Tag Archives: eBooks

3M Cloud Patron “Buy and Donate”; No Anonymity in Facebook Search; Nye, NASA YouTube Jupiter Series; Making Makerspaces

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Patrons can donate to their library via new 3M Cloud feature. 3M Cloud Library Introduces “Buy and Donate” Program Supported by Kobo | TMCnet.com

Privacy setting removed for good. Now anyone can find you on Facebook — no matter what | CNET.

Love science? Want to learn more? Bill Nye, NASA Team Up for Jupiter Mission YouTube Series | PCMAG.com

Creating a makerspace is not that hard according to School Library Journal. Low Tech, High Gains: Starting a Maker Program Is Easier Than You Think | The Digital Shift

The Abomination of Ebooks: They Price People Out of Reading | Wired Opinion | Wired.com

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This is not one of those rants about missing the texture, touch, colors, whatever of paper contrasted with the sterility of reading on a tablet. No, the real abomination of ebooks is often overlooked: Some are so ingrained in the product itself that they are hiding in plain sight, while others are well concealed beneath layers of commerce and government.

The real problem with ebooks is that they’re more “e” than book, so an entirely different set of rules govern what someone — from an individual to a library — can and can’t do with them compared to physical books, especially when it comes to pricing.

The collusion of large ebook distributors in pricing has been a public issue for a while, but we need to talk more about how they are priced differently to consumers and to libraries. That’s how ebooks contribute to the ever-growing divide between the literary haves and have-nots.

Read the full story: The Abomination of Ebooks: They Price People Out of Reading | Wired Opinion | Wired.com.

More gadgets, more reading: Survey suggests e-reader and tablet owners read more books |gigaom

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A new survey from USA Today and book discovery website Bookish finds that U.S. adults who own a tablet or e-reader read more books than the device-less. The survey also found differences in reading habits between adults under 40 and adults over 40.

Read: More gadgets, more reading: Survey suggests e-reader and tablet owners read more books | gigaom

See also: E-books are changing reading habits | USA Today

USA Today Survey

 

HarperCollins partners with Scribd for ebook subscription service | Quill & Quire

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HarperCollins has partnered with document-sharing website Scribd on a new ebook subscription service.

Dubbed “Netflix for ebooks,” subscribers pay $8.99 a month for the ability to check out an unlimited number of ebooks – up to 10 titles at time – from the Scribd catalogue, which includes backlists from HarperCollins and several small U.S. presses. The service allows readers to switch between browsers, Android, and Apple devices without losing their place.

HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray told the Associated Press that the partnership will provide the publisher with valuable data about Scribd readers. “This is going to help us make even better publishing and marketing decisions for our authors,” he says.

The international service is now available in Canada, although not all titles are accessible for download.

HarperCollins partners with Scribd for ebook subscription service | Quill & Quire

Apple applies for iBook autograph patent | The Bookseller

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Apple has applied to create a patent for a system allowing authors to sign e-books.

Read:  Apple applies for iBook autograph patent | The Bookseller.

The HLS Guide to Library School | Simple Book Production

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This ebook contains some new content but mostly posts that have appeared previously on the blog. It is not necessarily a compilation of the best of Hack Library School or even indicative of the breadth of our content; instead, we have selected content based on the most practical advice we could give to others to–you guessed it–hack library school. We’ve divided the content into three main sections: Before Library School, During Library School, and After Library School. Within these sections, you will also find sub-sections intended to help organize the content meaningfully.

See more: The HLS Guide to Library School | Simple Book Production.

The Hack Library School blog is a great resource for library school students. They posts interviews with LIS professionals on employing and interviewing LIS graduates. There are also posts by guest editors. Here’s a direct link to the pdf of the free eBook.

Hack Library School Guide to Library School (PDF)

Hey Macmillan, Why Does My eBook Say That it Belongs to a Public Library? | The Digital Reader

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Hey Macmillan, Why Does My eBook Say That it Belongs to a Public Library? | The Digital Reader

Quotable: “This title is old enough that by the time Macmillan decided to sell the ebook there very likely no digital copy available. The only way to get an ebook was to either type the book into a computer or scan an old paper copy.”

Google Submits New Patent for Triggered Sounds in eBooks | GoodEReader

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Google…filed for a new patent that would make eBooks come alive with sounds. The sounds would be triggered by events within the book, such as lapping waves, an ominous crescendo, or maybe an outdoor market. The new application would have the sounds stored on a server and would be pushed out to the eBook users are reading at the time.

The full story: Google Submits New Patent for Triggered Sounds in eBooks | GoodEReader.

Oyster: The Netflix Of Books | HuffPost Books

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Oyster, an app launched [September 5, 2013] by a trio of self-proclaimed bookworms, is already being called the “Netflix for books.” That’s a lofty moniker, but the app may just live up to the hype – it offers access to over 100,000 books for $9.95 a month!

Right now, the only Big 5 publisher it’s partnered with is HarperCollins, but they’ve still got some really big books: “Life of Pi,” “Water for Elephants,” and “The God Delusion” all came up when we were browsing.

According to its website, they are constantly adding new titles, so who knows? Other bigger publishers may be signing on as well.

Right now, Oyster is invitation-only, and it’s only available as an iPhone app (although they’ll be adding on a iPad app later this fall). The app is free to download. You can request an invite here.

via Oyster: The Netflix Of Books  | HuffPost Books.

BiblioTech Digital Library Opens this Week | GoodEReader

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The BiblioTech library in Bexar County is doing something that no library in the US has ever done. Since last year, the organizers had a grand vision of an all digital library. Six hundred e-readers and over ten thousand eBooks will be available to loan out when the new library opens this week.

BiblioTech Library

via BiblioTech Digital Library Opens this Week | GoodEReader.