Wow! Hard to believe when this all started I could read all the posts by all the bloggers. Now I couldn’t if I wanted to, never mind the tweets.

Some numbers from Round 8 of the Library Day in the Life Project,

Twitter has made it increasingly hard to get data from Tweets by closing access for services such as WhattheHashTag and TwapperKeeper, so I don’t have the numbers from Twitter like I have in the past.  My best estimate is that there were over 1,000 people tweeting with the #libday8 hashtag.

From the wiki:

• 350 people have registers
• 20 Countries including: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Sweden, The Netherlands, Tobago & Trinidad, England, USA, Wales
  Wales
• 15 types of libraries including:academic, art, corporate, college, media, school, health, government, independent, law, museum, news, non-profit, public, research, special. It also include participants from library associations, vendors, and consulting and contracting agencies.

I’ve mapped out the participants below. I am so pleased and proud that this has grown to a truly international project. (Hopefully we will be able to add more from Asia and South America next round)

View Libday8 in a full screen map

Thanks to Andromeda for inspiring me to learn how to make a map of participants, though I used a different method.

Flickr Pool

Thank you to everyone who participated, helped me troubleshoot, and brainstormed with me!Similar Posts:

• Reflecting on Library Day in the Life #libday6
• Sign Up For Library Day in the Life Round 8! #libday8
• Library Day in the Life Round 7 Will Run July 25th through the 31st #libday7

What executive board (and ALA and Council) does and why it matters or Why You Should Pay Dues and VOTE!

First some background on Executive Board and where it fits in ALA:

The ALA president 

is the “chief administrative officer and legal head of the organization.” While many of the roles of an administrative leader are delegated or shared in policy (and practice) to the ALA executive director, some key roles have clearly and consistently been performed fully or in part by the president: representing and speaking for ALA to other organizations and to the public, presiding at Board and Council meetings, appointing committees.(pdf of the full description)

The ALA president is elected by all voting ALA members.

Executive Board:

acts for Council in the administration of established policies and programs and is the body that manages within this context the affairs of the Association, delegating management of day-to-day operation to the Association’s executive director. The Executive Board makes recommendations with respect to policy and operation.

The Executive Board is elected by Council.

ALA Council

is the governing body of ALA. It delegates to the divisions of the Association authority to plan and carry out programs and activities with policy established by Council.

Council is elected by voting ALA members. Broken down:

• 100 councilors at large who are elected by the Association membership
• Each division of the Association is entitled to one councilor to be elected by members of the divisions
• Each state, provincial, and territorial chapter is entitled to one councilor to be elected by members of the chapter
• Round tables with personal membership equal to or greater than one percent of ALA’s total personal membership shall be entitled to elect one councilor each, and the remaining round tables jointly shall be entitled to one councilor to be elected for a term of three years by the members of the respective round tables

Why you should pay dues and vote:

To the world ALA represents libraries. Not me or this blog or other bloggers no matter how often we’re quoted by traditional media outlets or how many invitations we receive to prestigious events. When the publishing industry decided they were ready to talk to “libraries” they agreed to talk to ALA president Molly Raphael and other ALA representatives. Yes I am aware of side conversations happening all over the place. But when it came time for the official conversation it was set up through official channels. (I can already hear some of you grumbling!).

So look around ALA, look at who is representing you on committees, round tables and interest groups, in your divisions, on task forces, on Council, on Executive Board and as President. Do their views align with your views? Are they representing your interests? If the answer is yes – sweet! Keep doing what you’re doing. If the answer is no it is time to take action. Pay your dues, vote, get involved.

I have to quote Abby the Librarian’s post  ALA is not your mom

ALA is an organization made up of US.  It’s not some magical entity floating around to solve all librarians’ problems.  ALA is what we make of it.

You know what is absolutely NOT helpful?  People complaining about something and not doing anything to change it.  ALA is what you make of it.  If you don’t like it, get involved and change it.

