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Book Review: The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future by Robert Darnton + Two Essays by Darnton on Libraries and on Google

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

Access the Complete Review (The Observer, November 15, 2009)

This review was written by Dinah Birch, professor of English literature at Liverpool University and editor of the latest edition of The Oxford Companion to English Literature.

Here are a Few Snippets:

In this motley collection of essays on the history and future of the book, Robert Darnton points out that they have many practical advantages. Portable and accessible, they require no power supply. They have proved their durbility, while today’s advanced tools for storing data will be tomorrow’s dinosaurs. A new technology does not always replace an older one. The internet has not yet obliterated newspapers. The printed page is not about to disappear.

[Snip]

“Whatever the future may be, it will be digital” — Robert Darnton

[Snip]

He worries about Google’s “monopolistic tendencies” and the risk that greed for private gain will block any aspiration to public good. How are the interests of authors and publishers to be protected? Should Google be seen as a publisher? How might research libraries fit into the operations of Google Book Search? Will we lose irreplaceable details in the rush to transform volumes into bytes?

[Snip]

He identifies more questions than he is able to answer. But he is eloquent on the dangers of digitisation – for instance, that the dizzying expense of subscribing to electronic versions of leading science journals (often more than $20,000 a year) has had such an effect on accession budgets that university libraries now find it hard to buy books in other fields

The challenges are huge and demand a coherent response. Darnton’s thoughts are provocative, but his assemblage of essays, reviews and scholarly articles, many previously published in the New York Review of Books, doesn’t quite measure up to the task.

[Snip]

Darnton is not clear about who should read this book and why. The result is a muddle.

Source: The Observer

Robert Darnton has been the Director of the University Library at Harvard since 2007.

See Also: Full Text The Case for Books via Amazon.com
Here you can search the full text of the book and view a limited number of pages (as determined by the publisher) using Amazon’s “Look Inside” Feature. Free.

See Also: The Case for Books via Google Book Search
Info only. No Preview is Available.

Posted in E-books, Print Publications, Technology and Internet | No Comments »

Amazon.com the Publisher: AmazonEncore Will Publish Three Books in February, 2010

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Yes, Amazon.com or a division of Amazon.com is publishing books. The first release from AmazonEncore occurred in August, 2009. Amazon has just started their PR machine for three new titles to be published in February, 2010.

What is AmazonEncore in the first place? What are they publishing?

Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that AmazonEncore, the program that identifies exceptional yet overlooked books and works with the authors to re-introduce their books to readers, will be introducing three new books in February 2010: “Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)Adventures of Waverly Bryson” by first-time novelist Maria Murnane; “A Wish After Midnight” by Zetta Elliott, an American Library Association 2009 Notable Children’s Book author; and “They Never Die Quietly” by former book editor Daniel Annechino. These books were previously self-published via BookSurge [also part of Amazon.com].

Announced in May 2009, AmazonEncore is a program which identifies exceptional, overlooked books and authors that show potential for greater sales based on feedback gathered from Amazon.com’s readers, including customer reviews on Amazon websites. Amazon then works with the authors to re-introduce their books to readers by marketing and distribution into multiple channels and formats, such as the Amazon Books Store, Amazon Kindle Store, www.Audible.com, and national and independent bookstores via third-party wholesalers. AmazonEncore has released one title, “Legacy” by Cayla Kluver, in August 2009. AmazonEncore is the brand owned by Amazon Content Services, LLC.

Posted in E-books, Print Publications | No Comments »

A New eReader from Intel Aimed at People Who are Blind, Have Weak Vision, or are Dyslexic

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

From the Computerworld Article:

Intel Corp. today started selling a new e-reader that can snap pictures of books and newspapers and then read them back to people who have a hard time reading the printed page.

Called the Intel Reader, the $1,499 device assists people who are blind, dyslexic or have weak vision, said Ben Foss, the director of access technology with Intel’s Digital Health Group, who came up with the idea for the reader. “It’s designed to give them independence and access to reading.”

