For-profit library struggling 

Questia Media down to 28 workers by Tom Fowler

Another round of layoffs at online library and academic research firm Questia Media has reduced the company to a skeleton crew of about 28 workers, just enough to maintain its Web site.

About 40 workers were laid off last week without severance pay, sources say, when it became clear plans for another round of investment cash wouldn't materialize. The company previously raised more than $135 million and at one time employed over 300 workers, but has had several rounds of layoffs beginning last spring.

Questia is said to be looking for ways to cut expenses further, including moving into smaller offices than the high-rent space it occupies in Greenway Plaza, and ways to get out of long-term contracts and partnerships. Company officials did not return phone calls or e-mail requests for comment. [read more]

Information Technology 

Once-Trustworthy Newspaper Databases have Become Unreliable and Frustrating by Scott Carlson

... Mr. Chen is merely one librarian whose work has been affected by the Tasini case and others like it. Six months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that publishers don't own the rights to online freelance articles. Other copyright battles between freelancers and publishers --Ýsuch as lawsuits between the National Geographic Society and a group of photographers --Ýare also moving through the courts. The publishers have responded by purging freelance articles --Ýsometimes entire newspaper archives --Ýfrom online databases. Almost 20 years' worth of newspaper history, a vital source of information for those studying history, politics, society, the media, and other subjects, is shot through with more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. [read more]

Intellectual Property 

Globalization of Information: Intellectual Property Law Implications by Kim Nayyer

Abstract
The globalization of information, facilitated by the Internet, has significant implications for intellectual property regimes domestically and internationally. Assessment of these implications and their probable outcomes is unavoidably value-driven. Many commentators foresee harmonization of intellectual property laws but some predict disparity in political economy outcomes. Some also see profound effects on sovereignty. A critical review of recent literature on these topics discloses a prevalent and rather persuasive view: that globalization of information and the impact of the Internet tend toward an international standard of strengthened intellectual property laws and the erosion of sovereignty notions, with the economic benefits flowing primarily to developed nations and transnational corporations. The prevalence of this view in the recent literature may reflect an effort to bring less heard voices to the forefront of the discussion. [read more]

Publishing 

An interview with Nick Bantock

Nick Bantock, a publishing veteran of 30 years and author of the best-selling Griffin & Sabine trilogy that has sold more than three million copies worldwide, recently released the first volume of his second trilogy, The Morning Star, through Chronicle Books. Like the Griffin & Sabine series, The Gryphon marries prose with artwork, creating entertainment that is both enthralling and distracting.

Mr. Bantock, who was born and reared in England but has since moved to Canada, has been in the publishing business for 30 years. After working on several books and designing approximately 300 book covers, the author and artist has some very definite opinions on the publishing business and the direction it is taking. [read the interview]