Sign it sister! I’ve quoted Abby before when I talked about why I decided to run for Council. I pay my dues, I vote, I get involved, I run because at the end of the day I want to say I contributed more than I criticized. If you don’t like something you have to work to change it. And complaining and criticizing isn’t “working to change it”. Criticism and complaining is easy. Don’t believe me? Just look around, there wouldn’t be that many people doing it if it were hard. Getting involved, giving time and energy, that’s work. Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying don’t criticize ALA, goodness knows there are areas that need it, but criticize, then take action (hint: tweeting your gripes is not action).

About running for Executive Board:

So back to my experience running for Executive Board. Here is the Official Job Description (pdf) if you’re interested.

From the ALA site:

The ALA Executive Board consists of the president, president-elect, immediate past president, treasurer, executive director, and eight members elected by Council from its membership for three-year terms.

The Executive Board acts for Council in the administration of established policies and programs and is the body that manages within this context the affairs of the Association, delegating management of day-to-day operation to the Association’s executive director.

The Executive Board makes recommendations with respect to policy and operation.

You must be nominated to run for executive board. The process works like this: for each seat coming open two candidates are nominated by the Committee on Committees. So if there are 2 seats 4 people get nominated, if there are 3 seats 6 people get nominated. Once nominated you receive an email from the ever amazing Lois Ann Gregory-Wood informing you of the nomination, detailing the requirements and asking you if you accept. Once you’ve accepted you are asked to provide background info, education, ALA experience, library honors that sort of thing. Each candidate’s info is put on a its own one page handout which is given to Councilors at the beginning of Council II. Once all candidates have accepted the nomination their information is sent to the Council listserv. Additionally during Council I at MidWinter candidates can be nominated from the floor. If the nominee accepts s/he is added to the list of candidates. During Council II each candidate may give a speech lasting up to 5 minutes. Once the speeches are done, if there is time, Councilors may ask questions from the Council floor on any issue or topic. Questions may be directed to all candidates or specific candidates. Voting commences immediately following the one hour session. Votes are tallied later that nights and all candidates are informed of the results. (I was not selected to serve on Executive Board)

Hopefully this has contributed to your understanding of the structure and process, please feel free to ask questions!Similar Posts:

• Why Are You Here? Reflections on ALA MidWinter #alamw12
• I Want to Know Your Thoughts on ALA. Love it? Hate it? Tell Me Why
• Be There or Be Square, Things of Note at #ALA11

This year has brought many changes, one of them is less blogging. It is hard to believe there was a point when I blogged everyday, now I spend my 5am-6am time studying. At the beginning of 2010 I decide to try something new and each week pick the top ten, the best of the best of the links I’d shared on Twitter that week. I still share a lot on Twitter (though not as much) and I still think that those links are important, so I’m torn about the Top Ten Links posts. I think there is still value in them, though I guess the more important question is – Do you?

If I do continue posting them I’m left with a dilemma, if I don’t post anything else for a month that is all people will see when they visit the blog. While I do the links are valuable I would like to think that the meat and potatoes of the blog is my actual writing, so I need to figure out a way, be it a plug-in or a theme change to keep my “real” writing front and center.

Thoughts? Suggestions? How valuable do you find the Top Ten posts each week?Similar Posts:

• 10 Best Links from Twitter – Week in Review
• Top Ten Links Week 29- Logo Contest, Speaker Tips, Finding Time, The Value of Privacy, and More
• Top Ten Links Week 44: Echo Chamber, Enthusiasm Gap, Broadband, Learning,Being Famous and More

Once or twice this introduction led to the very direct question – Why are you here? Despite getting this question multiple times I don’t think I ever really answered it well so it has been running around in my head while I traveled home. Honestly I’m not sure it’s a fair question, aren’t we all there because we love libraries and love what we do? But I thought I would attempt to break it down. I was there because I serve on Council as a councilor-at-large, which means I represent all ALA members. I take that seriously. (more on this later) I serve on the OITP Advisory Committee. That is ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy. I serve as the LITA (Library and Information Technology Association) representative to the Digital Literacy Task Force. I chair an Interest Group on transliteracy. I’m there because I am honoring the commitments that I made. I didn’t make these commitments because of the library I was working in or the position I held at the time, I made them because I believe in libraries and the issues that I’m passionate about, I made them because I believe in getting involved, making a difference and giving back. Those are the same reasons I also went back to school to get my degree. But honestly I don’t think the person shaking my hand and asking me the question wanted to hear that type of answer, I don’t think they would believe it, but there it is.

