Category Archives: librarian

Damn it, Obama, when are you gonna get this e-book thing? Check out Donalyn Miller’s literacy efforts and connect the dots!

Barack Obama drew a $500,000 advance for a children’s book, a mere five days before swearing a presidential oath. I’m happy for him. Literacy has served The First Reader well. So has technology—as shown by his fondness for BlackBerry-style devices and using the Net to raise campaign money.
Why, then, isn’t the First Reader more [...] Continue reading

Posted in E-books and all that, Education, Libraries, One Laptop Per Child, Uncategorized, e-book, e-book economics, e-book ergonomics, e-book pricing, e-book technology, e-books, e-books and other digipubs, ebook, ebook pricing, ebook publishing, ebooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | Leave a comment

ePub coming to 8,500+ libraries: Cleveland’s just a start

“More than 8,500 libraries powered by OverDrive will soon be able to offer eBooks in the EPUB format, along with more than 150,000 titles in audiobook, eBook, music, and video formats, many of which are compatible with both Mac and iPod.” – News release.
The TeleRead take: Now what about ePub being readable from libraries [...] Continue reading

Posted in E-books and all that, Libraries, Uncategorized, e-book, e-book ergonomics, e-books, e-books and other digipubs, ebook, ebooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | 53 Comments

OverDrive: ‘Much more content without DRM’ promised for libraries in ‘09

Again and again I’ve asked the IDPF to please consider a logo for DRMless ePub books. OverDrive founder Steve Potash is also president of the IDPF, and recently he told Library Journal:
“OverDrive is the leader in bringing downloadable MP3 audiobooks to libraries. [It] is leading the library market in bringing all formats of digital [...] Continue reading

Posted in DRM, E-books and all that, Libraries, Uncategorized, e-book, e-books, e-books and other digipubs, ebook, ebooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | 50 Comments

Libraries are a barrier to reading

So says a fascinating blog post by Donald Clark. Here are a few excerpts, and I suggest you read the whole thing. He makes a lot of sense, especially when he talks about publishers confusing the medium with the content. I must also admit that I’ve had some of the same thoughts about [...] Continue reading

Posted in Libraries, Paul Biba, Richard Herley, Uncategorized, e-book, e-books, ebook, ebooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | Leave a comment

Beastly prediction: Digital fascism possible in the U.S. if Obama broadband plan happens

Net-hater Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur, warns that Barack Obama’s broadband plan could lead to digital fascism on the U.S.
“Imagine the FDR-baiting, Hitler-loving Father Charles Coughlin, equipped with his ‘personalized’ YouTube channel, able, at a click of a button, to distribute his racist message to the suffering masses,” Keen writes [...] Continue reading

Posted in E-books and all that, Libraries, TeleRead, Uncategorized, e-book, e-books, e-books and other digipubs, ebook, ebooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech | Leave a comment

BusinessWeek: ‘Move over Kindle: E-books hit cell phones’

Old news, of course—but it’s still good to see the mainstream press finally grasping that cell phone might turn out to be a more popular reading platform over the long run than Kindle-style dedicated readers.
Excerpt from BusinessWeek article:
Adam Parks is an avid reader of digital books. But you won’t find him downloading the 20 [...] Continue reading

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Libraries, Stanza, Uncategorized, amazon, iPhone and iPod Touch, iPod Touch, ipod, kindle, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech | Leave a comment

Shocker! Up to $2,500 a year said to be saved by a family of four borrowing 10 public library items a month

Novelists, Inc. wants used bookstores to pay fees to publishers. The group frets that novelists are missing out on royalties.
And now the shocker of the day! A study cited in Parade Magazine says a family of four can save up to $2,500 a year by borrowing just 10 items a month from the [...] Continue reading

Posted in E-books and all that, Libraries, Library links, Library of the Future, Uncategorized, e-book, e-books, e-books and other digipubs, ebook, ebooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | Leave a comment

E-books, and prep for teacher and librarians, please, Barack—not just broadband: TeleRead, anyone?

Your Weekly Address from the President-Elect @ Yahoo! Video

Barack Obama wants a huge investment in infrastructure here in the States—both the highway and electronic varieties. America’s broadband penetration would be improved. And every child could tap away at a computer.
In the rush to modernize, however, Obama and his team should also press for sufficient resources [...] Continue reading

Posted in E-books and all that, EPub, K-12, Libraries, Library links, Uncategorized, e-book, e-books, e-books and other digipubs, ebook, ebooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | Leave a comment

Mac owners: OverDrive Media Console version released for library audiobooks

Mac owners at last can enjoy audiobooks from libraries via the OverDrive Media Console. A slightly condensed news release follows. – D.R.
OverDrive Media Console for Mac, the free software for playing and organizing digital audiobooks from public libraries, is now available for download.
With this free software, Mac users can download audiobooks in the [...] Continue reading

Posted in Apple, Libraries, Uncategorized, audio books, audiobooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | Leave a comment

Mac owners: OverDrive Media Console version released for library audiobooks

Mac owners at last can enjoy audiobooks from libraries via the OverDrive Media Console. A slightly condensed news release follows. – D.R.
OverDrive Media Console for Mac, the free software for playing and organizing digital audiobooks from public libraries, is now available for download.
With this free software, Mac users can download audiobooks in the [...] Continue reading

Posted in Apple, Libraries, Uncategorized, audio books, audiobooks, librarian, librarians, libraries + schools + tech, library | Leave a comment