Intel estimates that there are as many as 55 million people in the U.S. who could use its device. Foss said the Reader will give many of them a new freedom to read books, magazines and newspapers that would otherwise be inaccessible. Users hold the Reader a few feet above the paper they want to read; it snaps a photo, and within seconds converts the page to text, which it can then display in a large font or read out loud.

Read the Complete Article and Review the News Release with Pictures.

See Also: Yesterday’s announcement from Intel comes only a few weeks (mid-October) after Ray Kurzweil in partnership with Baker & Taylor announced an eReader for the blind and others. We have a post about it here with a number of links.

Baker & Taylor announced a partnership with acclaimed scientist, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, CEO of Kurzweil Technologies, to supply digital content for K-NFB Reading Technology, a newly developed e-book reading software created by Kurzweil in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind. The software will be offered to consumers for free. B&T unveiled the software at the Frankfurt Book Fair with plans to launch the new reader in the U.S. at the end of November. (via PW)

While they are both aimed at the same used group both devices are quite different. The Intel Reader is an actual device that allows users take a pictures of something containing text ( say a restaurant menu) and then reads it to them out loud and/or displays the text in large print.

There is no actual eReader device from KFNB. The eReader software (which will be available for free) will run on several smartphones and operating systems including the iPhone, PCs, Macs, and Windows Mobile with more mobile devices to come. The eader will allow eBooks, articles and other textual material to be read out load on these devices. The software can handle many text formats including PDF and ePub. Elsevier Science and Technology Books is an early partner.

KFNB also offers other software, KReader Mobile and the knfbReader Mobile which, like the Intel Reader, allows users to snap pictures of text and then have it read back to them immediately. However, unlike the Intel product, these devices work on cell or smartphones.

Also in October, the U.S. Copyright office put out a call for public comment on, “possible solutions to enhance the accessibility of copyrighted works for the benefit of the blind or other persons with disabilities.” You can read the Federal Register with all of the details (3 pages; PDF).

Posted in Print Publications, Technology and Internet | No Comments »

Webcast: Preserving OSTI’s Printed Archive

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Webcast: Preserving OSTI’s Printed Archive
A three minute video from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Here’s the Blurb:

The American public has invested billions of dollars in the atomic energy and subsequent related programs. This investment has mostly been in the form of the printed page. OSTIs historical preservation is described.

Direct to “Printed Archive” Video (via YouTube)

Direct to OSTI YouTube Channel

Direct to OSTI Home Page

While print preservation is essential, OSTI is home to many free online databases including:

+ Science Accelerator
+ Science.gov (Content from Many Government Databases, Search Tecnology from OSTI)
+ WorldWideScience (Global in Scope)
+ Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information (Includes over 210K Full Text Documents)
+ DOE Data Explorer
+ Energy Citations Database
+ E-print Network
+ Several Others Linked on the OSTI Home Page

Source: OSTI

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Government Documents and Political Information, Preservation/Conservation, Print Publications, Resources, Science | No Comments »

Lists: Amazon.com Unveils Best Books of 2009, Including Editors’ Top 100 Books of the Year

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Well, it really is starting to be year-end list season. Just one post below this entry is the is the Publisher’s Week year-end list.

Now, it Amazon.com’s turn with numerous list, some from editors others from customers based on sales.

From the Web Home Page

Amazon.com, Inc. today announced its picks for Best Books of 2009. This annual feature includes the Editors’ Picks for the Top 100 Books of the Year, Top 100 Customer Favorites, Top 10 lists for both editors and customers in nearly two dozen categories, including Literature & Fiction and Cooking, Food & Wine, as well as videos of the year.

It’s worth noting that twice near the top of the document Amazon.com points out that a “majority” of the titles on their Top 100 Books of the Year list are also available for the Kindle. It will be interesting to see next year at this time how many 2010 books are available for both the nook [coming soon from Barnes & Noble] and Kindle and which titles (if any) will be exclusive to one reader or another. Of course, there are other (with more coming) eReaders out there so we will have to watch closely to see what content is available for each device.

