Librarian by Day » rights http://librarianbyday.net by Bobbi Newman Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:52:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 eBooks and eReaders: There Can Be Only One http://librarianbyday.net/2011/01/02/ebooks-and-ereaders-there-can-be-only-one/ http://librarianbyday.net/2011/01/02/ebooks-and-ereaders-there-can-be-only-one/#comments Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:44:03 +0000 Bobbi Newman http://librarianbyday.net/?p=5371 Sarah’s recent post - Why I am a library traitor and love the Kindle got me thinking – WHY is she a library traitor? I know I know, but hear me out. I have a Kindle. I love my Kindle. You know what I do with  my Kindle? I buy books, books I didn’t check out from the library (the horror!). But here’s the thing, wait for it, I’ve always bought books! Books I didn’t check out from the library (gasp!) and I’ve also always used the library. Really I have been a heavy library user since I can remember. From an early age I read print books. Later I learned to love audiobooks on CD or cassette and when movies became available I checked those out too, later still I checked out and downloaded ebooks and eaudibooks. But during all this time nothing changed – I never stopped buying books (or going to the movie, or renting movies or buying movies). In fact I buy so many books that I pay the $25 a year for the Barnes & Noble membership card because I really do spend enough for it to be worth. Before I got my MLS I worked as a [...]]]>

Staples kindle is hereSarah’s recent post - Why I am a library traitor and love the Kindle got me thinking – WHY is she a library traitor? I know I know, but hear me out.

I have a Kindle.

I love my Kindle.

You know what I do with  my Kindle? I buy books, books I didn’t check out from the library (the horror!).

But here’s the thing, wait for it, I’ve always bought books! Books I didn’t check out from the library (gasp!) and I’ve also always used the library. Really I have been a heavy library user since I can remember. From an early age I read print books. Later I learned to love audiobooks on CD or cassette and when movies became available I checked those out too, later still I checked out and downloaded ebooks and eaudibooks. But during all this time nothing changed – I never stopped buying books (or going to the movie, or renting movies or buying movies). In fact I buy so many books that I pay the $25 a year for the Barnes & Noble membership card because I really do spend enough for it to be worth. Before I got my MLS I worked as a clerk in a larger library system during the day and on the nights and weekends at the local Barnes and Nobles, and guess what I saw many of the same people in both places. Buying books and borrowing from the library are not mutually exclusive. As I see it I bought and borrowed books before I had a Kindle I will continue to buy and borrow books after I have a Kindle. I am not borrowing from the library less.

I get Sararh’s point and concern. IF my library had ebooks and IF they had a wide selection with choices that appealed to me, nevermind the insanely high prices they would have to pay for a service that only a select group of patrons can use, those ebooks would not work on my Kindle thanks to choices by Amazon.com. But they don’t, so I bought a Kindle, guilt free, because even with the selection available from my library there aren’t enough choices to convince me that a Nook or Sony was a better option and well, lets face it, my library still has a huge number of choices avialable as print or book on CD or cassette or downloadable audio or ebook which I can read on my computer or Android phone thanks to the OverDrive app. I got a Kindle because it allows me to take notes and highlight in my books (something the library frowns upon and part of the reason I’ve always bought books) and access those notes online (something the library doesn’t offer).

Sure OverDrive and other vendors are doing their best to provide eBooks for libraries. But the process is cumbersome. If it goes well great! But if it doesn’t the pitfalls are plentifiul and woe to the techie attempting to troubleshoot them over the phone.

The truth is this the ebook readers that are out there were created to make a profit for the creator – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Borders etc. Sure some of them have allowed library ebooks to be loaded, but its not their primary purpuse and they sure as hell aren’t gonna help you figure it out. They are gonna sell you an ereader and put a boot in your butt on the way out the door. Need help with a book you bought from our store? No problem. Need help with a free book from the library or somewhere else? Too bad you’re on your own mate, nevermind that we lured you with that promise when we sold you the device. Unhappy? Angry? Gonna leave us for another ereader? Go for it! Just remember your books wont work on their devices.