So how did I spend my time at conference? (Please note I am happy to answer any questions about any of the things I mention, but knowing this is going to be a rather longer & dryer post that normal I’m attempting to keep things brief).

OITP: I spent the first two days at the OITP retreat. We heard from Program on America’s Libraries in the 21st Century,  Copyright Education Subcommittee, Digital Literacy Task Force (pdf), E-Rate Task Force and Telecom Subcommittee.  ALA President Molly Rapheal spoke to us and answered questions about the Digital Content and Libraries Working Group (DCWG). You can read up on their first meeting here. Like most all of us I think ALA is behind the curve on e-content but I was heartened to hear that Raphael and other ALA leaders will be meeting with Macmillan, Simon & Schuster (S&S), and Penguin soon and what they hope to accomplish with such a meeting. Robert Horton from IMLS spoke to us about the strategic plan and vision of IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services). There are some great things coming from IMLS if you are not already aware of and watching their work I encourage you to do so.

We were heard an update on the great work the Copyright Advisory Network is doing, seriously if you’re not familiar check it out. After that was a brief on some of the current copyright lawsuits (one of my favorite parts). Unfortunately there wasn’t a handout and I was too busy listening to take adequate notes.

There was much brainstorming on the future of libraries and ways to demonstrate our value.  If you have suggestions I’d love to hear them!

Digital Literacy Task Force: The Digital Literacy Task Force meet in person, we have been meeting virtually for months. Our task force will disband after Annual, so we came to a consensus (I think) on what we want to accomplish before our time is up. I have to say I am proud of what we’ve accomplished so look for some great things. Renee Hobbs, an expert on digital and media literacy, has been named as an OITP fellow and we are all looking forward to working with her in the next six months.

Presidential Candidates: I watched the candidates for ALA president speak in person, you can watch the video here. If you’re a voting member I strong encourage you to do so.

Council: This was my first conference serving officially as a Councilor-at-large. Unfortunately I had to miss the last session when they finally discussed the econtent resolution and I deeply regret that. I don’t tweet much from council floor but I have created a Twitter list of tweeting councilors so it is easy to follow along from a distance. As a councilor-at-large I represent all ALA members, not a particular interest or type of library or work. I spent a lot of time talking to all types of people in all types of libraries about what issues they were facing and what they thing the solutions are. I’m equally happy to answer emails.

Executive Board: I also ran for ALA Executive Board. Candidates for Executive Board are nominated by the Committee on Committees (and can be nominated from the floor during Council I), candidates accept or decline the nomination. During Council II at Midwinter they are each given 5 minutes to speak, then if there is time there are questions from the floor. Only councilors may vote for the Executive Board. It was a fascinating experience to go through and I am truly honored to have received a nomination.  The whole process brought home to me home to me how important it is that we know who represents us and how they get in that position. Most people I talked didn’t know or understand how the Exec Board process works and granted only standing councilors may vote, but in effect Council represents ALA and Exec Board represents council, so as members we should be paying attention to this process. So pay your dues (yes I know they aren’t cheap) and vote. It is ridiculous how many people don’t vote in the ALA elections.

To find out more about what happend at MidWinter check out the American Libraries and Library Journal coverage.Similar Posts:

• The First Rule of ALA Executive Board is You Don’t Talk About ALA Executive Board
• Now the Real Work Begins
• Be There or Be Square, Things of Note at #ALA11

What is the Library Day in the Life Project?

It’s a chance to share your day, or week, with other librarians and hopefully the public at large. It started when I come discovered someone had searched “What’s a librarian’s day like” to find my blog so I wrote a blog post suggesting that other librarians and library workers blog what we do all day at work.  Then we (and maybe patrons) could see what we do all day. A second objective is to escape the library echo chamber where we’re talking to each other and reach others outside of libraries.

People participate by sharing a day or week by writing blog posts, tweeting, creating videos and taking pictures. Last round there were just under 250 people signed up on the wiki. There were over 800 people participating via Twitter.  It has grown to be an international project with participants from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, France, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore. Participants are from academic, public, college, special, school libraries, professional organizations and library vendors.