“Our editorial team spends the whole year reading new releases with our Best Books of the Year lists in mind, and every year it proves to be our most popular feature among our customers,” said Tom Nissley, senior editor of Amazon.com Books. “Deciding on our Top 100 Books can often get a little contentious, but [our emphasis] this year our choice for the Best Book of the Year, Colum McCann’s ‘Let the Great World Spin,’ was the closest we’ve ever come to a unanimous pick across the entire Amazon.com Books team. Many readers have already fallen in love with this moving story of New York City in the mid-‘70s, centered around Philippe Petit’s audaciously graceful tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with many more.”

Access the Complete List

Categories Include:

+ Top 100 Editors’ Picks

+ Top 100 Customer Favorites

Our top 100 customer favorites are ranked according to customer orders on Amazon.com through October. (Only books published for the first time in 2009 are eligible.)

+ Editors’ Top 10: Literature & Fiction

+ Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books (Picture Books, Middle Readers, Teens)

+ Customers’ Top 10: Mystery & Thrillers

+ Best Books of 2009 on Your Kindle
Editors Picks ||| Customer Favorites

MANY more categories (both “Editors Picks” and “Customer Favorites”) can be found in the left margin of the 2009 list home page. In that same location you’ll find links to lists from 2000-2008.

Source: Amazon.com

Posted in E-books, Information Industry, Lists and Rankings, Print Publications, Year End Wrap-Ups | No Comments »

Lists: Publisher’s Weekly Publishes Their Best Books of 2009 Lists

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

From the Introduction:

It’s almost Thanksgiving, which is the beginning of the end of another year, and for us at PW that means our annual best books list. From more than 50,000 volumes, we valiantly set out to choose 100, and this year we’ve upped the ante with a top 10 list. A usually cooperative, agreeable bunch, we gave ourselves a reason to fight. We wanted the list to reflect what we thought were the top 10 books of the year with no other consideration. We expect you’ll be surprised: there’s a graphic novel, an adventure story, possibly the next Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a delicious biography that could bring Cheever back into the literary firmament. We ignored gender and genre and who had the buzz.

Categories (as they appear on the web page)

+ Top Top 10 Adult Books (we first posted this list last week with direct links to full PW reviews.)

+ Fiction

+ Poetry

+ Mystery

+ Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror

+ Mass Market

+ Nonfiction

+ Religion

+ Lifestyle

See Also: Best Children’s Books of 2009

Categories (as they appear of the web page)

+ Picture Books

+ Fiction

+ Nonfiction

Source: Publisher’s Weekly

Posted in Lists and Rankings, Print Publications | No Comments »

The Complete Archive of National Geographic Magazine on Six DVD’s

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

Every now and then a fee-based product comes around that we believe deserves your attention. The following is one of them.

Chris Pendleton on the Bing Blog reminds us that a major digitization project, every issue ever published of National Geographic from 1887-2008, is now available (it was officially released yesterday according to this media announcement) on 6 DVD’s or an external hard drive. That’s right, all of the writing, the legendary imagery, the supplement , even the advertisements are included. For many topics, Nat Geo magazine is a resource that documents people, places, and events, on a global scale. In other words, for all of the reasons just mentioned and many others, makes the magazine an important part of the historical record.

By the way, the reason it was mentioned on the Bing Blog is because Bing is providing some the technology that powers the digitized version this recently released collection.

From the Blog Post

Nat Geo uses Bing Maps in their Geobrowse functionality which allows you to browse a map anywhere in the world to find locations where relevant articles are referenced using geographic metadata.

Yes, we still love paper and those massive collections of past issues of the print version of National Geographic Magazine many people own (where are yours)? They’re also important.

That said, we also hear and read that for today’s student, it’s all about digital access. Yes, of course, that’s rather sad. However, a digitized archive of this size and scope can truly demonstrate the power of digital info technology for people of all ages and turn 120 years of content into important research and learning resources.

Another digitized archive of the magazine was released seven years abut this 120 year collection is the most complete version ever published with more content, more search options, saving/sharing tools, interactive maps, and more. One thing we noticed right of the bat is the that the new version is available for both PC and Mac. The “112 year version” was PC only.

Here are a few fast facts about the new collection. They were gleaned from Nat Geo site (including the video overview) and news release.