This annoys me like crazy but is it really a problem? I mean I don’t expect my Play Station Games to play on an Xbox. So why should my Kindle books work on a Nook? Except that I can sell my PlayStation and the games if I decide to get an Xbox. And I can’t sell my ebooks. Except the truth is I seldom sell my books and never loan them. Bobbi doesn’t loan things, not books, not movies not games (judge all you like).  So how big of an issue is that I can’t lend my Kindle books? And as for selling them I have a pile of hardback nonfiction I’ve been trying to sell for a reasonable price on Amazon.com for 6 months now and they aren’t moving, so apparently while I could sell them, they aren’t selling either.

I don’t know how the ebook/ereader wars will play out. I do know this – I am leery of anyone who claims to. I am leery of anyone who claims there will be only one winner (we all drive different cars, why can’t we have different ereaders?)

But there is a problem and this one I am certain of – the ebook market is still playing out. Will they replace books? Supplement them? Fail all together? No one knows. But what we do know is that libraries are being cut out of the equation. That is a problem. I believe libraries are the key to closing the widening digital divide and participation gap we see.  Are ebooks are part of that solution? Maybe. And for that reason alone we need a voice.

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]]> http://librarianbyday.net/2011/01/02/ebooks-and-ereaders-there-can-be-only-one/feed/ 20 Top Ten Links Week 7 http://librarianbyday.net/2010/02/19/top-ten-links-week-7/ http://librarianbyday.net/2010/02/19/top-ten-links-week-7/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:37:42 +0000 Bobbi Newman http://librarianbyday.net/?p=2980 My personally selected top 10 from the links I shared on Twitter from 2/12/2010 thru 2/18/2010 Why are you for killing libraries? a thought-provoking post from Tim Spalding of LibraryThing questioning why libraries are embracing ebooks, especially when the ebook market is set to cut libraries out of participation. RT @vonburkhardt: New blog post: Ambient Awareness in Twitter for Reference – good suggestions on using Twitter to connect with your community The Future of Media: Framing the Debate – from the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy – “The Federal Communications Commission has launched an examination into the Future of Media and Information Needs of Communities in a Digital Age with a public notice that calls for public input through March 8, 2010.” public input – thats you! RT @VenessaMiemis: people share news online that inspires awe, researchers find – from the New York Times Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It’s Awesome, we much prefer to share good news than bad news! hurray! Friday Poll: TED Attendees Talk Top Technology Trends – an informal poll from Mashable in which they asked TED attendees – ““What do you think is the most interesting thing happening in technology right [...]]]>

CC image used courtesy of holeymoon on flickr

My personally selected top 10 from the links I shared on Twitter from 2/12/2010 thru 2/18/2010

  1. Why are you for killing libraries? a thought-provoking post from Tim Spalding of LibraryThing questioning why libraries are embracing ebooks, especially when the ebook market is set to cut libraries out of participation.
  2. RT @vonburkhardt: New blog post: Ambient Awareness in Twitter for Reference – good suggestions on using Twitter to connect with your community
  3. The Future of Media: Framing the Debate – from the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy – “The Federal Communications Commission has launched an examination into the Future of Media and Information Needs of Communities in a Digital Age with a public notice that calls for public input through March 8, 2010.” public input – thats you!
  4. RT @VenessaMiemis: people share news online that inspires awe, researchers find – from the New York Times Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It’s Awesome, we much prefer to share good news than bad news! hurray!
  5. Friday Poll: TED Attendees Talk Top Technology Trends – an informal poll from Mashable in which they asked TED attendees – ““What do you think is the most interesting thing happening in technology right now?”
  6. 8 Things You Need to Know About Collaboration – great list including number 3. Collaboration is a human process – throwing technology at people won’t magically/automatically create collaboration
  7. The 10 Top Reasons Why The 10 Top Reasons Don’t Really Matter - you gotta love a list that debunks lists plus it actually has some good points like number  5. “Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts.” (Einstein)
  8. Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers – I don’t care if you love or hate ebooks, as a librarian you need to know about ownership rights, they are different from print books.
  9. History of media technology scares, from the printing press to Facebook. – fear that the latest popular technology is a sure sign the world is ending isn’t new.   “Conrad Gessner, might have been the first to raise the alarm about the effects of information overload. In a landmark book, he described how the modern world overwhelmed people with data and that this overabundance was both “confusing and harmful” to the mind.  … he died in 1565.”
  10. RT @theREALwikiman: RT @LISNews How close is the library to death? The Unspeakable Truth Ned Potter’s essay for the LISnews essay contest takes a hard look at the place of libraries in the future. Be sure to read the comments too

