Author: Scott William Carter

Will Libraries Become Publishers?

One library in Tennessee thinks so:

IngramSpark is a publishing, distribution, and print-on-demand platform from the Ingram Content Group, built specifically for independent publishers and authors. The platform promises ebook distribution into 70% of the world, and print distribution to 80,000 retailers and libraries globally.

The first book from the Williamson County library is a children’s book called Bucky and Bonnie’s Library Adventure, written by library staff. “The creation of our first book and the development of our publishing program has been a labor of love and illustrates how libraries of today can move forward in new and exciting ways to serve their patrons,” said Dolores Greenwald, Director of the Williamson County Public Library … [Read the rest at PublishingPerspectives.com]

I’ve been seeing more and more reports of libraries venturing into publishing.  And why not?  It’s something I’ve been predicting for a while, and it makes great sense.  With ebook and print-on-demand technology allowing writers to go direct to readers, and that process getting increasingly easier, who is better positioned to help writers reach those readers than libraries?  In fact, at the library where I work at Western Oregon University, we’re beginning to explore these possibilities ourselves — one of the reasons I was transferred to the library a few months ago.

A Free Class on Copyright

Over at Writer-in-Law, M. Scott Boone, a law professor specializing in intellectual property law, is allowing his blog readers to follow along while he teaches a course on copyright:

So, asking what is an “original work of authorship” is basically asking “What gets copyright protection?” Sure, there’s the “fixed in any tangible medium of expression” part, but that is not the difficult part to satisfy.

Accordingly, originality is often said to be “[t]he sine qua non of copyright.”

If you want the short answer, here it is. Originality includes two related concepts. First, the work must be original to the author; in other words, it cannot be copied from another. Second, it must contain at least a modicum of creativity. This is a fairly low hurdle.

If you treat your art in a professional manner, and have any interest at all in making money at what you do, then understanding how you license copyright is critical.  Well worth following Boone’s posts.

E-Reading Still On the Rise

Via Digital Bookworld, Pew Research finds that E-Reading Is Still On the Rise:

More Americans own a dedicated e-reading device like a Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo Aura HD than ever before, according to new data from the Pew Internet & American Life project.

This despite flat sales growth for e-reader sales in the U.S. overall as more Americans opt for cheap, multipurpose devices like tablet computers instead.

At the same time, the proportion of Americans who have read an e-book last year has increased to 28% from 23% a year ago.

Some nifty charts there, so well worth taking a look.  Most readers are apparently like me, not dedicated to one way of reading, but jumping from printed books to ebooks to audio books depending on the needs of the moment.

Library Journal apparently has a fuller take on the Pew poll.

Library Funding Nationwide on the Rebound

From Library Journal:

While every library hopes to see good news for its budget, of late, many will happily settle for no bad news. The year 2012 was marked by modest gains in library budgets and a stemming of the bleeding caused by cuts in the wake of the collapse of the financial sector and accompanying recession. As the economy continues its slow recovery, libraries, too, are managing to claw back some of the losses they’ve been asked to endure over the past few years. While gains are being made, though, they’re small ones and often hard fought … [Read the rest of “The Road Back” at Library Journal.]

As the United States economy slowly, painfully, grudgingly pulls itself out of its economic doldrums, it’s nice to see libraries on the rebound.  While there’s a common sentiment out there among the bubble-living punditry that libraries are an unnecessary expense in a digital age, the truth is that libraries have never been more popular.  While the U.S. Congress comes in at a 12 percent approval rating in a recent poll, libraries rank at an astonishing 94 percent! Higher than apple pie!

Do libraries need to adapt?  Sure.  Are they going away?  Apparently, not before apple pie.