+ All Issues from October, 1888-December, 2008 are included

+ Six DVD’s include more than 200,000 pages; 300 wall map supplements, more than 8,400 articles; more than 250,000 photographs

+ All images scanned in high-resolution

+ Flip one page at a time, zoom, print

+ Geobrowse

A new Geobrowse function powered by Bing Maps that allows users with Internet access to search nearly 5,000 locations on a globe that are featured in the magazine’s archive of articles and maps.

+ Search by keyword, date, contributor, and topic; refine by date or content type

+ Browse by month or year

+ Create personalized reading lists; share these lists with other users in the Nat Geo community

+ Pre-loaded “favorite article lists” compiled by experts

National Geographic is selling the DVD’s for $69.95/US and the hard drive version for $199.95/US.

The lowest price we found as of Sunday November 1st was $42.78 from an Amazon.com Merchant. The DVD’s directly from Amazon.com are $44.99/US.

We’ve ordered a copy of the DVD’s and after spending some time with them we will report back.

Posted in Digitization Projects, Geographic, Information Industry, Print Publications | No Comments »

Book War Continues: It’s Time to Ration Titles

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Remember the book war that broke out two weeks ago between Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target and continues today? All three stores continue to sell the same 10 books (preorders) from major authors or personalities. Each book is selling for $9 (Amazon), $8.99 (Target) and $8.98 (Wal-Mart) and only available (for Wal-Mart and Target) online.

Now things are changing, the books are being rationed.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

The limits will stop other booksellers from scooping up cheap copies in large quantities and reselling them.

[Snip]

The retailers are losing money on each copy sold because publishers charge them about 50% of a book’s hardcover price. The prices for the 10 books involved in the promotion are also lower than the wholesale price independent booksellers pay for the merchandise.

Arsen Kashkashian, head buyer at the Boulder Book Store, in Boulder, Colo., said he had intended to buy as many as 70 copies of Barbara Kingsolver’s “The Lacuna” from Walmart.com, Target.com or Amazon, because their prices are “more than $5 cheaper than what we can get it for from the publisher, Harper.

[Snip]

On Walmart.com, customers can preorder two copies of Mr. Koontz’s “Breathless,” while they can buy three copies on Amazon, and five on Target.com. A spokesman for Walmart.com said the retailer has “always limited the number of preorder book titles to two units per title.” An Amazon spokesman declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Target.com said the retailer “always reserves the right to limit the number of items that are purchased.”

Source: Wall Street Journal

Access the Complete Wall Street Journal Article

Posted in Information Industry, Print Publications | No Comments »

Book Price Wars: Target Joins Amazon.com and Wal-Mart

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Last week we posted about a price war going on between Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble over 10 pre-order titles by well-known authors. You can pre-order these titles online for $9/U.S. ($8.99 to be precise at Wal-Mart).

Today, we have a new player in this pricing war, Target.

From an Article:

Target says the price applies to pre-orders on Target.com of such books as “Breathless” by Dean Koontz, “Ford Country” by James Patterson and “Under the Dome” by Stephen King.

Here’s a complete list of Target’s 10 titles. You can find a list of the Amazon/Wal-Mart titles (the same ones) in last weeks post. Our post from last week also has some comparison pricing from B&N and Powell’s.

Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Posted in Information Industry, Print Publications | No Comments »

Coming Soon: A New eReader for those With Difficulty Seeing or Reading Print via a Partnership Between Ray Kurzweil and Baker & Taylor

Friday, October 16th, 2009

From the Article:

Baker & Taylor [has] announced a partnership with acclaimed scientist, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, CEO of Kurzweil Technologies, to supply digital content for K-NFB Reading Technology, a newly developed e-book reading software created by Kurzweil in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind. The software will be offered to consumers for free. B&T unveiled the software at the Frankfurt Book Fair with plans to launch the new reader in the U.S. at the end of November.

[Snip]

In a phone interview with Kurzweil from his company’s headquarters in Massachusetts, he said not only can consumers use the software to read e-books, but the technology will allow the device its installed on to read the text aloud, in synch with a display of the text that highlights each word as it is spoken. On top of all that, he intends to offer the software for free via both downloads and CDs and told PW he expects to make money through the sale of books using the K-NFB e-reader.

