The Future of E-Books and Libraries

When you walk into a library to borrow a book, traditionally we think of a printed book. A solid material you take home after it is checked out. However, a growing number of library patrons now turn to electronic devices to enjoy their reading; thus, the question of e-book enters the equation. 

Earlier this year there have been several talks between the Big Six Publisher (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, Random House and Simon & Schuster) and libraries regarding the introduction of e-book lending. Overall, the Big Six has been reluctant to team up with public libraries due to their fear of library e-books undercutting other sales. Currently, libraries are paying high prices to obtain e-books' titles from the Big Six Publisher. HarperCollins has a 26-lend limit on its library e-books. Random House nearly triples its e-book prices in March and Hachette recently confirmed it would more than double its prices.

Although there have been many obstacles, things are moving slightly forward. In June, Penguin launched a one year pilot project with vendor 3M and the New York Public Library. Macmillan officials recently announced that the publisher is also working on a pilot program that would enable e-book lending for libraries. This development is monumental since libraries have been fighting for equal access to e-books citing that library patrons should have equal access to print and electronic books. Despite recently developments, the future of e-books and libraries remain uncertain. 

What do YOU think?
Readers what do you think about e-books and public libraries? Do publishers have the right to be concern about their sales? Do public library patrons have the right to access e-books? Do you think a six-month delay release for public library e-books is fair?  

For more articles on the future of e-books and public libraries: 
The Digital Shift: Macmillan Confirms Ebook Pilot for Libraries         Publishers Weekly: Macmillan Poised to Test Library E-book Model
The Wall Street Journal: Libraries Cut E-Book Deal With Penguin
paidContent: Hachette to Raise Ebook prices for libraries by 220%

New edition of Introduction to Public Librarianship is out!

Distinguished UW SLIS alum, Kathleen la Peña McCook has a new book out!  

 

The latest edition of Introduction to Public Librarianship from Neal-Shuman Publishers includes lots of examples from Wisconsin libraries and is a great entree to this aspect of librarianship.  Check it out!

Do your part to help save the US Statistical Abstract!

Michael Kelley's article, Statistical Abstract Faces an Untimely Death, from the March 28th post to Library Journal Online reports that the US Census Bureau is looking to eliminate its Compendia Branch in the next fiscal year, an action that would also eliminate one of the most trusted and well-used reference tools in a librarian's arsenal: the US Statistical Abstract, affectionately known as StatAbs.

StatAbs has been around since the 1800s and is a go-to reference for important information about the US population, its communities and people-- information that the government source sites claim should be accessible to any citizen. Many librarians argue that StatAbs is not just an important resource that aggregates statistics about the country and its people which are not easy to find elsewhere, but also that it is a "a standard national publication that many countries produce as a matter of course. For example, Canada offers the similarly useful and organized E-Stat."

The ALA is mobilizing an effort to convince the Census Bureau to reconsider its plan by providing extensive data and anecdotal evidence that supports the value and importance of StatAbs, not just to library service, but to all citizens.  Take part in this historic effort!  Read up on StatAbs and contribute to the effort to save it!

Check out these links:
Join the Save the US Statistical Abstract Facebook Group
Library Journal's "Statistical Abstract Faces an Untimely Death"
Sign the Change.org petition to save the Statistical Abstract! 

Wisconsin E-book Summit

"In the fall of 2009, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) began an internal conversation about eBooks. What will they mean to the future of libraries, especially public libraries? Will these institutions be able to turn another digital format to its advantage, as they have with audiobooks? Or is it different this time? COSLA members wanted to arm themselves for action, instead of waiting to see how commercial forces would impact popular reading materials and the public library’s central role in providing them."

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has organized an E-book Summit in response to COSLA's study so that Wisconsin librarians will also be "armed for action."  The Summit will take place on May 4th, 2011, and 40 delegates from Wisconsin Libraries have been invited to take part in the day-long event.  The goal of the Summit is to develop best practices and protocol for the use of e-books in libraries, and the recommendations of the Summit will be published in a form Wisconsin librarians can use as e-book technology makes its way into their libraries.

SLIS will have a representative at the Summit, and we hope to make contacts and glean important information that may yield some guest speakers and fun, practical workshops for SLIS students for the Fall 2011 semester!

In the mean time, you are invited to read up on e-books and public libraries. Read COSLA's E-book study, and take a look at the Summit website, where you can contribute to the discussion under the "General Public Comments" tab!:
COSLA E-book Feasibility Study 
Wisconsin E-book Summit website

Inform Thyself! Gov Docs Librarian's research guide to the Wisconsion State Budget

This just in:

Beth Harper, the Government Documents Reference Librarian at Memorial Library, worked with SLIS student Kim Pittman to create a new research guide to the Wisconsin State Budget!

This guide provides links to government documents about the state of Wisconsin budget, specifically documents about:

* the 2011 budget repair bill
* the 2011-2013 biennial budget
* the budget process in Wisconsin
* and links to relevant state agencies

The guide is available at on the Memorial Library website (URL noted below) in the "government" and "political science" categories. Check it out, and let Beth know if you have any suggestions!

http://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/wistatebudget

UW Forward Launches New Interface!

If you managed to make it to our workshop Sunday last month, you know a little about Forward, the UW system's experimental OPAC. After copious testing and adjusting, Forward developers are please to announce the launch of the new Forward interface, found here. The new interface should improve searching, browsing and viewing records. Take a chance to play around with the new interface and let Forward developers know what you think using their feedback form!

Inform thyself! We have a copy of SB11 at the SLIS Circ Desk

That's right, folks!  We have a paper copy of Senate Bill 11, aka the "Budget Repair Bill" on reserve at the SLIS Circ desk.  Earlier this week, we encouraged all SLIS students to acquaint themselves with the contents of the bill, so we're providing access to the document itself.

Please stop in and inform thyself!

Announcing...library workshops online!

The SLIS Library puts a lot of time into presenting workshops for students, but it can be nearly impossible to schedule them for a time when everyone who's interested can attend. We've taken a step towards solving that problem with the introduction of video workshops to the LIS Support forum of Learn@UW. Take a look at SLIS Library Workshops under the Content module, make some popcorn, and hit play.

So far the only workshop available is on social cataloging and LibraryThing for Libraries, but we plan to add more as the year progresses. Keep an eye out!

LIS Web Resources

The librarians at the Library and Information Science Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has compiled a diverse list of LIS resources. Topics range from “general” to “acronym” to “research and publishing in LIS.” The list may be somewhat overwhelming to someone newly entering librarianship, but it does include many useful resources—both helpful and humorous.


One of the site's more humorous resources is its collection of library quotation web sites—which includes a link to the Laughing Librarian. The Laughing Librarian collects quotations from a variety of sources, including historical literature, academic articles, and television. As the semester comes to a close, perhaps the following adages will lighten your mood as well as your workload.

"Are all librarians this much trouble?"

--Stephen Sommers, from The Mummy

"I really didn't realize the librarians were, you know, such a dangerous group. ... You think they're just sitting at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them. You know, they've had their budgets cut. They're paid nothing. Books are falling apart. The libraries are just like the ass end of everything, right?"

--Michael Moore