak function on digital devices. The option is sometimes disabled in order to protect the rights of the audio-book publisher.The PA said the recommendation would go some way to offering people with print disabilities the same rights to access e-readers as those without disabilities, and should provide a more equal footing as sales of these devices take off in the UK. The joint statement “recommends that text to speech is routinely enabled on all e-books across all platforms, at least where there is no audiobook edition commercially available”.Hooray for them! It’s a simple thing that can make the lives of many people better.PS:  English is such a weird language.  Why is it “speech” when the verb is “speak”.  Always confuses me.[donotprint]Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news. [/donotprint] (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:09:18 +0100 877385 http://blog.njla.org/archives/2010/10/#000984 http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com By STEVEN LEMONGELLO Tuesday, October 5, 2010 VENTNOR - In a time of economic distress, cities are scrutinizing every department and service for every dollar they can save - and at least one city is taking a closer look at its branch of the Atlantic County Library System. On her first day as the new county library director last month, Karen George appeared before the Ventnor Board of Commissioners to make her case why the city should not detach itself from the county system and create its own, municipal-run library. This latest development comes at an already difficult time for county libraries, having already been hit with cuts in state aid and a reduction in state services available to them - although the final effects have not been as damaging as expected. While Ventnor examines its relationship, George and other county officials contend that it and the other nine towns with county library branches benefit immensely from being part of a larger system - and that municipalities would not necessarily find any savings if they did leave. "We want to make sure we're getting the right bang for our buck," Commissioner Stephen Weintrob told the library officials. "This is not to question the quality of the library itself, nor the quality of the people who work there. I've never found the library inadequate. I just question the numbers in this economic situation." Ventnor pays about $802,000 annually into the county system, but the county system's costs to run the Ventnor branch run to only about $687,000. "Something tells me we're really not getting our full, fair share of what we're giving to the county," Weintrob added. The county does give $87,500 of that back to the city in rent for the library building on Atlantic Avenue, although Weintrob said that that price was determined in the 1980s and that it costs more to run the electricity, air and heating systems. ... Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 878749 http://blog.njla.org/archives/2010/10/#000987 http://www.dailyrecord.com By JOEL LANDAU • Staff Writer • October 7, 2010 VINELAND -- Libraries across the country are turning to the Internet and social media -- like Facebook and Twitter -- to reach a new audience and create interest their programs. Local libraries, however, are just starting to dabble in social media. The hurdles, library leaders say, are a lack of staff, concern about protecting the computer system from viruses, and unwillingness to commit to a big project due to uncertainty over its effectiveness. Around the country, new technologies have been a considerable draw for libraries. The latest national data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services show library visits and circulation climbed nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2008. Since then, experts say, technology has continued to drive in-person visits, circulation and usage. Now, the digital sphere is expanding: 82 percent of the nation's more than 16,000 public libraries have Wi-Fi -- up from 37 percent four years ago, according to the American Library Association. That includes the Cumberland County Library and the public libraries in Vineland, Millville and Bridgeton. And now the libraries are taking the initiative online. The social media experiment has been a slow process so far. Nichole Gardner, senior library assistant for the children's and young adults departments at Vineland Public Library, started a Facebook page for its youth programs a year ago. She posts videos, pictures, event information, and reminders of contests or happenings. The library had used YouTube and MySpace in the past, but Facebook is more appropriate because it displays all the information in one place, she said. The page had fewer than 20 fans as of Wednesday afternoon. The library is working on a Facebook page for the entire library. Terri Carpenter, principal library assistant for Bridgeton Public Library, has assisted Gardner; she started her own page for Bridgeton in March. ... Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 878746 http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=4725&BlogID=41&BlogPostID=7564 This is the story of a girl who would not give up her seat on a Montgomery City bus and began the civil rights fight against segregated bussing. No, the girl was not Rosa Parks. It was Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old school girl who knew of the little known law that said a negro did not have to give their seat up to a white person if there were no other available seats on the bus. Still, when it happened to her, she was dragged off the bus by two policemen and arrested. This could have been the end of her story, but a young lawyer was contacted to represent her in her court hearing in an attempt to clear her name, and later in a case that became known as Browder vs. Gayle that ended segregated bussing. This book has won numerous awards including the National Book Award, Newbery Honor, Sibert Award Honor, YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist, Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, ALSC Notable Children's Book, and  listed on the Best Books of 2009. In just over 100 pages this little known story is brought to life through the use of photographs, newspaper clippings, and interviews with Claudette herself. A bibliography, notes, and index are also included. This is highly recommended for readers in grades 6-12 learning about or are interested in the Civil Rights movement or about young people who have made a difference and changed the course of history. This is an especially good audio book as well. (Source: Teen Scene from Wright Memorial Public Library) Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:20:02 +0100 876969 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/06/gilda-oneill-obituary Novelist and historian whose works gave voice to memories of a changing East EndGilda O'Neill, the popular historian and novelist, has died aged 59 after a sudden illness. Her social histories, such as My East End: Memories of Life in Cockney London (1999) and its sequel, Our Street: East End Life in the Second World War (2003), as well as The Good Old Days: Crime, Murder and Mayhem in Victorian London (2006), gave voice to east London experience and memory at a time when both were rapidly transforming or disappearing. Her novels, including family sagas such as The Bells of Bow (1994) and Just Around the Corner (1995), drew on similar material.Gilda was an Open University and East London Polytechnic graduate when I met her in the mid-1980s, and I immediately recognised a kindred spirit. Gilda and I shared not just the same east London accent and what we called the "Educating Rita experience", but also an understanding of being from a community in transition.As Gilda insightfully pointed out in 2003: "People are often mourning when they tell their stories, mourning the loss of a way of life in which they were part of a community that had grown organically over the generations… Unlike the planners and architects who moved them around as if they were pawns in a chess game, they understand that communities are not created by ordering removal vans simply to transplant people from one location to another – not if they are to have a cohesiveness that makes sense to those who live within them."Born in Bethnal Green, Gilda was brought up in the East End, the granddaughter of a Thames tug skipper and a pie-and-mash shop owner. Her parents, Dolly and Tom Griffiths, originally from Bow, eventually joined the postwar slum clearance diaspora in Dagenham, Essex. ... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:06:41 +0100 877001 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/05/prince-charles-records-audiobook The heir to the throne has himself recorded the audio version of his new book, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our WorldFormer prime minister Tony Blair has read his own audiobook; now it's the turn of the Prince of Wales. Those interested in the latest work by the heir to the throne – a reflective tome titled Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World – will have the option of listening to it read in the author's own sonorous tones.Prince Charles, of course, has form in this area, having made a famous appearance on BBC1's Jackanory reading his children's book The Old Man of Lachnagar. And his publisher Patrick Janson-Smith of HarperCollins imprint Blue Door claims that in this instance he gives a similarly "masterly" performance.Most audiobooks are read by actors, who have to go to a recording studio to perform their work. But, as befits the first monarch-in-waiting ever to record one, Prince Charles read Harmony in cosier fashion, over several days at his royal homes at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Birkhall in Aberdeenshire.The book – which is the latest in a line of titles by the prince, including A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture, The Garden at Highgrove and a collection of his own paintings, Watercolours – is co-written with his advisers, former Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper and BBC Radio 3 presenter Ian Skelly. It is billed as the first full explanation of the philosophy Prince Charles has touched on his speeches and articles, "a philosophy", we are told, "that is as robust as it is practical".Certainly, all the prince's favourite hobbyhorses appear to have been giving an outing in the book, which will touch on enterprise, architecture, farming and medicine, and argue that many contemporary challenges in these and other fields are caused by our having abandoned "a classical sense of balance and proportion". ... Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:38:00 +0100 876703 http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/61022 You can access the complete list here. The complete list contains the Top 10 titles in each category. Here we're going to only list the number one title. Most Downloaded Audiobook – Adult Fiction 1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Books on Tape) Most Downloaded Audiobook – Adult Nonfiction 1. Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth [...] (Source: ResourceShelf) Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:38:58 +0100 876512 http://www.slis.indiana.edu/careers/view_job_specific.php?job_id=7909 State: Louisiana Librarian II, Assistant Acquisitions Librarian Full-Time SUMMARY: Under administrative supervision, this is responsible professional library work, which involves the application of professional library techniques and procedures in the Acquisitions Departments. Performs related and other work as required. REQUIRED TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE Attainment of B.A. or B.S. from an accredited university/college; attainment of a graduate degree in Library and/or Information Science from an ALA-accredited university. REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND SKILLS Good knowledge of professional library principles and practices. Demonstrated ability to: (1) handle both routine operations and long-range planning; (2) establish and maintain effective working relationships with the public and other staff; (3) supervise, train, and evaluate support staff; (4) schedule department staff and work flow for maximum effectiveness; (5) communicate effectively, orally and in writing, to groups and individuals; (5) use application software. Knowledge and experience with integrated library systems, especially SIRSI, is preferred. GENERAL DUTIES  Participates in all areas of work in the Acquisitions/Collection Development Department; might be acting department head in the absence of the department head if designated  Responsible for Juvenile and Audiovisual acquisitions.  Compiles and maintains purchase lists on vendor databases for: juvenile and young adult fiction and non-fiction books, juvenile and adult DVDs, music CDs and books on CD.  Selects and orders downloadable media through Overdrive system for e-books, audio books, music and film for juveniles and adults.  Maintains budgets for each branch within the above materials areas.  Composes “Invitations to Bid” for various formats of books, media and electronic media; communicates with City of Shreveport Purchasing Department concerning bids, contracts and vendors. ... Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:50:02 +0100 876379 http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/oct/03/the-best-views-from-the-boundary These transcripts of the 30 'best' interviews run the gamut from the farceur Ben Travers, who saw WG Grace play, to Lily AllenA love of cricket masks many flaws and the brilliance of the View from the Boundary idea – the regular Test Match Special Saturday lunchtime interview spot – is that it allows the audience to tolerate and even warm to characters they would normally turn off to avoid.These transcripts of the 30 "best" selected by the programme's deviser and producer for 34 years run the gamut from the farceur Ben Travers, who saw WG Grace play and was in Australia during England's 1928-29 tour when Don Bradman made his Test debut, to Lily Allen, whose interest in the game was sparked by the 2005 Ashes.The unifying theme is each subject's passion for cricket, which is teased out by the interviewing team, captained at first by Brian Johnston before Jonathan Agnew took up the mantle, with introductory questions that allow the guest to get off the mark with ease. It is exactly what you would expect from a show with that cosy, hypnotic quality that has made it such a cherished institution. The majority are conducted with impeccable manners, featuring anecdotes aplenty about on-field diversions from various excursions with the Taverners and Bunburys.Johnston's love of "theatricals" is well-represented, and if some of his Old Etonian ribaldry sounded better than it reads 20 years on, it is forgivable because the opportunity to indulge his passions is executed engagingly and with such enthusiasm. His interview with "Stillers" and "Skellers", Richard Stilgoe and Peter Skellern, may conjure up memories of pun-heavy songs at the end of Nationwide and the type of post-supper, dinner-jacket cabaret that one recalls was already outmoded in 1983 when the interview took place, but Johnston launches into it with such brio that it makes your prejudices seem churlish. ... Sat, 02 Oct 2010 23:09:01 +0100 876002 http://ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/user-suggestions-for-iphone.html Back in mid Apr 2010, I tweeted: "if the public library had an iPhone app, what would you like the app to do for you?"Also posted a similar question at my Facebook status page: "if the public library develops an iPhone app, what would you like the app to do for you? (or maybe you don't think you'd care for one?)"Here's the verbatim responses (thanks folks!)... btw, I've indicated in BOLD those suggestions that aren't available as current web or mobile services, or have never been tried before by NLB:Via Twitter:quirkiekai@ramblinglib check availability of the books u want @ libraries near u! n to be to reserve e book if its on loan. theoldlee @ramblinglib catalogue! addresses and opening hours! all linked :) sarainsanfran@ramblinglib I would use it to place holds on books and have them delivered to my local branch (if I had an iPhone) Singeo @ramblinglib like bookjetty: amzn or google info, with library availability (location based) + social features PS want buUuk to build it? ;) nickpan @ramblinglib augmented reality to tell me where the book I'm finding is. myapplemenu@ramblinglib Borrow eBooks and audiobooks directly on my iPhone, and read and listen to them on my iPhone. tucksoon @ramblinglib book ratings and reviews too :) myloft @ramblinglib search for books available at different branches, manage account, make renewals! Responses via Facebook:# Chee Seng Leng: Remind me to return overdue books?? And show the fine incurred ??18 April at 10:16# Jessica Kingsbury Lucas: I love the one SPL came up with (warning, still in beta) through Boopsie. You can do anything on it that you can do in the catalog--even read the blogs. ... Fri, 01 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0100 875737 http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/ebook-roundup-by-resource-shelf/ + AAP Reports Publisher Book Sales for July (American Association American of Publishers)E-book sales continue to grow, with a 150.2 percent increase over July 2009 ($40.8 million); year-to-date E-book sales are up 191.0 percent. Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 38.4 percent over last year, with sales of $6.6 million this July; and the category was also up 35.3 percent year-to-date. Physical Audio Book sales decreased 35.6 percent in July with sales totaling $8.7 million; sales for the year to date are down 0.6 percent.+ “The US eBook Market For 2010? $500 Million” (by Alex Wilhelm, The Next Web) See Also: “Why Smartphones Will Be the Books of the Future (via Nseries Blog” (From Nokia)+ “TeleRead E-Book Primer Part One: What is an E-Book? (by Chris Meadows, TeleRead)+ “Can Libraries Work Together to Acquire eBook Assets?” by Eric Hellman, Go to Hellman)+ Video: The Future of the Book (via IDEO) See Also: E-Book Readers: “Digital eBook: Print in Form, Electronic in Nature” (Includes Links to Several Videos)+ E-Book Readers: “Digital eBook: Print in Form, Electronic in Nature” (via ResourceShelf) Includes links to several videos and images. Cool!+ Video: “The Future of the Book” (via IDEO)Meet Nelson, Coupland, and Alice — the faces of tomorrow’s book. Watch IDEO’s vision for the future of the book. ... Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:26:50 +0100 874552 http://santafelibrary.blogspot.com/2010/09/mp3-cd-audiobooks.html The Santa Fe Public Library is starting a pilot project, and is now adding some Audio Books in MP3 format. MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) is a standard technology and format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file, about one-twelfth the size of the original file, while preserving the original level of sound quality when it is played. For example, an unabridged MP3 audiobook fits onto one or two CDs, whereas the regular CD audiobooks can sometimes be as many as 10 discs.The MP3 format has been around since 2001. Most NEW car stereos, CD players, boom boxes, PC CDROM drives, DVD players, etc. are MP3 compatible. However, if you try to play an MP3 disc in an older player it will not work. We will be placing bright yellow MP3 stickers onto the cases to alert you of the file format. Also, the call number will start with MP3 to make it easy to identify in the catalog.The MP3 Audiobooks will be housed next to your branch's regular CD Audiobook collection, but not interfiled. Please be aware that the cases look like DVD cases – but the contents are Audiobook. At this time, our MP3 audiobook collection is small and in a test phase, so please check them out and let us know what you think of them.Enjoy the