[Snip]

Kurzweil explained that the K-NFB e-reader software will run on laptops and desktop computers (PCs and Macs) as well as netbooks and mobile phones—Windows mobile and the iPhone right away with other mobile phone operating sytems added as quickly as possible. The software can read any format from straight text to PDF and ePub.

He also described the new e-reader as, “the ultimate expression of my work over the years. It will have wide distribution and will be available not only to the general reader and to the blind, but to the millions of people who suffer from Dyslexia.”

Source: Publishers Weekly

See Also: K-NFB Technology
Details and imagery.

See Also: Comments from Baker & Taylor

Posted in Print Publications, Technology and Internet | No Comments »

Price War Breaks Out Between Amazon and Wal-Mart over 10 New Books

Friday, October 16th, 2009

In this time of eBook, eBooks and more eBooks we think it’s worth noting that a price war has broken out over 10 pre-order hard cover titles. We wonder if it more books will be added to the list, the price keeps getting reduced, and if other online book providers will join in.

It began yesterday when Wal-Mart announced that they were reducing the price of ten titles to $10 for books purchased on Walmart.com. Then, Amazon.com came back by lowering the price for those same titles to $9. This morning (Friday), Wal-Mart returned the volley and is now selling the books for $9. Is it Amazon.com’s move again? Will have to keep checking the Amazon.com site.

The list of the 10 titles via the WalMart.com site.

Here are five $9 titles from the list with comparison prices from Powells and BN.com (Barnes & Noble). We did this check on Friday, October 16, 2009. 10am EDST and at 7pm EDST.

+ Going Rogue by Sarah Palin
$28.99 at Powells and $17.39 ($15.65 for members)
at Barnes & Noble

+ Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
$27.99 at Powells and $16.79 ($15.11 for members)
at Barnes & Noble

+ Under the Dome by Stephen King
$35 at Powells and $21.00 ($18.90 for members) at Barnes & Noble

+ Ford County by John Grisham
$24 at Powells and $14.40 ($12.96 for members) at Barnes & Noble

+ Breathless by Dean Koontz
$28 at Powells and $16.80 ($15.12 for members) at Barnes and Noble

From the Wall Street Journal

Wal-Mart’s $10 promotion applies to the top 10 books coming out in November but the company is also selling 200 best-sellers for 50% of their list price.

The price war sent shivers through the publishing world. Wal-Mart’s move, and similarly low prices for electronic books, may ultimately condition consumers to expect new titles to cost $10, a price that would force the publishing industry to re-scale its entire business, including the advances paid to writers.

[Snip]

James Patterson, whose coming novel, “I, Alex Cross,” is being discounted from $27.99 to $10, said he was happy to be in Wal-Mart’s top 10. However, he warned any industry that sets low price points may later have a difficult time re-establishing those prices. “Obviously e-books have gotten this thing going,” said Mr. Patterson. “E-books are terrific and here to stay. But I think that people need to think through the repercussions….But I’m not taking sides….I’m not the endangered species here.”

Wal-Mart said it wasn’t trying to match the price of electronic books. Still, the $10 price tag coincides with the $9.99 that Amazon.com charges for its Kindle e-reader best-sellers

[Snip]

Wal-Mart declined to discuss whether it was losing money on the $10 book promotion, which includes free shipping. But the answer is almost certainly yes.

[Snip]

Diana Abbott, manager of the Bookworm, an independent bookstore in Omaha, Neb. said that some independents will likely lose some business on the titles involved. “We’ve been fighting deep discounting for a long time, although $10 is obviously an extreme,” said Ms. Abbott. “But there is a strong element of loyalty to independents….We’ll survive this.”

Author Dean Koontz is also quoted in the article.

Access the Complete Article

Source: WSJ

Posted in Information Industry, Print Publications | No Comments »

The Mobile Researcher: McGraw-Hill Professional Business Books Become iPhone Ready, Over 600 Titles Will Be Available by End of ‘09

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

From the Announcement:

McGraw-Hill Professional, the world’s preeminent business publisher of print and electronic content, is partnering with ScrollMotion, a leading developer of original iPhone applications, to offer e-books as applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. ScrollMotion is the creator of the Iceberg Reader, an e-Book reader for the iPhone, which provides interactive functionality around content, including search functions, email sharing, multimedia, and more.

