This summer, Random House is reaching out to libraries with an ebook preview sampler that offers chapters from nine books by new authors. This is wonderful recognition of the vital role that libraries play in building an audience for emerging authors. And yet, I have a couple of bits of constructive criticism.
A recently released email from Steve Jobs to James Murdoch of News Corporation, which owns HarperCollins, shows just how involved the late Apple executive was in developing the agency model and increasing ebook prices. Interpretation of the email varies widely, however.
The May ebook price report from Douglas County (Colo) Libraries draws upon the USA Today 25 bestsellers list, which includes a nice mix of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s titles. Overall, 12 of the 25 titles are available to libraries as ebooks; eight are from OverDrive and 12 are from 3M.
After a two-year pilot phase, Hachette Book Group is expanding its ebook offerings to include it full catalog and a variety of ebook services including OverDrive, 3M, and Baker & Taylor.
The last holdout from the major trade publishers, Simon & Schuster, this morning announced the start of an ebook pilot (PDF file) with New York City public libraries.
On Day Two of the “Imagine. Create. Innovate.” conference, Jim Loter, director of information technology at Seattle Public Library, discussed his library’s digital content strategy and the ReadersFirst movement.
I’m writing this from the Monroe County (N.Y.) Library System’s Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County, which is hosting “Imagine. Create. Innovate.” The technology conference is focusing on future issues like the library as publisher and ebook adoption.
For April, the Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries ebook price report turns back to the top 25 bestselling ebooks from Digital Book World. Overall, libraries fare better in this comparison, with 11 of the 25 titles available through OverDrive and 10 through 3M.
Those dirty thieves pirating digital music are killing the whole music industry—or at least that is the reality that the music industry would have you believe. But can the music industry actually back up those claims with evidence?
