ebooks Archives | Page 7 of 8 | American Libraries Magazine

ALA’s DCWG, Ebooks, and Directions

By Carolyn Anthony | May 27, 2015

Two issues came to the fore in the fall. Adobe Digital Editions experienced a privacy breach that led to unencrypted personal information being transmitted online. DCWG responded, and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) and ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) assisted with technical and policy advice. Adobe took quick action to address the … Continue reading ALA’s DCWG, Ebooks, and Directions →

DCL Ebook Report, May 2015

By Robert C. Maier | May 6, 2015

The Douglas County Libraries Pricing Comparison for May (PDF file) shows a continuing trend with library ebook prices running at an average of 4.6 times the consumer price. Also worthy of note is the fact that all 30 titles listed are available as ebooks to libraries through both 3M and OverDrive. This month’s comparison is … Continue reading DCL Ebook Report, May 2015 →

Publishers, Distributors, and Consortia

Robert C. Maier | April 22, 2015

Among the Big Five, only Hachette Book Group does not offer public libraries the opportunity to license its ebooks through consortia. Hachette says it evaluates each consortium on a case-by-case basis “using criteria including number of libraries, size of population, and circulation numbers.” Some consortia have been approved. The other publishers say they license to … Continue reading Publishers, Distributors, and Consortia →

DCL Ebook Report, April 2015

By Robert C. Maier | April 15, 2015

The Douglas County (Colo.) Libraries Pricing Comparison for April (PDF file) shows a continuing trend with library ebook prices running at an average of 5.3 times the consumer price. This month’s comparison is based on the Digital Book World top 25 ebook bestsellers as of March 21. But it doesn’t seem to matter which bestseller … Continue reading DCL Ebook Report, April 2015 →

Creating Curious Minds

By Alan S. Inouye | April 8, 2015

Publisher Simon & Schuster announced it would donate a free ebook copy of Academy Award–winning producer Brian Grazer’s new book, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life (coauthored by journalist Charles Fishman), to school and public libraries for every ebook or hardcover book sold at retail, up to 5,000 copies. The book and … Continue reading Creating Curious Minds →

Steve Potash, founder and CEO of OverDrive.

Newsmaker: Steve Potash

By Robert C. Maier | March 27, 2015

Presumably the acquisition of OverDrive by Rakuten will strengthen OverDrive. How will that lead to a better experience for libraries as OverDrive customers and for their users? Steve Potash: The first and the most obvious win for our library and school partners is going to be more content. Because Kobo has been operating globally, we … Continue reading Newsmaker: Steve Potash →

DCL Ebook Report, March 2015

By Robert C. Maier | March 12, 2015

The Douglas County Library ebook price comparisons for March have been released (PDF file). This month’s are based on the New York Times Bestseller Lists. Of 30 titles, all 30 are available as library ebooks from OverDrive and 29 are available through 3M. So availability is not the issue, but cost remains the big concern. … Continue reading DCL Ebook Report, March 2015 →

Leading Self-Publishing Efforts in Communities

By Lissa Staley | February 27, 2015

Any library can position itself to guide local authors toward becoming savvy and competent independent publishers. Ebooks and print-on-demand options leverage the strength of their platforms to reach larger audiences and make publishing possible within the library. Libraries can support the growth and autonomy of local writers by connecting them to relevant technology, tools, and … Continue reading Leading Self-Publishing Efforts in Communities →

Collections Are for Collisions

By Steven J. Bell | October 13, 2014

The title of that tale was The Travels and Adventures of Three Princes of Serendip. The story inspired Walpole to coin the term serendipity. Who among us has never known, however trivial, a serendipitous discovery? More essentially, nearly every librarian has heard at some point in his or her career someone’s story about a serendipitous … Continue reading Collections Are for Collisions →

ReadersFirst Eases the Ebook Experience

By Phil Morehart | August 13, 2014

After more than a year of development and research, the ReadersFirst Guide to Library Ebook Vendors (PDF file), which compiles information on ebook vendors and their products and then rates them on ease of use and efficiency, is available to the public. And it’s working. The guide is the brainchild of the Readersfirst Working Group, which … Continue reading ReadersFirst Eases the Ebook Experience →

E-Content and First Sale

By Joseph Sanchez | July 14, 2014

Music is the best market for forecasting potential trends. We can confidently assume that the last physical format for music, the CD, is in its twilight stage—soon to be replaced entirely by digital formats and niche markets like LPs. Starting in the late 1990s, the music industry experienced a downward sales curve that continued until … Continue reading E-Content and First Sale →

Beating the Odds: Building a Publishing “Maker” Culture

By Peter Brantley | June 24, 2014

For ebooks, it seems, if all is not well, then it is better than it might have been. For the past few years, ebooks have taken an increasingly larger share of the book market in the United States. The rate of growth has recently slowed, but the overall proportion of digital sales continues to rise. … Continue reading Beating the Odds: Building a Publishing “Maker” Culture →

Latest Library Links

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Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
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Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
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John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
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Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13
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Rowana Miller writes: “In my experience, many young library-goers identify as storytellers but not writers. These are the kids who draw Captain-Underpants-style cartoons, who craft meticulous Minecraft universes, and who plot elaborate Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, but who believe that ‘writing’ is limited to five-paragraph essays. But when children draw the connections between their natural storytelling proclivities and the written word, they can become self-motivated to develop the communication skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. Libraries, I believe, are uniquely positioned to help children make this connection.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 15
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ALA has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. A committee of ALA member leaders will oversee the search. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. “We are excited to embark on our search for a new executive director,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl. “This leadership position is critical as we navigate the years ahead. We seek candidates who have knowledge of the library community and the urgent issues we face.”

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, Nov. 14

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