The first McGraw-Hill titles are now available on the iTunes Apps Store. This launch list of acclaimed e-Books covers must-have information for all aspects of business, including career development, management, innovation, entrepreneurship, communication, finance, investing, and more, designed to help consumers make better informed business and financial decisions. The first group of titles includes two recent best-sellers, How to Make Money in Stocks by William J. O’Neil and Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty by Ram Charan.

More than 600 fully interactive McGraw-Hill titles will be added to this collection throughout the rest of 2009. E-books will be added on a rolling basis as new titles publish, and will cover other areas, including Medical, Engineering, Computing, Education, and more.

Source: McGraw-Hill (via PR Newswire)

Posted in E-books, Print Publications, Wireless Web and Search | No Comments »

Mandela Opens Archives for New Memoir & Related Mandela Web Resources

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

From the Article:

Nelson Mandela plans to open his personal archives to create a new memoir that will reveal how he preserved his values during the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

British, European and international publishing deals for the memoir by the former South African president were announced Wednesday at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

[Snip]

The [Nelson Mandela F]oundation holds an archive of
diaries, notebooks and calendar jottings that include Mandela’s speeches and musings during his time as an activist, his time in prison on Robben Island and his time in office.

Source: CBC

+ Access the Nelson Mandela Foundation Web Site
+ Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives
+ Mandela Materials (Speeches, lectures, etc.) Database
+ South African Histories
+ Nelson Mandela Bibliography (Searchable)
+ Nelson Mandela Filmography (Searchable)
+ Nelson Mandela Timeline

Posted in Archives and Special Collections, Chronologies and Timelines, Databases, Directories, and Guides, History, Print Publications, Resources | No Comments »

The Bids Are In and the Auction is Over: Bloomberg Will Acquire BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

From Reuters:

The announcement on Tuesday comes after several rounds of bids by various private equity firms and publishers. Bloomberg was long seen as the most likely winner of the auction.
[Snip]
Bloomberg would keep the magazines separate after the purchase. BusinessWeek journalists also would work as separate groups, but with much “cross-pollenization,” said [Bloomberg Chief Content Officer Norman] Pearlstine.
[Snip]
Other bidders included an investment firm run by Strauss Zelnick, chairman of videogame publisher Take Two Interactive Software, private equity firm OpenGate Capital and Boston Properties (BXP.N) co-founder and New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman.

From BusinessWeek:

Bloomberg LP, the global financial data and news empire created by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is the winning bidder for BusinessWeek. Terms of the offer will not be disclosed by Bloomberg and BusinessWeek parent McGraw-Hill Cos.
[Snip]
If the deal closes as anticipated by Dec. 1, it will be unprecedented for both buyer and seller. For Bloomberg, buying BusinessWeek will be its first major acquisition ever and a significant departure for a 28-year-old company nurtured on a “build, don’t buy” culture.
[Snip]
BusinessWeek, launched 80 years ago, will give Bloomberg entrée to a much larger business audience of corporate executives and senior government officials, beyond what has been its sweet spot of catering to Wall Street and the professional investor community.
[Snip]
BusinessWeek, whose logo will eventually incorporate the Bloomberg name in some still-undetermined way, will continue to publish weekly in print and around the clock online. The goal will be to substantially boost the magazine’s editorial pages. It still hasn’t been decided whether Bloomberg and BusinessWeek will maintain separate Web sites or be morphed together as one

Sources: Reuters, BusinessWeek
Hat Tip: Library Stuff

Posted in Business and Economics, Information Industry, Print Publications | No Comments »

Report: Comparing Book Buying Habits in the U.S. and UK

Monday, October 12th, 2009

From the Announcement:

Book publishers can finally gain insight into key differences in the habits of consumer book buyers in the U.S. and Great Britain, with the release of the first industry report containing a side-by-side comparison of data from both sides of the Atlantic. Bowker and BML have joined forces to publish, “A Special Relationship? A Comparison of Consumer Book Buying Habits and Trends in the United States and Great Britain.”