How do you participate?

• Chose your medium – blog posts, tweets, pictures, videos, interpretive dance, whatever.
• Go to the wiki
• Create an account (it’s free), carefully read the instructions for adding your content.
• On the 30th start recording your day or week.
• Bloggers, Flickr & YouTube users tag your posts with librarydayinthelife and #libday8. Twitters use the #libday8
• Bloggers be sure to include an introductory paragraph explaining the project and information about your position for readers.
• Add your Flickr photos or videos to the Group on Flickr and/or join the Facebook Page

You don’t have to write a blog post or tweet, you can document your day with words or photos or video or a handwritten love note or a cartoon.

Why should you participate? Meredith Farkas offers an excellent explanation of why she did. The Project has turned into a great resource for students, instructors, staff and patrons.

Need some inspiration?

Check out entries from previous years.

Check out this amazing video Ned Potter created for Round 6

Browse the photos on the Flickr pool.

Similar Posts:

• Library Day in the Life Round 7 Will Run July 25th through the 31st #libday7
• Library Day in the Life Round 6 Begins January 24th 2011
• Round 5 of Library Day in the Life!

Similar Posts:

• My 5 Seconds of Fame

• ability to highlight
• ability to make notes
• ability to export those notes & highlights (I like to put them in a Google docs folder so I can search them easily at any time).
• small & portable, easy to read on a plane or carry around with me.
• preferably e-ink, but if you can recommend a super awesome program that will work on the PC I’d consider it.

If you read the comments on the Kindle DX post you’ll see that many people recommended the iPad to me. I was hesitant to buy an iPad because no one could suggest an app that would do all the things I wanted/needed and while my technolust said that of course I needed an iPad I couldn’t really justify it given all the other devices I owned (Laptop, netbook, Kindle 3). Now remember the reason I wanted a “perfect pdf reader” was for all the reports and articles I was reading, some of which were image pdfs, I could read them on a Kindle but awkwardly and many of the pdfs that I could send to the Kindle got weirdly formatted. Fast forward a few months. I was back in school for my first semester and reading hundreds of pages of pdfs a week, many as images. Spending hours a day at the computer was killing my back, I needed a system and some tools quick! I did some reasearch and thought I’d share what I’ve found works best for me.

Over all this system was time intensive to set up, I had to learn the ins and outs of each new program and figure out how to make it do what I needed bow to my will. But in the end it was totally worth it. Here are my favorite tools and the why and how of use.

PDF-XChange-Viewer

I did some research and came across PDF-XChange-Viewer for the computer. I started using the free version and loved it! With it you can:

• add notes or comments to any pdf file
• highlight or underline
• export your highlights (non image pdfs) and notes – to turn on this option go to Edit -> Preferences -> Commenting and check the box next to “copy selected text to Highlight, Cross-Out….”
• using the pencil tool you can highlight image pdfs unfortunately you can’t email or export those highlights but you can add a note retyping the text if you really want to export it later.
• search the content of all pdfs in a folder or sub-folder.  I know Mendeley will let you search your pdfs but I use Mendeley strictly for cataloging my readings but not all my school related pdfs. For example if professors post lectures I download them as save them as pdfs for easy viewing on the iPad later.

Their website has some good screenshots and videos, so I didn’t make any. It’s very robust for a free program and I’ve been very pleased with it.

Mendeley

Let me state for the record that I know I’m not using Mendeley to its full extent. I know it does much more I just haven’t had the time or need to figure it out. I’m using it to:

• organize
• catalog
• generate citations

My massive pdf collection caused me to spend much of my holiday break renaming the files using a consistent naming system (author last name then title). I then re-imported everything into to Mendeley and re-cataloged them. Yes I had to re-catalog many of them but it was important for the naming system. I can tag and assign keywords, track URLs and easily generate citations.

Dropbox

All of my pdfs are stored in a Dropbox folder.  This way I can access them from any of my computers and the iPad (I’ll get to it in a minute). Seriously if you are not already using Dropbox stop reading right now and go sign up, it will change your life. Dropbox allows you to save a file in a folder on your computer then access them anywhere with an internet connection including other devices. This video is a great introduction to Dropbox.

