No Shelf Required

Charleston Conference, eBooks, Not just another binding preconference
Session 4 – eBook Economics
Morgan & Claypool Publishers are famous for publishing high quality STM e-books without DRM.  As a new publisher, the company’s main focus is on ebooks rather than print.  The company’s cofounder, Mike Morgan, will speak about how this enables them to create works that […]

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Interesting post in the SSP’s blog - the Scholarly Kitchen, written by Joseph Esposito.  Esposito discusses “library bypass,” which as he describes, is another way for publishers to reach paying customers.  Esposito says that libraries have limited money and are partial in these times to open access materials, not another high priced package from a […]

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Some notes I made during the O’Reilly Tools of Change eBook conference (I only got to see the first hour):
O’Reilly.com selling twice as many eBooks today as they did last year, most are going overseas.
eBook pricing panel:

Bundling was a big topic - bundling eBook formats together and/or bundling the e and p.
Clear dropoff for eBook […]

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As was reported earlier, Sony and Overdrive have partnered to promote library e-book collections.  Sony seems to be embracing the library world as its competitive edge.  Why would one want to buy a Kindle and then have to buy content when you can buy a Sony and borrow much content for free?
It’s unlikely that Amazon […]

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Have you tried out DailyLit?  It’s a great ebook site that sends daily installments of books via email or RSS feed.  Here are some tips and tricks they suggest.  TIPS AND TRICKS ON DAILYLIT
Here are some useful tips you may not know that can help make DailyLit even easier to use:
—Customize: You can completely customize the delivery date, […]

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NYTimes article on Sony cutting eBook prices from 11.99 to 9.99.This is my favorite section:  “Regarding the price cut for digital books, Mr. Haber said: “We have to offer value. It’s clear e-books should be less expensive than regular books, with the savings on printing and logistics getting passed on to the consumer.”and this is the […]

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Swets Charleston Conference Scholarship
Swets North America is pleased to announce it is offering a $1,000 scholarship to attend the 2009 XXIX Annual Charleston Conference, taking place November 4-7, 2009.
Please complete an essay of no more than 1,000 words on the following topic:
“Figuring out the eBooks Equation: Please describe the most important service or solution missing […]

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Pilot project successfully completed / Library users in the USA and Canada can order soft cover copies of Springer eBooks
 
Way to go Springer!  I loved this idea as a pilot, and love it even more now.  This is fantastic news for eBooks and end users.  I’ve never met an end user who didn’t […]

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Roger Sperberg wrote an interesting piece, “How to give away an ebook after you’ve read it” in the Teleread blog.  He discusses the idea of patrons purchasing an ebook to read for themselves and donating it to the library when they are finished.  Roger states, “If I buy an ebook of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, […]

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What are the challenges and opportunities collection development librarians are faced with during these tight budget times as the nature of collections continue to evolve?  How can academic libraries maintain their purchasing power for collections when severe budget cuts are the norm at many academic institutions?  Can publishers and vendors be more flexible in their […]

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