The complete report is fee-based but a few highlights (details here) are available:

+ 57% of British consumers purchased one or more books last year, compared to only 50% of Americans

+ Mystery and Romance books accounted for a whopping 57% of all fiction books purchased by Americans last year, versus just 31% of fiction purchases in Great Britain

+ Men were less important to the adult fiction market in the U.S. (29% of purchases) than in Britain (40%) in 2008

+ The #1 channel for books in the U.S. is the Internet (23% of books purchased), while the dominant channel in Great Britain continues to be retail bookstore chains (34%).

Source: MarketWire

Posted in Information Industry, Print Publications | No Comments »

30 West Law Books Go Mobile via Kindle

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

West, part of Thomson Reuters, has announced that 30 of their titles will be available for the Amazon.com Kindle.

As electronic book readers increase in popularity with students and professionals, West is making nearly 30 of its titles available for electronic download for the Amazon Kindle. The addition of electronic versions of selected titles allows West to meet the needs of law students, law school faculty and legal professionals who are increasingly using new electronic media in the classroom, on the job and for personal use.

You can learn more and review the 30 titles via this news release.

Source: West (via PR Newswire)

Posted in Legal, Print Publications | No Comments »

Serials: Top Ten Biggest Magazines Closing in 2009 (So Far)

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

From the Article:

So far this year, 383 titles have disappeared in North America or will soon, according to Mediafinder.com, an online database of US and Canadian periodicals. That includes Monday’s surprise announcement of the closing of Gourmet magazine and three other Condé Nast publications – Cookie, Modern Bride, and Elegant Bride. Another 64 magazines have gone from print to online-only publication this year.

Here are the Top 5
1) Country Home – 1,200,000 circulation
2) Domino – 1,100,000
3) Nick (Nickelodeon) Magazine – 1,000,000
4) Gourmet – 977,000
5) Hallmark Magazine – 750,000

Review the Complete List and Read the Complete Article

Source: Christian Science Monitor

Update: 10/13: FishbowlNY reports that 72 magazine titles have launched in the last three months.

Posted in Information Industry, Print Publications | No Comments »

Opinion: Why We Need $4.00 Books

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

From the Article by Mark Coker:

Here in the U.S., most consumers already think twice before shelling out $7.50, $15.00 or $30.00 for a good read. If a book at the current prices represents a big purchase for citizens of the world’s most affluent economy, imagine the cost burden for the vast majority of the world’s literate people.

The growth in worldwide literacy has created a massive affordability gap between those who want books, and those who can afford them. Therein lies both the threat and the opportunity facing publishers.

[Snip]

The publishing industry has successfully responded to the price issue in the past by releasing lower cost formats such as the mid-sized trade paperback and the small purse-sized mass market paperback. Each lower cost format dropped the price 30-50 percent.

By offering customers a cheaper, smaller and less expensive format, publishers expanded the available market for their books and enabled a larger number of readers to gain access to affordable reads.

[Snip]

Many publishers view ebooks with a skeptical eye. After all, won’t cheap ebooks cannibalize expensive print books?

This is the wrong way to examine the situation. Lower cost ebooks help publishers retain customers who might otherwise abandon books altogether in favor of lower cost alternative media options.

Ebooks also hold the promise to expand the worldwide market for books. Hundreds of millions of new middle class and literate consumers have come online outside the US, especially in developing countries.

[Snip]
(more…)

Posted in E-books, Print Publications | No Comments »

Congressional Record Now Printed on 100% Recycled Paper, Of Course There Are Electronic Versions Too!

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

A quick note from the Government Printing Office today alerting us to the fact that the paper version of Congressional Record is now being printed on 100% recycled paper. It’s all part of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “Green the Capital” campaign that began in 2007. The GPO is having a “photo opportunity this afternoon to make the official announcement.

Of course the Congressional Record (back to 1994) and the Congressional Record Index (back to 1983) are electronically available (browsable and searchable) on GPO FDsys. You can also still find the Congressional Record on GPO Access.

Source: GPO

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