The iPad and iAnnotate

I did break down and buy an iPad mostly in an effort to alleviate my back pain from sitting at a computer reading for so long. I fretted long and hard about spending so much money for a pdf reader then paying for iAnnotate on top of it, but let me tell you once I got iAnnotate set up with Dropbox it worked so easily and beautifully that I wanted to cry (and kick my own butt for not getting it sooner!) Why I love it:

• import and export files using Dropbox! Warns you if there is a conflict with the file in Dropbox
• highlight, underline, etc.
• export just your notes!
• can “highlight” image pdfs too!
• add text to all pdfs

 Similar Posts:

• The Lifehacker Pack for Android Plus a Few of My Favorites
• How do you organize your FeedReader?
• My Favorite Tools in Ten Installments: 2. Twitter

1. Don’t settle.

Don’t settle. Just don’t. Not for the status quo because everyone tells you that’s just the way it is. Not for that mediocre (or horrible) job you were mislead into taking. Not for the wrong guy. Not for a good apartment in the wrong town, or the wrong apartment in a good town. Not for the you that isn’t the you that you want to be. Not for less than the perfect pair of shoes. Whatever your dream is, don’t settle. Sure you need a job to pay the bills, a place to live and a car to drive but that doesn’t mean you should ever stop working towards what you really want. Get a plan, a real plan, not 1. collect underpants 2. ? 3. Profit. Work towards it. Yes you will have to work and probably make some sacrifices, but in the end it will be worth it.

2. Kindness is underrated. 

Seriously. It doesn’t go on your resume or on LinkedIn. We don’t look for it in our leaders or our presidents, but we do, at least we should look for it, in our friends. This year was hard, really hard, there is a lot I don’t remember, some I’d like to forget, but what I remember with certainty is who was kind to me. Honesty, sometimes I was surprised and occasionally shocked, at the kindness from family, friends, associates, distant associates and sometimes strangers. Even when you have nothing else to give you have kindness, sometimes that’s worth more than anything else.

3. All you need is love. 

Yep, it’s cheesy, but it’s true. This year was a hard one for me and my family, but we were there for each other. I know many of my friends (too many) had a rough year too, but we were there for each other. At least I know they were there for me in super, awesome, amazing ways and I hope I was there for them too. Seriously, I have the best friends and colleagues and supporters ever, big love to all of you.

4. Be generous. 

Actually this isn’t a new lesson but an old one. It’s my personal motto to live by through the years. But I relearned it on several levels this year. Be generous with others, but also yourself. Be generous with your time, your forgiveness, your understanding, your support, your praise, your patience, your caring, your kindness and your love.

5. Know when to quit. 

Whether it’s a bad job, self loathing, trying to lose that last 5 pounds, or a bad relationship of any kind. In the words of The Gambler

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away, know when to run.

Some times that thing you are beating yourself up about, killing yourself for or just letting ruin you isn’t worth it. It’s ok to cut and run. About a year and a half ago I started working on being more positive. Not that I was super negative before, but I was in a bad situation, a couple of them actually, and at least one was of the sort that doesn’t have an immediate exit. Instead of dwelling on the bad I decided to try to dwell on the good. I’ve always been fascinated by the human brain and how the mind works so I started reading*.  This led to the elimination of some bad habits, bad relationships and bad people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a work in progress but there’s value in assessing the things in your life and figuring out if they are contributing to the life you want (remember lesson 1).

*You may have seen me post these on FB or Twitter or the blog over the last year but here a few of the books, blogs & Facebook pages :

Books:

• The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want  This looks at how you can make yourself happiness from a scientific approach.  Well written and factual but not too dry for the average reader, I recommend it.
•  The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun The author talks about the year she spent working towards being happier, she focused on a different aspect of her life each month.
• The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World  A fun look at the happiest and least happiest areas of the world
• Stumbling on Happiness funny thing about human beings, what we *think* will make us happy very often doesn’t.

