eBooks: the New Normal

The virtual ebook summit is happening now! I've visited some exhibitor booths, chatted with a rep, downloaded some materials, and attended the opening keynote session. It's a great way to attend a conference and learn about a topic that is of high interest.

Ebooks: the New Normal

Libraries and publishers have an uneasy relationship when it comes to ebook purchasing and lending.

In March 2011, HarperCollins announced a controversial decision related to their ebook policies for libraries. Since then, many libraries have boycotted purchasing HarperCollins titles (in any format). The ALA (American Library Association) response to the Harper Collins decision was swift.

Now, Hachette Books is rethinking a decision that has kept Hachette's frontlist ebook titles out of library hands since July 2010.

How will it all play out? Who knows!

For myself, I'm excited to learn more about these issues at Ebooks: the New Normal, a virtual conference I'm attending.

Google Settlement ... Not So Fast

The latest on the Google Settlement (or lack thereof) from Publishers Weekly (August 1, 2011, p. 18-19).

Man Booker Prize

Man Booker prize winners are among my favorite books ... The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (a 2006 BookTalk at BSC selection) and The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje come to mind. [Of course, when it comes to film, I still think Fargo should have won the Oscar for Best Picture instead of The English Patient, but that's another story.]

I was excited to learn that the nominees for the 2011 Man Booker Prize were announced on July 26. The Man Booker Prizes recognize the best in fiction. The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, first awarded in 1969, promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year. The Man Booker International Prize, awarded every two years, recognizes one writer for achievement in fiction. This prize was first awarded in 2005.

Although many of the titles on the 2011 long list are still awaiting American distribution, they will be available soon. Keep your eyes open for these great reads!

2011 Man Booker Prize Nominees

Julian Barnes–The Sense of an Ending
Sebastian Barry–On Canaan’s Side
Carol Birch–Jamrach’s Menagerie
Patrick deWitt–The Sisters Brothers
Esi Edugyan–Half Blood Blues
Yvvette Edwards–A Cupboard Full of Coats
Alan Hollinghurst–The Stranger’s Child
Stephen Kelman–Pigeon English
Patrick McGuinness–The Last Hundred Days
A.D. Miller–Snowdrops
Alison Pick–Far to Go
Jane Rogers–The Testament of Jessie Lamb
D.J. Taylor–Derby Day

The winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction will be announced on October 18.

The Man Booker Prize is sponsored by Man Group plc, an alternative investment management business originally founded in 1873. The Booker Prize Foundation is responsible for awarding the prize.

Listening to Student Voices | Office Hours

An interesting essay from Michael Stephens in the Commentary section of the June 15, 2011, issue of Library Journal. Listening to Student Voices Office Hours

• How do BSC students use (or not use) the library?


• How do they view our instructional and reference services?


• How do they view the librarians?


• How do we find out?

What do we need to change?

Google Settlement Rejected

"When it was introduced in 2008, the Google Book Settlement was hailed by its creators as historic. Now, it is history. On March 22, after more than two years of contentious debate, Judge Denny Chin rejected the controversial proposal on copyright and antitrust grounds. A status conference is set for April 25 in New York, and the parties are free (and some say likely) to appeal the decision, though at press time no appeal had been annnounced." -- Publishers Weekly, March 28, 2011, p. 3.

For more information, visit ALA's Google Book Settlement Site.

National Library Week 2011

Time to celebrate libraries and why they matter!

We probably all have a library story. Mine is about going to a three-room country grade school in Dagmar, Montana. We didn't have a library at our school, but we still had library services.

Every six weeks or so doing the school year, the Montana State Library would send a new shipment of books. Unpacking the boxes and finding the treasures inside was like Christmas! We would shelve them on the bookshelves in each classroom and could check them out for the next several weeks.

I have so many favorites from those days ... Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, The Black Stallion by Walter Farley, and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to name but a few.

My life has been enriched beyond measure by libraries and librarians.

Support your library and celebrate National Library Week!