Confusing as it may sound, this is what is playing out in the larger publishing world right now. Publishers are upset because Amazon is becoming a successful publisher. So Hachette, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster thought they would try becoming booksellers, like Amazon.

In a lawsuit filed in New York last week, three independent bookstores are seeking relief from what they refer to as monopolistic practices by Amazon and the Big Six publishers regarding ebooks. At issue is the digital rights management (DRM) that locks ebooks purchased through Amazon to the Kindle platform.

The ALA Library recently revised ALA Library Fact Sheet 26 - Internet Use in Libraries. Originally, the focus of the fact sheet was on the prevalence of U.S. public libraries having computers with access to the Internet that their patrons could use. But, as noted in the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) 2011-2012, specifically in the section Public Access to and Availability of Public Access Technology (PDF), virtually all public library outlets provide public access to the Internet. And so the focus of the fact sheet now is on how libraries assist with the ever-growing Internet access needs of their library patrons, especially those whose only Internet access is using the computers that public libraries provide.

Planning on being active in your association after you graduate? Great! For students, the best place to start being active and also gain leadership skills and more is through one of the 56 active ALA Student Chapters.