Blogs/Facebook pages

• The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness
• The Positivity Blog on FB
• Gretchen Rubin on FB author of the The Happiness Project
• The Happiness Project Blog
  

Recommended Reading:

• 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself
• 10 Ways to Complain Less and Be Happier
• Hello, I Find You Perfectly Toxic

Similar Posts:

• Looking Forward: Answers to Where-Have-You-Been-and-Are-You-Coming-Back-Questions
• In the End I Want to be Able to Say I Contributed More Than I Criticized
• On Hiatus, Family Comes First

I know, I know, you think that if it weren’t for libraries more people would buy your books, I have bad news for you, if it weren’t for libraries people would read less not buy more books. There is no guarantee that the people who read a library copy could, or would, choose to buy your book. Let’s face it no one who is willing spend  4 months  on the waiting list for their favorite author is going to buy that hardback copy and probably not the trade paperback or paperback either (have you seen the price of mass market paperbacks lately?). Instead of seeing that library book as money out of your pocket consider it another book sold that wouldn’t have been and more importantly consider it the gateway drug to your author.  Millions of people discover their new favorite author through their local library.

2.  Libraries introduce people to your books

For children we are a magical place where they can check out 20 or 50 books a week and take them home to read or for parents to read those books. We do story times and other educational and fun programs for children instilling a life long love of reading. This wouldn’t happen anywhere else. Without this introduction to books at an early age you would not have so many adult customers.

As adults its called Readers Advisory. It’s that thing we do when someone comes to us and says they’d like something to read. For the record we do it better than Amazon, because we’re real people who listen and read too, not some formula. Let’s face it you need readers advisory because people ( especially in this economy) aren’t willing to gamble money on a new author.

3. We celebrate books and authors everyday, all year long.

Book clubs, displays and more!  We throw these huge parties celebrating your books and your authors at our libraries. We encourage others to read your books, buying multiple copies, and then we sit around talking about them for hours. We create displays to promote your books helping more people discover them. All of this leads to sales.

4. Archives

We keep copies of your older books that the bookstores have sold at discount prices or gotten rid of. We will buy additional copies when the ones we have get old or lost or stolen.

5. Publicity

Yes we’ve already covered readers advisory, book clubs and story times but what about, newsletters, new books, returned books. We also do huge city-wide read-a-longs in our communities, invite authors for readings and signings. With the predicted death of physical bookstores you’re really going to need a place to host those authors signings, especially in the smaller towns.

6. We WANT to buy your books.

In the day and age when you are so worried about piracy, we are offering to pay and we are offering a reasonable method for people to read your books without piracy. We’ve even agreed to your ridiculous anti-piracy methods that make the process cumbersome and frustrating for everyone.

7. We love books too.

Sure not for the same reasons you do, but we want there to be a future for books too.

8. Who else is going to pay those ridiculously high database and journal prices?

Not the general public or the students. The library can barely afford them, you’re raking us over the coals here guys.

9. Library users are your best customers. 

Yep, its true. A recent study by Library Journal and Bowker PubTrack Consumer reports

Our data show that over 50% of all library users report purchasing books by an author they were introduced to in the library,” Miller noted. “This debunks the myth that when a library buys a book the publisher loses future sales. Instead, it confirms that the public library does not only incubate and support literacy, as is well understood in our culture, but it is an active partner with the publishing industry in building the book market, not to mention the burgeoning e-book market.

Don’t forget the white paper released by OverDrive on How eBook Catalogs at Public Libraries Drive Publishers’ Book Sales and Profits

Read More

• Open question: Do libraries help or hurt publishing?
• Publishers & Librarians: Two Cultures, One Goal

Similar Posts:

• Top Ten Links 2.3 – All About Ebooks
• The future of the book – Possible or Probable
• Some Questions for Overdrive and Amazon about the Kindle Lending Library – Updated

image by Andy Woodworth

Yesterday the big news online was Penguin Groups decision to withhold new titles from OverDrive, meaning new Penguin titles are no longer available for library patrons to check out. Additionally Penguin has requested that OverDrive no longer allow library patrons to check out existing Penguin titles on Kindle devices and apps.