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]]> http://librarianbyday.net/2010/02/19/top-ten-links-week-7/feed/ 7 Facebook TOS follow up http://librarianbyday.net/2009/02/19/facebook-tos-follow-up/ http://librarianbyday.net/2009/02/19/facebook-tos-follow-up/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:18:01 +0000 Bobbi Newman http://librarianbyday.wordpress.com/?p=977 In case you missed it Facebook reverted to its previous terms of service. But that shouldn’t stop you or me from thinking about what happened and what it means. Some recommended reading Facebook Battle Ends in Major Victory for Users, But the War Continues a good look at what happened 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know just what it says, using Facebook? Go learn these What Libraries Can Learn from Facebook Peter Bromberg looks at the privacy issue from a libraries and librarian point-of-view. He makes some great points and  I agree with him Matters of Policy Steve Lawson compares the  Facebook incident to  OCLC policy changes. Similar Posts: Latest Facebook Privacy Violation – It is Now Broadcasting Conversations by Publishing The Content of Recent Activity Do you understand Facebook’s privacy settings? Dear Facebook, I Would Like My Illusion* of Privacy Back, K, Thanks]]>

In case you missed it Facebook reverted to its previous terms of service.

Facebook reverts to previous TOS

But that shouldn’t stop you or me from thinking about what happened and what it means. Some recommended reading

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]]> http://librarianbyday.net/2009/02/19/facebook-tos-follow-up/feed/ 0 The Facebook Brouhaha – yeah you’re mad, but did you leave? http://librarianbyday.net/2009/02/17/the-facebook-brouhaha-yeah-youre-mad-but-did-you-leave/ http://librarianbyday.net/2009/02/17/the-facebook-brouhaha-yeah-youre-mad-but-did-you-leave/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:00:59 +0000 Bobbi Newman http://librarianbyday.wordpress.com/?p=964 What I saw happen yesterday – a LOT of people blogging, twittering and linking to articles about Facebook’s change to their Terms of Service. ( If you don’t know about it see links at the bottom. I’m not writing about that, 50 bagillion other people already have.) What I didn’t see happening – a mass exodus of friends from Facebook. I hear some people are removing content, but they aren’t leaving (I’m sure someone will leave a comment pointing out people who have left) I even asked on Twitter this morning – did you delete your account? As of writing this no one has answered yes. What this tells me – that people are mad at Facebook, maybe even really really mad, but they aren’t mad enough to leave.  Which means, that whatever they are getting from Facebook, they are willing to accept the new TOS to get it. Now what that means is a whole different blog post. Facebook: A lesson in power-grabbing Public Service Reminder 1: facebook Facebook: “We have never claimed ownership” of members’ content | The Industry Standard What Facebook’s revised terms of use mean for your content | Jacobson Attorneys: the new media law firm [...]]]>

facebook

What I saw happen yesterday – a LOT of people blogging, twittering and linking to articles about Facebook’s change to their Terms of Service. ( If you don’t know about it see links at the bottom. I’m not writing about that, 50 bagillion other people already have.)

What I didn’t see happening – a mass exodus of friends from Facebook. I hear some people are removing content, but they aren’t leaving (I’m sure someone will leave a comment pointing out people who have left)

I even asked on Twitter this morning – did you delete your account? As of writing this no one has answered yes.

What this tells me – that people are mad at Facebook, maybe even really really mad, but they aren’t mad enough to leave.  Which means, that whatever they are getting from Facebook, they are willing to accept the new TOS to get it.

Now what that means is a whole different blog post. ;-)

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