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eBook Link Round Up from Internet Librarian #il2011

October 24, 2011
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eBook Link Round Up from Internet Librarian #il2011

During the two day ebook track in at Internet Librarian there were a lot of references to articles, reports and books, by myself, and others so I thought I would put together a link round up. Content by Cory Docotrow Seriously read this. It’s free to download in the format of your choice and it will help you understand DRM better than anything else. E-book piracy may have unexpected benefits for publishers O’Leary makes the distinction between the instances of e-book piracy (the number of pirated e-book files available for download) and the impact of e-book piracy (the actual effect on the business of publishing). For O’Leary, the two are related, but different. He says that one way to measure impact is to pick a book, wait for it to be pirated, and then compare sales before and after. E-reader ownership doubles in six months The percent of U.S. adults with an e-book reader doubled from 6% to 12% between November 2010 and May 2011 Across the digital divide. Let’s talk about poverty. …every time a discussion of ebooks turns, seemingly inevitably, to “Print is dead, traditional publishing is dead, all smart authors should be bailing to the brave new

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FCC’s New Digital Literacy & Broadband Initiative Recognizes the Role Libraries Play Now & in the Future!

October 12, 2011
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This morning at 10 am Eastern the FCC announced a new initiative aimed at closing the digital divide (access to broadband the necessary technology) and address digital literacy issues. Connect to Compete is A private and nonprofit sector partnership to promote broadband adoption and improve outcomes in disadvantaged communities. I missed the live broadcast so as I looked over the website and the announcement from the Knight Foundation I grew increasingly concerned about the lack of mention of public libraries! How could they not know we’re at the front line of all of this! And, as you know, I’ve been awaiting more information on the Digital Literacy Corps since I read about the idea in the National Broadband Plan. That’s why I was very grateful to find a pdf of the remarks. I’ve pulled out the sections regarding libraries but I strongly urge you to take the time to read the whole thing and become familiar with the Connect to Compete initiative. On Digital Literacy Corps: And building on a big idea developed in the National Broadband Plan, we’re proposing to work with America’s schools and public libraries to launch a Digital Literacy Corps to help promote and teach digital literacy. Digital literacy refers

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Top 10 Links 2.40: Poverty, Digital Underclass, Digital Culture, e-Content & More

October 7, 2011
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Top 10 Links 2.40: Poverty, Digital Underclass, Digital Culture, e-Content & More

1. Seven Reasons Why We Need Internet Activism Now via @CathyNDavidson Privacy Intellectual Property Openness Peer-learning Free Speech Open Media Innovation 2. Amazon retroactively replaces Reamde, repelled readers revolt Amazon remade its Kindle edition of Neal Stephenson’s new novel Reamde, and is now getting reamed by disgruntled readers, GalleyCat and CNet report. The e-book had been pulled from the Kindle store on Tuesday, and today customers who had bought it received a cryptic (and ungrammatical) email from Amazon advising them that “the version you received had Missing Content that have (sic) been corrected.” 3. Buy This Movie Or Legally Download It For Free: Your Call  via @mattrweaver PressPausePlay, an award-winning documentary about our new digital culture, premiered at SXSW earlier this year. It is playing at film festivals and you can buy it on iTunes, Amazon, and other digital pay sites. If you don’t want to pay for it, you can now download it via a torrent for free. 4. You are Not a Tinker Toy: Libraries and Reorganization - great article about learning and training on the job. 5. California Governor Signs Reader Privacy Act California Governor Jerry Brown has signed the Reader Privacy Act, updating the state’s reader privacy law to cover ebooks and online book services. The

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Internet Librarian Packing and Travel Tips #IL2011

October 4, 2011
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Internet Librarian Packing and Travel Tips #IL2011

Every time I get ready to just copy and paste this list I find something new to add. So! The latest and great! The newest and bestest! Packing and traveling and conference survival tips! Packing list These are the things I can NOT live without at conferences A good bag in a light weight material. Forgot leather its hot & heavy. Instead go for something lightweight like the Baggallini bags, I have two big ones, the Only Bagg and the Ala Carte Medium. Both of these are large tote style bags great as a carry on or if you like a bigger bag during the conference. I’ll probably be caring the Ala Carte. My favorite smaller one is the Hobo Style Tote. It’s just big enough my netbook will fit in it, the outer end pockets are great for a cell phone, water bottle and anything else you need. The strap can be shortened to wear as a shoulder bag or long to wear as a messenger. External Battery Pack  I can not express enough love for this device. It’s slightly larger than my cell phone and will fully charge it, twice. I just remember to plug it in and charge it each night then throw it

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Public Library eBooks on the Amazon Kindle – We Got Screwed

September 28, 2011
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Public Library eBooks on the Amazon Kindle – We Got Screwed

Don’t get me wrong, as a consumer I was celebrating as much as the next guy (or gal) last week about library ebooks (from OverDrive) FINALLY being available on the ever popular Amazon Kindle. I love my Kindle, I’ve written about it. The few textbooks and pdfs I’ve put on it make me love it more. But…. But as a librarian and an ebook activist (if I do say so myself) I have to say we got the short end of that stick my friends. I have been working an expansion of my May blog post for Library Renewal where I raised some concerns : new concerns have started to creep in as I think through the long term implications for this deal. Amazon is getting access to a LOT of information about libraries, even if it is anonymized, and it is making me wonder if we should have done a better job negotiating our deal. I applaud OverDrive for working with Amazon to get ebooks on the Kindle (and Kindle apps); however, I can’t help feel they should have worked a harder deal for the information we will need to ensure that libraries have a future in the ebook business. Let’s

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photo by Beth Tribe

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