Penguin’s Official Statement emphasis added by me

Penguin has been a long-time supporter of libraries with both physical and digital editions of our books.  We have always placed a high value on the role that libraries can play in connecting our authors with our readers. However, due to new concerns about the security of our digital editions, we find it necessary to delay the availability of our new titles in the digital format while we resolve these concerns with our business partners. Penguin’s aim is to always connect writers and readers, and with that goal in mind, we remain committed to working closely with our business partners and the library community to forge a distribution model that is secure and viable. In the meantime, we want to assure you that physical editions of our new titles will continue to be available in libraries everywhere.

OverDrive’s Official Statement (which of course came after the Penguin statement because OverDrive always responses late, sorry guys but you do) again emphasis added by me.

Last week Penguin sent notice to OverDrive that it is reviewing terms for library lending of their eBooks.   In the interim, OverDrive was instructed to suspend availability of new Penguin eBook titles from our library catalog and disable “Get for Kindle”  functionality for all Penguin eBooks.   We apologize for this abrupt change in terms from this supplier.  We are actively working with Penguin on this issue and are hopeful Penguin will agree to restore access to their new titles and Kindle availability as soon as possible.

All existing Penguin eBook titles in your library’s catalog are still available and additional copies can be added.

Honestly I just don’t understand this. As Kate Sheehan puts in on Twitter

You don’t have to work with libraries, but if you’re not going to, at least give us a reason that isn’t insulting to our intelligence.

Penguin doesn’t state which “security” issues they are concerned about, but I think it is safe to assume it has something to do with piracy. Apparently public libraries are full of pirates? Sorry I’m goning to have to agree with Wilda Williams on this one 

Given how cumbersome downloading library ebooks sometimes can be, real hackers aren’t going to bother with libraries.

And really Penguin? You’re gunning for public libraries when there are much bigger fish to fry?

OK, I really want to write this post without it turning into a rant. Let me attempt to do so.

We are assuming the security issue is piracy because that seems to be the main concern with ebooks. First I did a quick check on a couple of popular torrent sites  and I can confirm that The Help and a number of other ebooks from the homepage of the Penguin website are available to download from both. If Penguin is attempting to keep their ebooks from being pirated the genie is already out of the bottle on that one. I can also confirm that many titles from Simon & Schuster and MacMillan are available on torrent sites. Based on this I think we can conclude that allowing library patrons to read your ebooks on their device does not lead to pirating since neither MacMillan or S&S allow libraries access to their ebooks. Second, we know that most people don’t pirate because they are nefarious criminals walking around with handlebar mustaches tying damsels in distress to railroad tracks,they pirate because a reasonable legal option isn’t available. Now we can debate all day about what constitutes a “reasonable legal option” but since we already know that DRM does not work wouldn’t it be better to stop beating that dead horse, especially at the expense of a public institution like public libraries? After all we’re on your side, why aren’t you on ours?

The Big Six

Now let’s talk about the Big Six. If you’re not familiar that would be Hachette, HarperCollins, MacMillian, Penguin, Random House and Simon & Schuster.

• Both MacMillion and Simon & Schuster have refused to make their ebooks available to public libraries since day one.
• Hachette Book Group stopped offering its frontlist ebook titles to libraries in July.
• HarperCollins – last year HC announced their 26 check out policy.
• Penguin – right now new titles aren’t available while they work out security concerns
• Random House – happily works with libraries. Yay Random House!

I encourage you to share your opinion with them respecrivelly regarding this decision. I also encourage you to share their contact information with your patrons who voice concerns about the unavailabiilty of their titles

Read More

• Citing “Security Concerns” Penguin Pulls New Titles from OverDrive
• Penguin Exits OverDrive Pending Evaluation
• Penguin Group USA to No Longer Allow Library Lending of New Ebook Titles
• Content by Cory Doctorow
• Survey Says Library Users Are Your Best Customers Groundbreaking new study shows value of libraries to the book—and the e-book—business
• OverDrive & Penguin: Is Something Steve Potash Wrote in February a Clue to What’s Going On?
• Penguin Pulls New E-Books From Libraries

Similar Posts:

• Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back
• Some Questions for Overdrive and Amazon about the Kindle Lending Library – Updated
• Top Ten Links 2.3 – All About Ebooks