I finally had time to read this very interesting article in the Huffington Post written by Mark Coker about the  Smashwords study conducted to analyze self-published book sales data.  Coker highlights seven key findings from the study and includes his slides from a presentation at the RT Booklovers Convention earlier this year.  It’s worth a [...]

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Last February, Gale announced a large-scale Gale-Smithsonian Institution partnership to digitize content. Today, Gale announced the availability of the first product in the line -  Air & Space and Smithsonian Magazine Archive.   This resource includes the complete back files of both magazines.  The full press release is below.  NSR’s Mirela  Roncevic featured a story on [...]

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The third supplement on ebooks and digital content from American Libraries examines both the big picture and the nitty-gritty of libraries and publishing, looking at how libraries are evolving in response to the digital revolution, from taking advantage of opportunities in content creation to advocating for equitable access to ebooks produced by the world’s largest [...]

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Cengage Learning has announced some restructuring plans this week.  Below is a summary of articles and blog posts highlighting the news.  Later this week, NSR’s Mirela Roncevic will post her article on Gale (part of Cengage Learning) and their recent partnerships.  The article includes an interview with Jim Draper, Vice President and General Manager for Gale. Cengage [...]

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Last Friday, ALA released it’s latest Library Technology Report (LTR)  entitled, “Ebook Platforms for Libraries.”  Mirela Roncevic, a No Shelf Required contributor, wrote and compiled the LTR.  Mirela posted on her personal blog about the report including background information about what the report contains, what it’s for, and how it can be used by librarians.  [...]

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Great news for libraries, the last of the big 6 (big 5 now I guess) has begun a pilot project to license content to several libraries in New York.  Below are links to several articles and blog posts.  Thanks to Molly Raphael for posting these links on the ALA Council listserv. The Digital Reader: http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/04/15/simon-schuster-announces-ebook-pilot-program-in-nyc  [...]

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A flurry of articles and blog posts have been published with the announcement of Elsevier’s acquisition of Mendeley.  Here is a sampling below: Elsevier’s Press Release Mendeley blog, Q/A about the acquisition   Confirmed:  Elsevier Has Bought Mendeley…TechCrunch Sale to Elsevier Casts Doubt….Chronicle A Matter of Perspective….Scholarly Kitchen    

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A colleague forwarded this interesting blog post to me about Flipboard.  The author, Mathew Ingram, discusses Flipboard’s new release features.  He discusses the ability for advertisers and readers to now become publishers. Here is a snip from the post:  “Flipboard’s new version is more than just an evolution, it’s a significant departure from what the [...]

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Springer has released a White Paper on ebook use and attitudes.  The study was conducted at Wellesley College.  Deborah Lenares of the Margaret Clapp Library at Wellesley College, and Steven Smith, formerly of Wellesley College and now Head of Collection Management at Boston University Libraries co-authored the white paper. More information, including key findings and [...]

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Picked this up from the ALA Council listserv: IFLA is pleased to launch a new set of resources relating to eBooks and libraries. Providing access to eBooks is one of the most pressing issues facing libraries right now. Public libraries, in particular, are dealing with implications of rapidly changing business and access models. IFLA has [...]

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