convenience!by MB @Main (Source: ICARUS... the Santa Fe Public Library Blog) Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:00:00 +0100 874560 http://www.teleread.com/drm/drm-complicates-library-audiobook-checkouts/ On our sister blog Appletell, Bill Stiteler writes about the contortions he had to go through to get a DRM-restricted Overdrive audiobook from his local public library onto his iPod. It turned into a time-consuming process that took far longer than should be necessary for something as simple as checking out a library book. (We covered a webcomic’s look at library audiobook DRM back in March.)Even though the Overdrive Media Console is available for both Mac and PC, only some of its content can be downloaded through the Mac version. Stiteler had to boot into Windows (and install all the updates that had been backed up since last time he’d been in Windows), install iTunes for Windows, change the conversion settings in iTunes, and finally convert and sync the book.The entire process required about an hour and a half, and a good deal of frustration on Stiteler’s part. Even though, as Stitler notes, some of that hour and a half was taken up by having to update Windows and install an app that a Windows iPod user would already have, it’s still a lot of rigamarole to go through.In my tech support day job, I deal with ordinary non-geek people who have trouble doing even the simplest thing on their computer: connecting to wifi, setting up a printer, even figuring out how to launch the web browser on their brand new Macintosh. In what universe are these people supposed to be able to make their way through the complicated process Stiteler describes? Stiteler points out:There’s a really great flow chart showing the difference between pirating a movie and buying a DVD. The pirate gets to watch the movie right away. The person who buys it has to endure unskippable commercials and threats before finally getting to the content. Even at its most restrictive, iTunes made things easy for the consumer: play on five computers, an unlimited number of iPods, burn to a CD (and rip back).And he points out that he could just have torrented the audiobook in 15 minutes. ... Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:50:50 +0100 874559 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/L6Q3coDFr1M/modernbookfactorycom-announced.html "Folium Partners, LLC, has announced today the late-November launch of ModernBookFactory.com, the world's first automated audiobook and app-creation service. The ModernBookFactory service will enable independent publishers, authors and copyright owners to upload manuscripts, select narrators, then receive professionally produced audio and have their books produced as self-contained audiobook apps within 30 days. MBF will place apps in front of a global audience at the Apple iTunes® App StoreSM, on Android™ Market and on the copyright owner's own website as a digital download" (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:45:49 +0100 874037 http://www.teleread.com/audiobooks/modernbookfactory-com-the-first-complete-online-audiobook-production-and-app-development-service-for-independent-publishers-and-authors/ From the press release:Folium Partners, LLC, announced today the late-November launch of ModernBookFactory.com (MBF), the world’s first automated audiobook and app-creation service.The ModernBookFactory service will enable independent publishers, authors and copyright owners to upload manuscripts, select narrators, then receive professionally produced audio and have their books produced as self-contained audiobook apps within 30 days. MBF will place apps in front of a global audience at the Apple iTunes® App StoreSM, on Android™ Market and on the copyright owner’s own website as a digital download. …Supported by Folium Partners’ existing enhancedAudio+ software, which has been used for hundreds of professionally produced audiobook apps since early 2010, ModernBookFactory’s step-by-step set-up process will walk authors through file upload, audio production, app creation and placement in the iTunes App Store or Android Market. Authors using MBF will have the ability to include background material, photos, images, maps and other rich content to explore the creative potential offered by apps and digital publishing.Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news. (Source: TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home) Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:24:11 +0100 873626 http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/60751 + AAP Reports Publisher Book Sales for July (American Association American of Publishers) E-book sales continue to grow, with a 150.2 percent increase over July 2009 ($40.8 million); year-to-date E-book sales are up 191.0 percent. Downloaded Audio Books also saw an increase of 38.4 percent over last year, with sales of $6.6 million this July; and [...] (Source: ResourceShelf) Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:06:02 +0100 873534